Ms Fiona Murray:

I did not know Senator Ruane was leaving right now and wanted to refer to reunification. There are a couple of points to be made, even on what Mr. Broderick raised. We would hope to see reunification talked about at all points when a child comes into the care system. Every child has the right to go home. In certain circumstances, that will not happen, but as advocates we would push for it to be considered for every young person, even at the point when his or her first care plan is drawn up.

We have seen some really good examples of reunification, but Mr. Broderick’s point, and some of Ms Dunne’s points, concern the fact that the safety net can be missing. With some of the families and parents, the safety nets are few and far between. It can be a case of examining the life circumstances of a best friend. Some of the expectations around reunification can be really challenging for the families we engage with.