Mr. Rory Brown:

I want to come in on what Ms Bairéad was saying about the crisis in residential care and the issues that arise in that regard. Many of those issues come about due to the lack of support in residential care, especially public residential care under Tusla. That has caused many professionals working in Tusla to be under more extreme pressure, leading to many of them leaving the services. That means those in care, as Ms O'Toole and I were, have a constant rotation of people and many of them do not have a secure relationship with anyone. Given the lack of services for the caregivers in these homes, they cannot provide the services. They are working more on coping with the kids instead of actually helping them. That becomes a problem after a number of months or years. It takes a toll on those working in those services and they leave because of the pressures. That, in turn, means children in these residential care places experience problems having the secure relationships that are important. That is a deep issue in care homes and foster homes as well. Without the right supports, care givers are leaving and many children in care have to move to a different home. Many of the people on our council have moved care home at least twice, with many moving to a different home 14 or 15 times. There is no way a child can form a secure attachment in those circumstances. They do not have the supports to allow them to stay in the foster home or residential home and form those important relationships.