Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I am delighted to be here and have the opportunity, with my officials, to engage with the committee on this matter. The general scheme of the Bill provides for the extensive reform of existing ad hocguardian ad litemarrangements in child care proceedings. Before going into the detail of the general scheme, I want to highlight a number of the key positive aspects and features of the reform proposals.

First and foremost, there will be a presumption in favour of the appointment of a guardian ad litemin all child care proceedings. Where the court decides not to appoint a guardian ad litem, it will be required to give the reasoning behind its decision.

A nationally organised, managed and delivered guardian ad litemservice will be established. The service will be responsible for providing guardians ad litemfor the courts and will support the professional practice and development of guardians ad litemand monitor their performance. It will also be responsible for making legal advice available to guardians ad litemthrough an in-house legal facility and arranging legal representation for a guardian ad litemwhere it is deemed by a service provider to be required. The role and functions of a guardian ad litemand the qualifications and experience required to act as a guardian ad litemwill be clearly defined. These are major changes in parts of the reform process.

In conjunction with reform in this area, my Department is progressing a review of the 1991 Child Care Act in its entirety. The detailed review includes identifying areas which need to be revised or updated to reflect current practices and respond to current needs. It also includes the examination of a number of potential new areas for development, for example, the inclusion of principles underpinning the revised Act, including explicit reference to the principle that all those involved in child care proceedings should promote and uphold the rights of the child. My Department has been engaging with Tusla and intends to commence a comprehensive public dialogue very shortly to inform this important review. It will be working with the Children's Rights Alliance in that regard.

With regard to the importance of guardians ad litemto the court and children, it is important to acknowledge that they perform a very important function in child care proceedings. They are an invaluable source of advice for the courts and also a great support for the children and young people involved in these proceedings.

I am taking a child-centred and a child rights based approach to the reform of current guardian ad litemarrangements. My focus is on ensuring all children in child care proceedings will have the opportunity to have their voice heard through having access to an independent guardian ad litem. The emphasis in these cases is on what is in the child's best interests. The first area of focus is on hearing the views of the child. One of the key objectives of the national strategy for children and young people’s participation in decision-making published by my Department is that young people will have a voice in the courts and the legal system. One such mechanism for hearing the views of the child in public law cases is the appointment of a guardian ad litem. Under current arrangements, the appointment is made where the court considers this to be necessary in the interests of the child and justice. This is entirely at the discretion of the individual judge. As this approach has resulted in the uneven appointment of guardians ad litemacross geographical areas, I want to ensure an end to inconsistency. The approach I am taking is that there will be a presumption in favour of the appointment of a guardian ad litemfor all children in child care proceedings. Where the court decides not to appoint a guardian ad litem, it must openly state its reasons for not appointing one, which might include choosing to hear the voice of the child through a direct meeting between the child and the judge in chambers. This presumption in favour is not intended to be a criticism of the judges per sebut to enable consistency for children throughout the country. This approach will help to ensure more children across the country will have the services of a guardian ad litem.

As members are aware, the second key reform is the establishment of a nationally organised, managed and delivered guardian ad litemservice, separate from Tusla. The purpose of the service will be to enhance the decision-making capacity of the courts by operating a well managed, high quality and cost-effective service in the best interests of children and young people. The new service will be established initially by means of public procurement to facilitate speedy reform. I will be the contract holder for the service and my Department will closely monitor its effectiveness and efficiency so as to inform its further development and final positioning in a new or existing reformed public body. Although I will be the contract holder for the new national service provider, Tusla will make periodic block payments to it for guardian ad litemcosts in accordance with the terms of the contract. Care has been taken in the general scheme to ensure the independence of the service and its guardians ad litemfrom Tusla by stating explicitly that the guardian ad litem is independent in the exercise of his or her functions and that Tusla will not exercise any governance or oversight of the service provider or the performance of individual guardians ad litem. This will limit any perception of a conflict of interest or lack of independence on the part of guardians ad litemor the national service.

The role and functions of guardians ad litemwill be clearly set out. They will have two functions, first, to inform the court of the child’s views and, second, to advise the court of what, in the professional opinion of the guardian ad litem, is in the best interests of the child.

The current absence of formal qualification requirements and experience standards for those who wish to act as guardians ad litemis being addressed. Those who wish to work as guardians ad litemin the future will have to have qualifications in social work or psychology and at least five years' experience in the area of child welfare and child protection. They must also supply a vetting disclosure document as provided for under the National Vetting Bureau Act 2012.

Under the proposals, access to legal representation will be more transparent and formalised. The national service provider will be required to provide in-house legal advice for guardians ad litemand will organise legal representation with expertise in care proceedings for guardians ad litemwhere the service is satisfied that the circumstances of the case warrant it. This approach will not remove the ability to engage legal representation which will be paid for by the State but which will regulate it in a way that is more cost effective, while still providing for the child’s rights to be vindicated. While this proposal will enhance governance, it is not a cost-saving exercise. It is about providing the best service for the courts and children to ensure the child’s best interests will be served and that children’s views will be taken into account in child care proceedings. We hope the intended approach will result in an increase in the number of appointments of guardians ad litem, with an attendant increase in expenditure on guardian ad litemfees and expenses and a reduction in spending on external legal advice. My aim is to refocus current expenditure in order that resources will be available to meet the increased guardian ad litemcosts by reducing the current spend on legal costs. I anticipate that the reforms will lead to substantially reduced legal costs. This will come about through the provision of in-house legal advice by the national service provider and the introduction of standardised legal fees for a national panel of legal representatives for those cases in which legal representation for guardians ad litemis required.

While every effort will be made to introduce these reforms within existing resources, I acknowledge that some expenditure could be required. Should this happen, any additional funding required will be quantified and sought by me in the context of the Estimates process.

My Department is carrying out a number of steps in parallel with the work on this Bill, including the preparation of requests for tender documentation for the procurement of a national service provider. It is intended that the new service will be evaluated over time. Other options can then be examined, as appropriate, including, for example, establishing the service within the proposed family court system or as a separate public body or placing it within existing statutory structures.

The proposed legislation has been designed to address the deficiencies in the current guardian ad litemservice that have been acknowledged by all interests. It is vital that we put in place a well organised quality-assured cost-effective national guardian ad litemservice as soon as possible and I am committed to achieving this. My Department and I will work intensively to implement it as soon as the Bill is finalised and enacted.

I look forward to our engagement which my officials will support. I know that the committee has listened carefully to other representatives and taken their views into account in its analysis. I assure it that it is my absolute intention in the light of our ongoing discussions to have the best Bill and service possible in the most efficient and speediest manner.