Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the witnesses for their informative presentations. I only read them this afternoon so shall now go back through them again. I wish to mention a couple of aspects, some of which have been covered.

Ms O'Callaghan mentioned that there is a need to carry out comprehensive, evidence-based assessments, in liaison with a full multi-disciplinary team and to consider the advantages of longer orders. I understand the need for stability for the child. I believe cases need to be dealt with speedily, which would benefit the child and the family.

Is there a worry it could drag on for a long time if it does not have a specific timeframe?

We spoke about training. Is this on-the-job training or off-site training? What type of costs would be involved in that?

Dr. Buckley mentioned the allocation of social workers and that there are 9,500 children awaiting the allocation of a social worker, 3,000 of whom are regarded as at risk. She said that in such pressurised circumstances they would be extremely compromised, that it is unrealistic to assume that all of the most urgent cases are receiving a response and that, according to her calculation, we would need 200 more social workers. What are our chances of getting them?

There are funding issues. Money was allocated in the budget but from what I gather from previous meetings, the money allocated in the budget will not be enough even for the agency to stand still. What implications will that have for accessing the 200 more social workers we need to deal with the problem?

A viable solution for the agency was mentioned. One proposal was the provision of early intervention and services, including social work services, to children and families in the sites where difficulties emerge. Should services be outsourced and if so, to whom would they be accountable? Who would administer those local services?

The inconsistencies throughout the country struck me. In almost every aspect, things are done differently. Dr. Coulter stated that in Cork, almost half of all hearings were reviews of existing orders and that care orders are made for relatively short periods of time - typically six months. What is the identifiable reason for this? Is it a matter for the judge or the particular court? What system is best and how do we measure it? It was stated on a couple of occasions that we do not have national templates or databases, so how do we measure this?

Two of the presentations mentioned child poverty and I refer to UNICEF's report last week where Ireland came 37th out of 41 countries. That is something on which we need to work and of which we should be ashamed.