Mr. Fred McBride:

I can kick off and colleagues can assist if necessary. I reassure the committee that the Signs of Safety approach is not some naive, soft approach. This is very much about a detailed examination of risk factors and the capacity of a family to put a safety plan in place around a child. It does not mean we will not remove children from high-risk situations. Indeed, the approach is used where children are already in care and already separated from their families. This is a detailed examination of the capacity of the families to receive those children back into their care. It is not always applied when the children are at home. It very much means we will still have to remove children from risky situations. I offer that reassurance.

There are aspects of it that have been used in practice in Ireland but it has never been used as a whole-system approach and a whole-system change.

That is the approach we are now proposing.

My colleague, Mr. Cormac Quinlan, will speak to the level of training that has been taking place in Tusla. We will subsequently reach out to partners to provide training. The reason that we alighted on this particular approach is that there was or is a cohort of social workers in Ireland who are broadly familiar with some of the tools and practice approaches and while we are using parts, we are not using the whole approach. I apologise for the jargon but we are planning integrity to the whole approach as part of a whole system change. It is not just about front line social work practice but about aligning all of our policies and procedures with that approach. It is, therefore, a much wider and deeper change. Perhaps Mr. Quinlan will give us an indication of what is involved in this as he has been leading out the training around this. We are using experts from abroad who designed this whole approach. They are currently living in Ireland and working with us intensively as we roll out this approach.