Dr. Fergal Lynch:

In fairness, if I may say, it is not only Barnardos, with due respect to them, and I have a high regard for them. We had a major consultation process with all of the major stakeholders. We had 26 written, detailed submissions from all the stakeholders, ranging from the Judiciary to the courts system to people like the Children's Rights Alliance, to Empowering People in Care, EPIC, to a range of other providers, all involved in the service. We set out for them a range of options under each of these headings, asking what they thought we should do. We analysed the views and the submissions put forward on that basis. I do not think we are flying solo in the sense of just seeking an alternative and hoping that it will work. This has been the result of a good deal of analysis over the last while. I accept that there will be debate along the way as to what constitutes the best type of service provider, if there should always be a guardianad litem, and if there should always be legal support. Despite everything that has been said this morning about legal support and the cost of it, some will still argue that every guardianad litemshould have legal support. We are not accepting that, and we are offering a different approach.