Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I do not want to dampen the good work that the office has done to highlight the matter by asking about respite care for children with disabilities. Such families need support because they are at breaking point and I see that on a daily basis. Next year the number of complaints made to the Office of the Ombudsman for Children about education might slip downwards but complaints about health care provision might increase.

In the short time available to me I shall focus on areas that I have noted. The witnesses have spoken about direct provision. I am also interested in what happens to undocumented individuals. Yet again I shall talk in local terms and refer to the undocumented Brazilian children who live in Galway and Gort. How can their voices be accessed? They are petrified about communicating with services due to being undocumented. They believe they could end up in a worse scenario than children in direct provision and be deported. These undocumented children have become an integral part of the community and are in education. When one considers their undocumented status one must talk about the visa details that have been stamped on the passports. As a result they can complete their leaving certificate course but they cannot access third level education. This year nine such children in Gort sat their leaving certificate examination. Unfortunately, none of them could get into third level education because of the passport stamp on the passports of their parents.

I want to discuss Oberstown. When I think of Oberstown I recall the fire in 2016, prisoners on its roof and all of the various riots that took place there. Is the Ombudsman satisfied that the management and board of Oberstown have adequately addressed the issues?

I have read the Ombudsman's annual report. I noted that the vast majority of complaints about child protection and welfare related to Tusla. Can the Ombudsman provide the committee with general details about the serious issues raised in this regard? Has there been good dialogue and follow-up?