On behalf of the Social Democrats, I express our absolute revulsion at the threats made against the Tánaiste and his family. They have absolutely no place and are strongly condemned by us all. I want him to know that we will work with him to do everything we can to ensure these kinds of threats against our democracy are not in any way tolerated.

I extend our deepest condolences to all those who knew, loved and cared for Daniel Aruebose. Yesterday, after a long search, the remains of Daniel were found in Donabate. Daniel had been missing for four years before the State noticed he was gone. He was much more than the tragic circumstances of his death and disappearance. I thank TheJournal.ie for publishing a very moving interview with his foster sister telling us more about him. She said:

He was the sweetest little baby ever, we were all absolutely beside ourselves ... He was so cute ...

He was so clever. I obviously might be a little biased, but he already had a strong personality, he loved dancing, he loved laughing, and he loved showing off that he understood you. Like we’d go ‘where’s the light?’ and he’d know from only a few months old, he’d point up at the light. He was just a very clever baby.

His foster sister said the picture released does not reflect the happy child she knew who brightened every room he entered. She wants people to know that Daniel was special and loved.

I will not get into the investigation into this tragedy. We do not yet know what happened, but we do know that something went very seriously wrong. A bright and bubbly child died and disappeared and no one noticed. Sadly, this is not the only time this has happened. Kyran Durnin disappeared in 2022 and is presumed dead. Nobody noticed he was missing until late last year. It is horrifying that children can simply disappear in this country.

Tusla is conducting a rapid review of its interactions with Daniel's family and has referred the case to a national review panel, but that is not good enough. An independent statutory review should be triggered in every case of a child known to Tusla who disappears. This is the bare minimum these children deserve. This is not to apportion blame. It is to find out what went wrong, to make sure it never happens again and to prevent more children disappearing and dying.

Daniel was failed in life. Let us not fail him in death. Will the Government establish a statutory review into this tragedy? What is being done to support the community in Donabate who are grieving and in shock, as is the entire country?

I thank the Deputy for his kindness and solidarity. I very much appreciated the very kind letter I received, on behalf of his parliamentary party, from Deputy Jen Cummins. I look forward to all of us working on a cross-party basis, as suggested by the Ceann Comhairle, on safety in public life. I thank the Deputy very much for that.

The Deputy is entirely correct in the way he summed up the most horrific and tragic situation in relation to Daniel. He is right that we do not yet know what went wrong but that something went seriously wrong, captures exactly the situation we find ourselves in. I pay tribute to the gardaí and all those involved in the search for little Daniel. None of us can really imagine or comprehend how traumatic an experience that must be for all of those on the front line. We think of them and their families, and the trauma they must be enduring today as well, of course, as the incredible trauma being endured by everybody who knew Daniel. On the Deputy's comments about the sad photo not doing Daniel justice, I heard a lot of commentary about that this morning on the radio. I saw a happy photo released to RTÉ with his arms outstretched playing with his toys, with a beautiful smile, that I presume captured the essence of a beautiful young boy. Our hearts break for them now.

The Deputy asked a fair question. My honest to God answer is I do not think we can rule anything out at this stage. The responsible thing for us to do is to try to establish the facts, but we cannot rule anything out. What is the situation as of now? There is obviously the Garda investigation, which the Deputy and I rightly did not comment on. Tusla is conducting the rapid review process of its own engagement with Daniel's family and the Minister for children has asked that the national review panel prioritises the review of this case. Once the Tusla rapid review is completed, which I understand will be within days, that will then be forwarded to the national review panel. It will examine any engagement Daniel and his parents had with health, social, education or any other State services. The national review panel has an independent chair, along with its own independent legal advisers. It makes findings of fact and produces reports that are objective and independent of Tusla, but I do not rule anything out at this stage. This is a deeply distressing situation that is somewhat evolving in terms of what we are learning in real time.

In addition and separately to that, there will be an independently chaired well-being review of all child welfare cases that were closed during the Covid-19 pandemic and where there has been no further contact with the child since. This number stands at 42,000, when all periods of school closure during Covid are taken into account, which takes in the early part of 2022 as well as 2020 and 2021. There are also a number of commitments to change our legislation in relation to the Child Care Act, which would provide further protections in respect of child protection and welfare services in the State and strengthen the child protection legal framework, increase the powers of Tusla and ensure greater co-operation.

In direct answer to the Deputy's question, we keep an open mind on exactly what he asked. We have got to see where the facts bring us in the coming days.

I thank the Tánaiste for his response. I join with him in his comments on the gardaí and front-line workers and the excellent work they have been doing.

The Irish Association of Social Workers has called for a full statutory review. The Ombudsman for Children, Dr. Niall Muldoon has expressed extreme concern over the State's response. Dr. Muldoon asked: "How could a child have been born, dealt with all the relevant agencies and services, and then apparently, just disappear?" He went on to say: "The National Review Panel was never established on a statutory basis and this fundamental flaw has greatly impacted its ability to undertake its work effectively." He is not the only one to criticise the national review panel. Since 2018, both Tusla and the Department of Children, Disability and Equality have said that it is not fit for purpose. The national review panel has no statutory power, no powers to access information and no independent authority to publish reports so it has long gone past needing to have reviews on a statutory basis with proper powers when a child goes missing. We have known this since 2018. The Ombudsman for Children has said it, the Department has said it and Tusla has said it so will the Tánaiste commit to what we have all known since 2018 which is there need to be statutory reviews when this happens and children known to Tusla go missing?

The short answer is "Yes". There is a commitment in the programme for Government to do that and it needs to happen as quickly as possible. I heard the chair of the national review panel in recent days. She was very robust in her explanation of the work it does and her confidence that this work could be done in a manner that would be expeditious and thorough. It has independent legal advisers but the point about putting it on a statutory footing is entirely accepted by Government. It is a valid point. It would be extraordinarily foolish at this stage for the Government to rule out any action that may be required. This case shook our country to the core. What has happened is deeply distressing and it is even more distressing when we see the name and the face of the little boy Daniel. We are seeking to establish the facts. A Garda investigation is under way and Tusla will complete a rapid review in the coming days that will then be referred to the national review panel. The Minister for Children, Disability and Equality will then advise Government of any further steps or actions she believes are required.