Mr. John O'Driscoll:

I sit on a strategic liaison committee with senior officials in Tusla and we have undertaken the task of monitoring the implementation of the recommendations. We have been in discussion with Dr. Geoffrey Shannon in recent weeks and have had numerous meetings with him. We have agreed to implement all the recommendations with slight changes to some of them.

These changes were agreed in discussion with Dr. Shannon. Most of the recommendations will take time to implement in full but many have already commenced.

One of the most important developments in An Garda Síochána has been the creation of the Garda National Protective Services Bureau. Many of the issues relating to vulnerable victims, children in particular, have been brought into this unit and expertise has been developed within it. The bureau also has a specific unit dealing with child protection issues called the national child protection unit. This is distinct from the Garda national child protection unit because it has been agreed that there will be permanent Tusla involvement in the former. Having the agencies working together is a key recommendation in the report.