Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Undoubtedly, the research should have been commenced before now. I could give the Deputy a range of bureaucratic reasons why that did not happen. What is happening, however, is that I have recognised this as an outstanding piece of work and I have prioritised it. I note the welcome that Empowering People in Care, EPIC, and similar groups have given to the announcement by the Government, an announcement that is backed up by funding. The project is structured and it is led by Tusla but it has the engagement of other groups as well in terms of the structure. We are serious about this. That is evident from the fact that we are not just doing the longitudinal study that is so essential, we are also doing the initial research looking now at young people ten years out of care and their outcomes. We are not waiting for the ten-year longitudinal study to go through; we will actually get some information now. It is also about better using the information we have through the NCCIS and allowing that to shape policy in the short term while we await the various waves of data from the longitudinal study.

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