Mr. Pat Smyth:

I thank the Chairman for his comments. Lest there be any doubt about this matter, the impact of what we saw, as humans and parents, in the context of the care of children was unacceptable.

As the person who is holding the fort for Tusla and what it does, I feel - as has come across from the Department - that we need to make changes to provide the information that parents need. We are committed to doing that. If one thing comes from this meeting, it is the need for us, as people who work in the services, as parents and with the responsibilities that we have under Children First, to report incidents and issues as they emerge. This is paramount in terms of ensuring that we can protect children as early as possible. Regulation works up to a point but the reporting of these matters is the critical thing that can allow us to take immediate action to protect children. We have set out the additional powers that we think can help. We can work successfully with the Department over a short period in order to put those in place.