I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important legislation. I acknowledge the work the Minister has done in bringing forward this necessary change to the laws around guardianship. Guardianship currently refers to the set of legal rights and responsibilities to make major decisions about the upbringing of a child or a young person. This includes everything from what school they attend, what religion they are raised in, major medical decisions, whether they are allowed leave the country for a holiday or for other reasons and all that set of significant decisions in a child or young person's life. We separate out the power to make those big decisions from the day-to-day decisions about a child, which are governed by the rules surrounding custody. The Bill provides that new power at law, namely, that a court can make an order suspending the guardianship held by a parent who has been convicted of killing the child's other parent. It is a very significant interference and significant restriction with guardianship rights but one which is necessary and for which there is a basis. The Bill would give that power to Tusla within six months of a conviction for the killing of a child's parent to bring forward an application to the court seeking such an order and that application could be made within a further six months if there were particular circumstances for that. Ultimately, the Bill recognises that the killing of a child's parent by the other child's parent represents an abuse of that child and it is for that incredibly severe reason that this significant restriction is being proposed. On behalf of the Green Party, I will support this Bill. I will make points. First, has the Minister considered the possibility of providing for an interim order? A former colleague of mine, Dr. Brian Tobin, in the University of Galway has made the case that there should be provision for an interim order, particularly if there is a lengthy trial or a length of time between conviction and sentencing. Any additional time period in which a parent who has undertaken this grievous crime has guardianship over a child represents a longer period within which the potential abuse that we are recognising in this Bill and are legislating to restrict could take place, and in which additional traumatisation of that child and additional damage to their welfare could take place. I am sure the Minister has given this some thought but I ask him, particularly as he brings this Bill through Committee and Report Stages, to give some consideration to that particular point of an interim order. There are other jurisdictions which implement it and perhaps we can look at that model there. Second, I step back to a slightly wider point. The Minister's predecessor commissioned research and a wider analysis of guardianship in infancy. This legislation has been with us for some time, since 1964. My understanding is that this report, which has not been published yet, contains some recommendations, particularly around the acquisition of guardianship duties. It is probably a good time to consider that. Recognising the different ways across which families are formed these days, it is fair that we look at how guardianship duties are acquired. I have tabled a number of parliamentary questions to the Minister over the past 18 months about where this report is, whether he will publish it and whether he will implement all, or, indeed, some of its recommendations. To date, his replies have not been hugely illuminating. It would be valuable to publish that report. It is my understanding that it is completed and it is on the Minister's desk. It was even on his predecessor's desk as well. It may be that he does not wish to follow some or all of the recommendations in it. If so, it is legitimate for him to make that decision. I do not propose that we delay the Bill in any way on foot of that. This Bill has merit to work on its own. Perhaps in his wrap-up or in the near future, he would set out his proposals regarding the potential publication of the draft report on the wider question of guardianship.

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