Ms Sara Phelan:

I agree with the Cathaoirleach. It is a fundamental right where a child is being removed from their parents. That is one of the most serious issues of all. I know that the civil legal aid scheme is under review at the moment. I am part of the civil legal aid review group. Certainly one of the issues that the group is looking at, without divulging any discussions, as such, is the fact that vulnerable individuals need to be provided for within an expanded civil legal aid scheme. To the best of my knowledge, and I stand to be corrected on this point, if a vulnerable parent in those circumstances has the wherewithal to go to a law centre, the parent would not have to pay a contribution to the law centre. It is one of those exceptional cases at the moment where the right is so fundamental that a contribution is not required. I can say that in the context of the civil legal aid review group, those very vulnerable individuals are being considered.