Ms Alice Leahy:

I thank Senator Boyhan for raising this issue recently and powerfully. We do not work with children because we do not have the facilities and it would be too dangerous. However, we are acutely aware of the group of young people that the Senator speaks about. In our early days working here, all the people we met came from the institutions of the State. It is in the past now but we still meet people from those days. It is shocking to see young people coming from care with nothing in place. More than any other group, they need compassion. That might be the wrong word to use but they need to be helped, understood and supported on the next step of the way because that is the most crucial one in their lives. They can so quickly get sucked into homelessness and relationships that certainly would not help them. This is important and it is why I said earlier that we need to look beyond just housing and have all the services in place to help young people to use the housing. I know there is a good project in Dún Laoghaire. It should be replicated throughout the country. We can only do this if we listen to the young people, have patience, give them time and try to understand what they are going through.

Whatever we do, we need to make sure that it is a way to support them. "Rescue" is the wrong word to use because if they are not supported at this vulnerable stage, their future is bleak. What resources are there before they leave? We need to get the help to them at the beginning but when they end up in care, what resources are in place to enable them to move forward with some degree of confidence? That has to be addressed by government agencies and people like the Senator who are in a position to do something. That will only happen if the front-line workers who are attempting to support these young people are listened to. One needs to be with people. It is challenging and difficult but it is essential.