Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 8 December 2020

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs

Children's Unmet Needs: Discussion

Photo of Jennifer WhitmoreJennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for attending the committee today and for all the work they do on behalf of these children. Listening to Mr. Noble calling out the names of all the different organisations that come together to fight for these children's rights was stark. It is actually shameful how we treat those children. I have a number of questions.

We have heard much about the impact on children caused by the lack of services. I ask Ms Comerford or Ms Murphy to tell me about the impact on the families of these children, because theses children have parents and siblings who will also be impacted by the lack of services. When people come to me, parents are often at the end of their tether while trying to support their children. I ask Ms Comerford and Ms Murphy to talk about the impact on the wider family.

My question for Mr. Smyth is how easy is it to assess a child in 90 minutes. I am a mother of four children and were I to put my child into a room with a stranger who was tasked with figuring out where the child was coming from, whether there were any issues to be addressed or determining the child's personality type, my child would completely close up and would not get involved. I am just wondering whether that is easy or difficult. What are the potential impacts when children do not get the services they require when they require them? Does it come to a point where the situation is irreversible and it is impossible for a child to catch up on lost time if he or she has not received the early intervention he or she needed?

Mr. Noble works with and represents many families. Has he seen an increase in the number or the severity of cases? If so, what is the remedy for that? Is there a cost to the State at the end of that process? Do the children get the services they need at the end of that process?

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