Ms Tanya Ward:

If I could come back on the point about one agency versus the Department. The difference between the voice of the child in court and the right of the child to access speech and language therapy is that the child has a constitutional right to have their voice heard in court. Unfortunately, the child currently does not have a constitutional right to speech and language therapy. We believe children should have that right. That is one of the rights that children have in the Constitution and it is fundamental that it is protected. I agree completely with the Chairman. We failed as a country to regulate the system and it has resulted in massive costs. Why are some GALs getting paid €300,000 a year? That is potentially more than some of the judges and some legal practitioners in the system. I agree with the Chairman. The fact that the Minister and the Department are moving to regulate this area is very important.

In terms of Tusla versus the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, we will not be creating another body by allowing the Department to directly manage the money going to this service. The creation of a new body would be if a new public body was established that involved some level of costs. Overall, in terms of the funding for the service, there will be more demands on the service but not every child needs the same level of support and representation. It is only if a particular problem arises on a case, and that is where the GAL needs to act. If we have regulation of a service, we will have value for money. The current pot of money will be better spent on the current cohort of children in the care system. The point to consider is that we will get a better service for the pot of money available to us. We might not get any savings but more children might be provided with a better quality service.