Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I know this is accepted by the witnesses but this is the very nature of the way the system works. I do not act in the area of child care proceedings but as a solicitor in family law, I will obviously benefit more from going to court than not going to court, and the same applies in this case. This is the biggest issue in relation to the guardian ad litemsystem and we must ensure it does not happen in future. We must examine the reasons the payments range from €40,000 to €240,000. Is this being monitored? I am not casting aspersions on individual guardians ad litem. If there was a set salary, as is the case in other jurisdictions, it would remove this variation and save the taxpayer more in the long run. Everyone accepts that the children in question are extremely vulnerable. They come from dysfunctional backgrounds and often want to stay in a dysfunctional family rather than be taken into care. The guardian ad litemrole is extremely serious. Whether one or two guardians ad litemare being paid more or used more than others, the quality must be looked at. I am not suggesting there are cosy relationships or anything like that but we need transparency in this area.