Mr. Cormac Quinlan:

We welcome the Minister's reference in her statement to the progression of proposals with the Department of Justice and Equality. We look forward to engaging on what additional solutions that might raise. I have worked closely with my Department colleagues and victim groups on this issue. I have also had a lot of contact with the special rapporteur on the matter. We believe legislative change is required if we are to have a role to play in respect of this matter. If we do have a role, we will have to do this work jointly with An Garda Síochána and with specialist teams of people. It is a forensic task and one not originally designed for social work. In that context, we need specialist teams to do the work. We will also need a form of independent adjudication in respect of these matters. Case law requires social workers to facilitate semi-judicial processes, where we are asked to allow people to cross-examine each other in respect of these matters and that is not the role of a child protection agency.