Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

-----but it is an example of the thinking that is going on.

I welcome Dr. Lynch's opening statement. The only part of it I did not like was that part in which he talked about the need for significant reform, which he mentioned at the beginning of his statement. He said that one of the issues is that the service is essentially demand led and determined by decision of the courts, as if that is in some way a disadvantage. It should be demand led. The Department should not restrict the demand for services that are required for vulnerable children. Dr. Lynch has referred to this demand-led nature as one of the negatives. I thank God the service is demand led. If the Accounting Officer had control over it and it were not demand led, I would be afraid that children would just be put on a waiting list as in everything else. It must be a demand-led service. It cannot be the case, as happens in the HSE, that a person is placed on a waiting list for two years. I will come back to this in a moment. The witnesses understand my point. The demand-led nature of the service is a positive, but Dr. Lynch seems to think in his Department that because of the cost, it is a negative.

I want to ask Dr. Lynch a few basic questions about the guardian ad litemservice to get the basics right, even though they might be slightly legalistic. Who appoints the individual guardian ad litemin a court in Limerick or Thurles or Galway?