Mr. Fred McBride:

The Deputy poses a good question. I think that we are going to have to. If we - I have a slightly different view about this - are going to move towards a presumption of every child in court proceedings having a guardianad litem, then clearly there are going to be more of them. Yet if it is proposed that they must have a qualification in social work, then there are only so many social workers available and only so many social workers graduate every year in Ireland. Therefore there is a real danger that we will lose these. The stipulation in the new legislation will be that they will have to be five years qualified. We will not lose them to new graduates. Eventually there is a risk that we will lose front-line child protection social workers to what is perhaps seen as an easier business.