Ms Karen Kiernan:

The Senator asked a very interesting question about family support and how to support parents. In Ireland, we have gradually moved to a more positive parenting structure. An example of where we are not doing it, however, is the child benefit issue raised by Senator Ruane earlier, which is a punitive measure on the child and parent. Much of the structure we have, whether it is in the voluntary sector, Tusla or the HSE is predicated on positive parenting and supporting people to do their very best. It is a massively under-resourced sector compared with other countries in terms of getting a focus on prevention and early intervention right. Tusla has a very difficult job because it has so many crises that are expensive to deal with. We know that if we invest universally for children in family supports, it brings much better results.

We can look at Scandinavian countries, where parenting support is not stigmatised. That is because every parent, whether it is a first or fifth pregnancy, does a parenting programme. It is completely universal and non-stigmatising. The voluntary organisations are funded in a way to support people with parenting challenges and the state has a different role in terms of supporting the child and keeping them safe. There is perhaps more of a distinction than we have in Ireland and that is one way in which this could work well.

One Family is 50 years old this year and we were set up as Cherish back in 1972 and we still work with many women who do not want to be pregnant or be parents but who end up parenting. That is a really difficult position and there are frequently not the kind of therapeutic and practical supports for them and their child that would allow them to bond and have a lifelong relationship. A reluctant mother is not spoken about widely but such people are real. They exist and this can happen in any socioeconomic background. It is important that infant and mental health services continue to be supported and built on in this country.

The Senator had a question about transgender young people and queries about gender identity. I know from my own life that this is a very complex area and, with respect, I suggest it is not linked to the availability of clothing. It is probably a little more complicated than that but it may be that a young person was perceived to be male or teased as being male because of clothing. That may not relate specifically to gender identity, although it is possibly a discussion for a more expert organisation, such as BeLonG To. It would be very helpful in that area.

My main concluding message is that we believe there is a very valuable and comprehensive report on child poverty that has been prepared and made available to the Minister, Deputy Roderic O'Gorman, and this committee. It lays out the structure, research and 11 areas of focus, with recommendations under each one. That is the pathway to developing a national child poverty action plan, which is what we need in Ireland. The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is currently leading with the EU Child Guarantee and an action plan to go with that, it is somewhat small-scale. The funding coming from that is small-scale compared with what we need. We need a higher level national child poverty action plan and we really hope the committee will be able to support the development of that in partnership with us and others over the coming months and years.