Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I concur with Deputy Funchion on that. When we discussed it in the Chamber the last time, I spoke strongly about the role of the witness, the definition of the witness, that the guardian would only be called once, and that he or she would then be asked to leave the proceedings. We all know that cases in family courts or any courts can take a long time. It is not over in just one sitting and could go on for nearly a year. That is why I do not like the idea of the word "witness", and the one report or one viewing and then having to leave.