Ms Michelle Monaghan:

Regarding judges, we speak on behalf of the mothers who have come to us. Anna has spoken about the podcast series she recorded. From those interviews, mothers do not feel they can get good representation in court. Many of them rely on legal aid and feel it falls short of their needs and their children's needs. We have discussed privately with the mothers whether the children should have separate legal representation but that is another avenue. At the end of the day, the mothers do not feel represented and sometimes have to represent themselves with no knowledge of the law. The very simple fact of the matter, whether you are legally trained or whatever, is that they feel the truth is not put on their file to the judge so the judge can adjudicate in a balanced way. They feel like their story has not been given to the court in a balanced way. Sometimes reports that have been made about that mother, which fall into that in camera rule, are not seen by them. How can a mother fight her case in court when perhaps the judge does not even realise that the mother in front of him has not seen the documentation Tusla has written about that mother?