Ms Brenda Kneafsey:

I speak on behalf of parents of social care leavers, which may not be the standard families with which social workers are meeting. In the years I have been working with care-leaver parents, I have seen they have a fear of engaging with professionals. When I first started working in Dublin, a young parent spoke to me about being fearful even of meeting with the baby nurse. I did not understand this was a reference to the public health nurse. People have a fear that if they engage with professionals, that will bring Tusla through their door and they will be observed, judged and have to put up with all the stigma we have discussed.

People can be fearful of getting involved with professionals but the problem is that they have limited supports and resources. This is one thing Tusla does recognise about care-leaver parents. They are limited in their resources and supports and that may be why the spotlight falls on them slightly more quickly than it does on the general population. As Ms Ryan said, one of the things we are seeking is that parents get support when the referrals are being put in to Tusla, at the child protection case conference level or at the prebirth case conference. Parents need the opportunity to engage with services from which they can get the social, emotional, practical and information supports they need before things hit a crisis and we have to start looking at court proceedings. That would be much more beneficial to parents. If we worked on a level of prevention of children going into care, including intergenerationally, it would be a good way to start working.