Dr. John Lawlor:

The information given today and the hurt that has been caused to people over decades is a source of great personal distress to me. A point was made about numbers. Each number is an individual who has suffered terribly. That also has an impact on our staff who live it on a daily basis. Our staff are very good people and very human in their response. I was heartened to hear the two testimonies offered in the previous session in regard to the actions of staff when working with victims. That has been my experience of our staff working with victims and, more recently, when they had the benefit of the professional guidance provided by Mr. Elliott.

There is no gainsaying that we have been badly stretched. A number of our staff have built up experience and received training as designated persons and in counselling services. We have redeployed front-line staff to do this work and plug the gaps. We have also engaged professional external counselling support. The service is stretched now. Over the past five months, our staff have been within days of receiving notice of being laid off, yet they continued to do a professional job, particularly in this important area. Their commitment is undeniable and they will continue to show that commitment. However, we desperately need to put additional resources into this area.

The Senator is right. I believe the information placed before the committee today was correct. It was important that we did that today. The move will encourage more victims to come forward, which is healthy. It is terrible that people have carried this burden without being able to reveal it for so many years. The Senator knows from her own work how that adds to a person's pain. We will work with people and find the resources to do so. We look forward to engaging with the Minister and her officials to see if they can help us in this matter.