Ms Anita Harris:

We do. There is a large evidence repository of randomised control trials all over the world. When it was brought to Ireland in 2014, Dr. Jo-Hanna Ivers in Trinity College carried out research to see if it would work in an Irish context, with an Irish cultural aspect to it. It absolutely does. The evidence indicated significant differences in lower levels of depression, anxiety and stress, increased levels of confidence and quality of care given. What is central to the Parents Under Pressure programme is the recognition that in order to support the child, you have to support the parent. The parent can be that person. It involves actually being able to measure capacity to change, so following doing some work with parents, if they do not have capacity to change, actually making decisions about whether the child might need an alternative carer for a period, or concluding that the parent does have full capacity but has so many stresses and pressures. It is an active case management model that now establishes what supports need to be put in place, what is available and advocates for them when they are not available.

People mentioned earlier the after-school clubs and the home liaison. They are specified to some areas. We need to recognise that communities have changed. Many years ago there were disadvantaged areas; I came from one and I know it is no longer disadvantaged. It is still considered to be disadvantaged but elements of that area are actually really highly privileged people because they have started building around these areas. Even when we talk about community now, and I am delighted Deputy Graves said it there, most people from Dublin have moved outside of Dublin because they cannot afford Dublin. The urban boundary has been expanded, with zero services. Every county in Ireland is affected by substance misuse. A lot of services that are trained with Parents Under Pressure are in specific areas but why should somebody from Cavan or Leitrim not be able to avail of it? Why should they have to go to Dublin?