Dr. Liam Thornton:

There has been a study done, I believe, by Dr. Deirdre Horgan and others in University College Cork. That study focused more on how children, and more so their parents, come from an institutionalised setting of direct provision, and when they deal with primary schools, sometimes the treatment they receive is not all that pleasant and is not all that different from the control experience within direct provision centres. I believe I have the precise study cited in a footnote.

I wish to back up some of the points made by Ms Ward, Ms Ahern and Ms Finn on aftercare. First, legally speaking, nothing prevents Tusla from offering aftercare to aid ill or separated children. To my knowledge, that discretion power of Tusla has never once been exercised. Dr. Muireann Ní Raghallaigh of University College Dublin, in a number of studies dating back to 2013, has pointed out what we are providing. We have to recognise that, for those who are separated children under 18, Ireland has probably one of the best systems, certainly in Europe if not the world. It is all about building resilience, independence and capacity. As Dr. Ní Raghallaigh has noted, once they turn 18, we tell them to go live in an institution where their meals are provided and they are given a few bob for themselves for the week. The early part of their entry into Ireland is one where there is some form of wraparound care and then, when they are 18, they go into a hostel where every single decision possible is taken away from them.