Ms Catherine Bond:

Dublin south-central is another area that is facing severe pressure, where there are very high levels of children in care. New social workers are coming in but are moving on very quickly. I refer to our opening statement where I said that it is critical for a child in care to develop a very open and trusting relationship with the social worker overseeing his or her care. It is very important that the child is allowed to build up this relationship. If he or she has anything he or she wants to say or is unhappy with a placement, it is important that he or she has a named person with whom a relationship has been developed and who is available so that anything that needs to be disclosed can be disclosed. The Department of Children and Youth Affairs is working to respond to our submission under the review of the Child Care Act. We will seek an update on that.