Mr. Cormac Quinlan:

I cannot speak to the specific case. Unless there is an emergency – an imminent risk – we would not apply to court directly for an order. The expected practice of the organisation is to work collaboratively with families to try to achieve safety before bringing a case to court. If we did so, I am sure the court and everyone else would expect us to do as I have described. Even when children come into care, our first focus is on trying to reunite them with their families and maximising the opportunity to get them back home.