Ms Aileen Malone:

It was asked if there is something the Department of education can do. It occurs to me that we are linking children with women who are in addiction and who have already sought help. What about all those hundreds of thousands of children out there whose parents are not seeking help? After school clubs are something we do not provide here in Ireland very often. If we have somewhere for children to go after school, where they can be minded, get a hot meal, take part in activities and where there are stable adults to keep an eye on them, that helps us identify children who are at risk and then may be helped. Breakfast clubs could be something else as well.