Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not want to dwell on it. Many of the points on section 47 must be seen in the overall context of the lack of training and all the other points that might address the deficit more so but I stick to my point that in the present scenario there is a power imbalance between the parents and the person who does the report. This is just a fact from my experience. A parent who does not agree with a report done by a psychoanalyst, which is not a regulated profession, cannot complain about the conduct of the person in dealing with the assessment. That parent has nowhere to go. Obviously, there are psychiatrists but some of these people are very well known by the courts. If a report is done by such an individual and a parent must question it, he or she is on the back foot and is the neurotic mother or however the person has been portrayed. The parent might not agree with it but he or she has nowhere to question it. There is a power imbalance.

While I hear what has been said about selected delays, in my experience some people do so. It is not that unusual. It may not be in the majority of cases but some people try to drag it out and cause enormous hardship.

My list of questions is a bit eclectic because I do not want to repeat points that witnesses have made. I want to tease out issues for myself. Dr. O'Shea spoke about access cases and that there is no sanction for breaches of access. Nobody would be in favour of sending somebody to prison and fines do not really seem that appropriate either. Does anybody have an idea as to what sanction we could have for something like this?