Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is fine. Senator Noone and Deputies Rabbitte, Sherlock and Funchion have indicated but I first have a few initial questions.

I thank our guests for attending. The speed at which they made themselves available is appreciated by all the members. I also thank the members for making themselves available at short notice during recess. Although the Dáil and Seanad are not sitting, their presence this morning shows that the members are absolutely still at work. As has been indicated in both opening statements, members of the public including the committee members were shocked and horrified by the events we witnessed on "RTÉ Investigates". A word of thanks should go to the makers of that programme for their work in highlighting these issues affecting some of the most vulnerable citizens of the State. It raises fundamental questions when it comes to the standards and practices within the sector. Our guests have been very good in providing information as to the number of inspections. On radio last week, Mr. Lee stated that over 50% of operators here are inspected and that this is a significant percentage when benchmarked against the figure for the UK, which is only 5%.

I am interested in discovering what is the position elsewhere in Europe, particularly the Nordic countries. I would like Mr. Smyth to provide that information during the course of the meeting, if possible.

I only have three questions because I know the other members are waiting. It is important that Tusla stated that it believes that this is an isolated, or at least very rare, incident. Tusla also stated that there is a high rate of inspection, that the number of facilities shut down is low - Mr. Smyth mentioned five in the past 18 or 19 months - and that more than 138 operators deregistered themselves in 2018.