Ann Graves (Dublin Fingal East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to start by saying how valuable it is to our work to have the witnesses here today and their particularly detailed submissions. We would have loads of questions to ask but a lot of the answers to them are in the submissions already, which is brilliant for us.

I want to acknowledge the importance of the role that kinship plays in keeping families together and providing essential care, given the children who suffer from hidden harm. I thank Ms Rice for sharing her story. I was listening to her and thinking back to a famous documentary in the 1990s, called "They Call Me Mammy Now". I do not know if many of those present remember it but it was about the grannies in Dublin looking after their grandkids during the worst times of addiction and, of course, the HIV crisis. Here we are 35 years later and things have not really changed dramatically, including the services. We are still waiting for kinship to get proper recognition and support.

I read through the Kinship Care Ireland submission on the 10,000 to 12,000 children and the cost saving to the State. We are in budget week, yet nothing was given to these services. Not only that, but the grants for the task forces have cynically been cut by 25%. They were increased last year in advance of the general election but are down again this year. What has happened is appalling but we will all continue to raise awareness.

If the witnesses do not mind, I will ask a couple of questions of all of them so that they have more time to respond rather than me talking all the time. I was with FamiliBase this week and saw at first hand the excellent service being provided there, particularly its child-centred approach. Will Ms Kearney or Mr. Cummins - I do not mind which - expand on how FamiliBase would envisage tackling the causes and consequences of intergenerational trauma, much of it caused by addiction, drug-related intimidation and mental health issues?

I visited SAOL earlier this year and was struck by the compassion and strength the staff had for the women who had journeyed long and hard to where they were. Recently, I was at a Council of Europe meeting and I raised the issue of how difficult it was for women to access services, given that they were the main people looking after their kids, and the problems they faced. Will the witnesses highlight what services are in place or what services and supports are needed to facilitate children moving back in with their mothers and their immediate families?

I realise this can be difficult for all concerned. How can the fear, worry and anxiety be approached?

Ms Dunleavy is calling on the committee to demand cross-government support for kinship families. It is a great idea and I support it 100%, but what does she think it would look like? Which Department or Departments should do the work?