Ms Kate Duggan:

Section 5, under the legislation, concerns a right to accommodation. It is where children are being accommodated by the State. Again, from a legislative basis, one of the things we have recognised in respect of the cohort of young people, particularly those coming from Ukraine or who are now coming from further afield and the increase in the number of those, is the response that we offer to those people if they are here for the long term.

We asked the Children's Rights Alliance, with the support of the Minister and the Department, to convene an engagement with more than 35 stakeholders to look at how the State can better respond in terms of health needs, accommodation, and their care status. Many of these young people are in contact with their families on a daily basis. There is a question over whether they are coming into the care of the State legislatively, being volunteered into care, or if they are seeking accommodation.