Ms Kate Duggan:

It is, absolutely. Fifteen of those deaths were as a result of natural causes. Tusla is very grateful that in communities right throughout the country, there are foster carers who take in children with life-limiting conditions and neurological conditions. In the wider child population there are, unfortunately, children who die of natural causes every year. Over that period of almost 11 years, eight of those children died by suicide. That goes back to what we said earlier about the supports needed for children with mental health issues and suicidal ideation. When Tusla talks about a whole-of-government approach, we recognise that children in care have experienced very traumatic life events by the nature of the fact they are in care and we think they should be prioritised for access to clinical services.