Dr. Niall Muldoon:

In terms of the undocumented, I could not agree more with Deputy Rabbitte. I have met a number of very articulate and intelligent young people who are as Irish as can be yet their fear of being deported to a place they have never even seen just because their parents originally came from there is palpable. I contend that members of the Oireachtas must find a way to legislate for such instances. Politicians have spent a lot of energy trying to legislate for the undocumented Irish in America. Can an amnesty or legislative option be provided that will give undocumented children here the opportunity to come clean and emerge out of the shadows? It behoves us to do so. There are 5,000 children in this situation, which is more than are in direct provision and lots of other areas. Such children have a huge contribution to make to this State.

However, after they finish the leaving certificate there is no personal public service, PPS, number or opportunity to be in third level education where they can thrive. We are losing a great deal of opportunity in that way as well. I do not have an answer, but I wonder if a conversation should be conducted in the Houses of the Oireachtas to try to do something about that.

Regarding Oberstown, 2016 was certainly a tumultuous year. I am aware that both the director and representatives of the management appeared before the committee in the recent past. Again, we engage actively with Oberstown. We have an in-reach there on a monthly basis and we engage with the young people directly across the different units. I have regular meetings and ongoing contact with both the chairman and the director. From our point of view, there are always things that could be improved. We are awaiting the publication of the judgment from the High Court. What has been reported in the newspapers highlighted concerns around the quality of reports, policies, administration and the like. The Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, was also very critical of some areas. We are very much aware of that and we look into it any time we engage with Oberstown. However, we put an emphasis on trying to meet and be a resource to the young people as quickly as possible when we are out there, to let them know we are available. It is same as we are doing with direct provision - creating a relationship with unit managers and ensuring that if people wish to make complaints they can come to us.

The overall concept of Oberstown is moving in the right direction but there is a great deal of work to be done in that regard. Deputy Sherlock talked about the non-publication of the report by Professor Barry Goldson and Professor Nicholas Hardwick. That is unfortunate. When one seeks transparency from that organisation, it is crucial to call in such experts. It is a shame that the publication has not happened, whatever the legal advice. I am aware that the authors were happy to work with Oberstown to try to find a way to publish a report of some type, so it is unfortunate that we have a set of recommendations with no context. I am concerned about that.

With regard to Tusla, my colleague, Nuala Ward, the director of investigations, knows the details.