Dr. Fergal Lynch:

We had the findings of a report by Dr. Carmel Corrigan from Trinity College who did a very good thesis on the voice of the child through the guardian ad litemsystem in child care proceedings and gave us a very good piece of qualitative research. She directly interviewed children and young people and that informed the Department's thinking on areas of reform. While we could not at the time consult directly with children, we do a lot of consultation as a Department with children. We have a participation unit that does that. We used Carmel Corrigan's work and we were also very conscious of the contacts we had with organisations that deal directly with children.