Ms Nuala Ward:

On the complaints that are out of our remit, they include a range of matters. For example, we get complaints about private family court matters. That is not within our remit. Unfortunately, clinical judgment is not within our remit and that is a problem for some families. We also get contacted with complaints about the Garda but obviously that is for Fiosrú, the Garda ombudsman.

The Deputy is absolutely right to raise the issue of crèche complaints. We do not have any remit in respect of private crèches but we continuously get complaints from very upset, distraught parents who have nowhere to go when they have a serious complaint about a crèche. As the committee knows, Tusla has a regulatory oversight role of these crèches, similar to HIQA, but it does have any remit to look at individual complaints. We get complaints about children who are being expelled. I use the word "expelled" to reflect the educational settings that our early years settings are supposed to be. There is no fairness of procedure and no right of appeal. We also have parents who are very upset about some of the welfare issues they may be facing.