Mr. Pat Smyth:

From Tusla's perspective, obviously where there is a child protection issue, we have children who are in accommodation with disabilities. At the moment, we have got approximately 70 kids in those placements and in the majority of those cases, Tusla will agree to take on the care of those kids through the joint protocol. Tusla are the main owners of the placements in those conditions.

The protocol has been useful over the past while to ensure there is better clarity on that. Mr. Walsh indicated earlier that we have reached a point where the arguments over who pays for those are a lot less than they are but there is still an area where there is a lot of resources required. Those cases, together with around 30 of what we call our legacy cases, which are there for a long time and which Tusla look after, cost almost €40 million. It is an expensive business, and one that requires a lot of resource. Both agencies have been working to try and ensure that is not an issue over the past while.