Ms Kate Duggan:

I will talk about the question around enforcement. It is important, more for public reassurance, that a safeguarding statement will not be deemed compliant if it appears to be cut and pasted, because it certainly has to reflect the organisation, its duties, what it does and the types and mitigation of risks. Every parent should understand he or she can ask to see a copy of the child safeguarding statement. I will not go into it now, but results that have come from that public survey show the need for greater awareness with regard to what all of us can do as parents, individuals, organisations, communities and a State to make sure we are creating that culture. Mr. Corcoran will talk about the current powers.

When we talk about an organisation being Tusla-funded or not, if we have a concern about any organisation that is State-funded, either about the safeguarding statement or if our children first officers, who are proactive, have a concern, whether it is international protection accommodation services, IPAS, disability centres or many organisations throughout the country, we will always escalate that concern to the relevant funder or parent Department with regard to the sectoral leads. The vast majority of organisations receive some element of State funding. We have powers to share our concerns with State funders, whether that is to leverage funding or with regard to the overall sectoral responsibility.