Ms Tanya Ward:

I intend to share my time with my colleague, Ms Edel Quinn.

I thank the committee for the opportunity to present on behalf of the Children's Rights Alliance. We unite more than 100 member organisations and it is our goal to make Ireland one of the best places in the world to be a child. We are campaigning for the implementation of children's rights in our laws, policies and services.

We welcome the publication of the general scheme of the guardian ad litem Bill. This is a very important step.

It is an ongoing part of the dialogue that has been happening in this area with the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and the Department, and we welcome that. There has been extensive consultation in the development of it.

For many reasons, we welcome the establishment of the scheme and of the service. As Mr. Finlay stated, we are dealing with one of the most vulnerable groups of children in the country, namely, those within the child care system. There are approximately 6,500 children in the child care system. Only half of them have judicial supervision or even have the possibility of a guardian ad litembeing appointed. One should be aware that there is a possibility of a guardian ad litembeing appointed in the case of only half of the children in care.

The other point that comes through in respect of many of the children who are in the care system is, as Mr. Finlay stated, that they have been abused and neglected, and have been failed in some way. Through the 17 official reports, we know that the State has failed children in the care system in many different ways and we have to remember that. One of the most important and shocking findings coming from the Ryan report is that children did complain when they were starved and neglected. They tried to complain to various people but they were not listened to. That is why the voice of the child, and ensuring that children can participate in proceedings affecting them, is so incredibly important. We know the cost of not listening to children.

I will outline one or two positives of the scheme and where we might enhance those areas, and my colleague, Ms Quinn, will contribute. The first positive is there will be a national guardian ad litemservice that is established and regulated. That is really important. We know from the report on child care law reporting that there are potential issues in respect of the quality of service that is provided throughout the country. There is some very good service on one hand but we are not sure whether children are getting the best service on the other. That is why regulation is incredibly important.

One matter that is at issue for us is that while guardians ad litemwill be given independent status under the Bill, the service that is to be commissioned will not have independent status. That could be a serious issue for us because the service will be accountable to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. The financial management of it will be in the hands of the Child and Family Agency but the service itself will not have an independent status. For example, the Courts Service of Ireland is an independent service. Previously, the then Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform managed the courts service and there were serious issues around in the courts system's independence because the Department was directly managing it. It could be an issue. If the service itself is not given an independent status in the Bill, the Minister could impose certain restrictions, regulations and funding requirements that could impact on the overall independence of the service.

Another positive in the scheme is that there is a presumption that guardians ad litemwill be appointed in child care proceedings. That is a positive step. We know from the reports on child care law reporting that these are not appointed in all circumstances. Not all children who come before the child care courts get a guardian ad litem. That requirement should be extended to the Circuit Court and to the District Court. There should be a presumption that a guardian ad litemis appointed in all child care law proceedings. That is an important principle that we need in the future.

Another issue coming up in the Bill relates to the role that is defined in the legislation. At present, under the scheme of the Bill, the position regarding the role guardians ad litemwill play is quite circumscribed. Essentially, they will be expert advisers. The role of the guardian ad litemneeds to be extended. I will pass on to my colleague, Ms Quinn, to elaborate and explain, from a human rights perspective, why that is important.