Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

To give reassurance, in every case in which a special care order is sought, a guardian ad litem is appointed in respect of the child. The guardian ad litem is effectively a witness who will outline the views of the child and also outline what, in his or her view, is the best interest of the child, which, naturally, could be two different things. In practice, the views of the child are always before the court.

As we have already pointed out, we are dealing with a statutory process that is overseen at all times by the High Court. I understand the Members present wish that to be the case and it is currently the law that the HSE in its function must promote the welfare of the children and "shall" have regard to the voice of the child. However, there are situations in which it would not be practicable, for whatever reason, particularly in the medical treatment situation, to obtain the view of the child. Nonetheless, at all times a guardian ad litem is appointed to give voice to what is in the best interest of the child in the opinion of the guardian ad litem.

While the HSE is routinely assumed to be up to something, trying to dodge responsibility or being inefficient, my experience of social workers is that they have the best interests of the child in their minds at all times. However, that is also balanced by the service that is provided on behalf of the child by the guardian ad litem in every single case in which a special care order is sought.

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