Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. McCarthy. The witnesses are all very welcome. It is a very positive service at its best. It is a wonderful service. It is a sign of a civilised society that we are prepared to appoint guardians ad litemto children who are in very vulnerable positions. The best and most positive change is the fact that there will be a presumption on which judges will have to act. That is a huge change.

Having said those positive things I must continue in another vein. I read that we have the lowest number of guardians ad litemwith the least regulation of any country. The system is ad hocand unregulated and neither the role nor the service is defined. All the negative things have been said. The witnesses have come in here today, put their hands up and they accept the recommendations from the Comptroller and Auditor General, which is great. That is a good start.

Having said that, it beggars belief that there is no internal mechanism within the Department’s system to signal a problem. I fully understand that Tusla has no legal right whatsoever in regard to the service. It is simply the paymaster. What about the service's own internal system? Ultimately, we are completely reliant on the Comptroller and Auditor General to go in, identify a problem and come before us. That is a good system but where is the local responsibility and internal control mechanisms?