Dr. Aideen Hartney:

The statistical and data analytics that will underpin projections for future need are within our remit. We have done some work on that in the past. Officials in the Department of children have taken it up and worked it in to a more future-facing thing. That is where we can be looking at the overall population structure and where emergencies might be likely to arise, particularly with an ageing population. We regularly include in our advice that reinstitutionalisation should not be the response to a crisis placement. That is where planning is necessary.