Ms Kate Duggan:

I keep pre-empting this because we have to get the final terms of reference from the Department and the steering group but when I talk about the other things such as the automation and the technical aspect that is just around getting valid data and making sure we can do it as quickly as possible in terms of being able to access other State systems to provide us with information about where to look, for example. What we are saying around this welfare check, and what is very important to us in particular when we look at Children First, is that we can identify that every one of those children is engaged with the relevant State service, whether that is through the public health nurse or through their school, and that there is an independent assessment of the fact that the persons do not have a concern, or if they do have a concern that they have referred it to Tusla or that it is being referred to Tusla. That is the most critical thing. If we believe that we need to contact the family we will of course do that. If we have to go out to a school and put our eyes on a child and check that, we will. We know that the mandated persons understand their obligation. They are in contact with us every day if they think they have a concern, or if they are not so sure and they ask "What you think?". They have an opportunity to speak to somebody, to talk to somebody, and to get their questions answered. We will not be verifying that welfare check as being complete until we have the assurance from that professional or mandated person that they do not have a concern about the child.