Ms Tanya Ward:

I will speak first and then pass over to Dr. Corbett. On child homelessness, it would be great to see some engagement from the committee because the homelessness and housing crises are now in a different phase due to the high numbers of children in homeless accommodation and overcrowded conditions. Sometimes two committees have come together to produce a report. Could this be an area where the children's committee and the housing committee come together to produce a report? Committees have a significant effect on how Departments prioritise, the work they do, etc. That could be an important intervention.

On the focus on funds, in particular going into child protection and welfare services, one of the problems for Tusla was that because it was founded during a recession, it did not have a lead-in time prior to it being established. A lot of political pressure was put on it and it has always been playing catch-up. Even though it receives significant increases in each budget, its funding is still behind what it needs to be based on the needs of the population that is coming through. A focus on that would be important.

I will pass over to my colleague, Dr. Corbett, to speak further on Tusla and some of the other child protection and welfare issues.