Ms Marian Quinn:

I have no football analogy for which I am deeply sorry. I feel very bereft - I will get a whistle next time. I live and work in an area that is not doing terribly well in any sporting domain. I thank the committee for the opportunity to present today. Given what Ms McClory and Mr. Kelly have already said, there are things I do not need to repeat. We appear the morning after a new pope has been elected. His commitment to anti-poverty measures and social reform is worth noting given that the focus this morning is on how we can respond to child poverty. Some synergies may well yet emerge.

We know the Government and its predecessors have had a commitment to prevention and early intervention. The research is consistent on the costs and benefits, and the purpose of prevention and early intervention. The three organisations appearing before the committee this morning are seeking this, and the programme for Government's commitment to area-based responses offers the opportunity to maximise the investment made, to utilise the learning we now have with a view to ensuring that we best support children, families and communities in improving outcomes. Having said that, the context for the work CDI does in Tallaght west is very similar to the work in Ballymun and Darndale. The communities are very similar, which is why we were chosen. When the profile of the populations was considered in 2006-06, they were identified as three of the most disadvantaged communities.

We also went through a process that Mr. Kelly and Ms McClory both described for their areas, which was a very significant consultation and needs assessment, which in the case of Tallaght resulted in the document, How are our Kids? In 2006, Senator Zappone made a presentation to this committee and last year we had the opportunity to present the document, How are our Families?, to this committee, which was a repeat of that work and another comprehensive insight into life for children and families in a disadvantaged community. Both of those reports provide a framework for the work CDI is doing in Tallaght west. That process across the three organisations that lead on the prevention and early intervention programme needs to be a core element of any area-based response to child poverty.

As a result of the How are our Kids? report, we developed a number of services to respond to the priority needs. I will not outline them in detail as they are listed in the presentation, but I can respond to questions on them. We have eight independent evaluations, seven services with very specific outcomes identified, all of them being researched very rigorously, three through randomised control trials. Five of our evaluations have now been completed and published and the reports for those five are all available on our websites. We also have a policy paper for each of our evaluations and I have brought copies of those. They identify the key outcomes, findings, recommendations and policy implications. If people are interested, I can come back to any of those individual pieces of work.

After six years and having completed and published five of the eight independent evaluations, there are some recurring themes. They can be taken on the basis of the individual child and what we know about what helps individual children to achieve their maximum development. We also know there are things that happen at a family level, very importantly at a service level and also at a community level. Mr. Kelly and Ms McClory both talked about some of the outcomes for individual children and again we can talk to some of that, particularly regarding some of our speech and language, and literacy initiatives. At a family level the kinds of interventions all three of us have been doing are resulting in improved home learning environments with parents feeling more confident and able to engage to support their children's development all of which is very important. At a service level all three organisations have taken responsibility for co-ordinating, enabling and supporting an interagency approach to the needs of children and families in the community.

The work has identified some deficits that need to be addressed in terms of the pre-service and in-service training of professionals who work with children. All of our services work with professionals, who are qualified, well trained and well supported. Regarding all of our services, including those working with teachers, early-years providers, social care workers or youth workers, every one of our evaluations found that the professionals felt ill equipped to effectively engage with parents. Some really important policy recommendations need to be considered if we are all to be best fitted and best able to engage with children and families effectively.

My presentation deals with our approach to child poverty in Tallaght west. We do not believe it is possible only to work with the child. There is an ecological approach where we know that we also have to engage with the family and we have to engage at a community level. Poverty is at the root of dysfunction and disengagement, and underpins all the negative findings that our three communities have demonstrated for decades. There needs to be an economic response as well as individual child and family responses.

We have set out what we believe are really core processes that have enabled CDI in Tallaght west and all the other two sites to begin to develop, deliver and evaluate effective responses to child poverty. It needs to start with that interagency approach. That requires leadership, commitment and buy-in. The buy-in is about being prepared to do things differently. We know that for 20 years in Tallaght west there has been massive investment in children and families.

Every service one could ever want is in Tallaght west but we also know that until the last decade, there was no change in outcomes for children and families. Business as usual has not worked. It is not just about money or extra money. It is about changing the core of what we do and how we do it. Some of those processes are set out. I thank the committee.