Ms Clare Murphy:

You might go to your local social work department, which would engage with Barnahus, or you might go to your local Garda station and gardaí would engage with Barnahus. Wherever the child or parents present, they would know the referral process to Barnahus. The Senator also asked what is different about this process and it is fundamentally different. A child is now coming to one centre rather than going to the local social work department, going to the local Garda station or, in the old days, going to the local hospital for a medical. All of those services will now happen under the one roof and that will avoid any retraumatisation of a child because the child would only have to tell the story or make the disclosure once. It is much more child-friendly and analysis and research have shown it is a better, more child-friendly and more appropriate approach. The process is quite different and better.