Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I welcome all our guests. I thank them for their advocacy work because that is what makes the difference. It is important that they continue to raise the questions and pursue the homelessness agenda, which is the focus of today's meeting. Without them as strong, independent and fair advocates, many of the issues in the debate would get lost. They are doing a great job. I am sure they do not always believe that themselves. I am sure they are pulling out their hair and are frustrated, as many of us on the committee are, but I ask them to keep up their work because it is very important.

I will direct my questions to the National One Parent Family Alliance. All homelessness is a disgrace and a shame, but especially its impacts on and trauma for children. Ms Bayliss talked about that in great detail. Her organisation is an alliance of people with lived experiences.

You cannot beat lived experiences, and the State has an obligation, as we know, to protect the child. There is so much work on it and so much thought about it. Particularly at this time, there is a lot of debate about the family and children. We have to acknowledge that there is huge child trauma, a lack of support workers and serious issues with a lack of support for young people leaving institutional care in particular. They are vulnerable at the best of times but they become more vulnerable and subject to an awful lot of other abuses outside of a structure. They do not have a family support, a network or a grounding and they become terribly vulnerable. We hear of the shortage of key workers for children, that is, child advocates who can advocate for them. While there are advocates for parents, children have to be protected as individuals themselves. It is about their rights, their future and their lives. Then we hear so much about emergency accommodation.

I ask the following of the National One Parent Family Alliance in particular but I would like a number of views. What has been the witnesses' experience with Tusla? Tusla has an awful lot of questions to answer too, as we know from other experiences and previous reports. I would like the witnesses to share with me and the committee their experience as regards the vulnerability of these children, particularly children coming from care and single-parent families who have economic disadvantage. They have so many disadvantages and vulnerability. As to how the witnesses interface on behalf of the people they represent, can they share with us some of their experience and networking with Tusla?

Can all the witnesses leave this meeting and say they are not aware of unregulated care for minors in this State? That is the greatest travesty, and we know that such minors exist. I am aware of them, as is the Garda, which has concerns. The witnesses might touch on those two points. Maybe we will start with Ms Bayliss. I am very conscious that time is tight, so if they could be concise, I would be grateful.