Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Dr. Muldoon and Ms Ward for their presentation. This meeting has been a cursory glance over some of their reports, but I should start by complimenting them on their work, particularly how the office took the initiative as outlined in Dr. Muldoon's opening statement and investigated further when the complaint was dropped. Look at what the office has uncovered and the changes that will be brought about in the short term. Dr. Muldoon mentioned the White Paper. It is encouraging that much of it meets with his approval.

I will ask a number of questions. Do the witnesses know why the 2015 McMahon report was not acted upon? Was any rationale given or was the report simply shelved after its production? Regarding Tusla's involvement in direct provision, Dr. Muldoon highlighted the need for cultural sensitivity training. Has there been any? My colleague, Deputy Buckley, mentioned something that should be commonplace, namely, that people working with children at the very least be vetted. There is a great deal of cultural diversity in the direct provision system, yet no one had the foresight to train staff to deal not only with the various complexities of individual cultural identities but with the fact of many cultures co-existing in the same facilities.

I wish to ask two further questions. Three of the findings in the Safety and Welfare of Children in Direct Provision report stand out for me. I wish to ask about those. No. 3 relates to current inspections. According to it, the regime "does not take [into] account ensuring the ... supports are adequate to meet children's physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development". According to No. 4 on the frequency of current inspections, "IPAS failed to meet its own benchmark of three inspections per centre per annum" and did not conduct any inspection of emergency accommodation centres where children were residing. No. 5 on an independent complaints procedure ties in with Dr. Muldoon's reference in his opening statement to the need for an independent and robust procedure that people can trust and have faith in, given that, where they are coming from, faith in authority can be questionable because of what they have experienced.

Dr. Muldoon mentioned his office had written to the various agencies and that it would carry out six- and 12-month follow-ups. When was that correspondence sent and has there been any indication of a response yet?