Ms Sylda Langford:

I thank the committee for allowing me to present myself. I am a post-graduate student of University College Cork and the London School of Economics where I had a background in social policy and social work. I have personal experience of front-line and delivery of child care services, dealing with the needs of people who are disadvantaged in society and also dealing with the impact of wider social and economic policies on such people. I acquired much of my experience in my working life as a public servant, a civil servant and a member of various voluntary organisations. I have been retired for three years and continue to be involved in a voluntary capacity in various activities relevant to my experience.

The background details of my working life are as follows. I worked in the then Eastern Health Board in the area of child protection. I was an investigator in the Office of the Ombudsman. I worked in the then Department of Social Welfare, where I was involved in EU poverty programmes, MABS and the community development programme for family resource centres. I also carried management responsibility for the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. I worked in the then Department of Equality and Law Reform where I had responsibility for the equality area, which included policy, legislation and international work. I had management of the development of equal status policies and legislation. This involved consultation with NGOs and representatives of civil society on the nine grounds of anti-discrimination under the Equal Status Act.

On the international front, I was the senior official on the Irish delegations to the UN General Assembly special session known as Beijing +5 on gender issues. I was at the World Conference against Racism in Durban in 2001 and I also led on the UN committee on economic, social and cultural rights when Ireland presented its second report on the international covenant in economic, social and cultural rights. While I worked in the Department of justice, I managed a review of youth justice services, where we had concerns about young people in trouble with the law and in detention centres. As a result the Government establish the Irish Youth Justice Service.

My last job as a civil servant was in the office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, where I helped develop programmes for improving equal opportunities for children, families and young people. I am currently the chairperson of the Citizens Information Board, which has responsibility for citizens information centres, MABS and the National Disability Advocacy Service. As a member of the children's detention school board, I have concerns about trying to improve the lot of the most vulnerable children in those schools. I was a member of the advisory board of We The People and I am involved with Limerick regeneration as chairperson of a joint committee of statutory and philanthropic funders. I have worked as a volunteer counsellor with the marriage counselling service and also with Parentline. I am delighted with the honour of being asked to be involved in this process.