Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

First, I welcome the update on Ms Tori Towey. I very much welcome the news that the travel ban has been lifted. It was appalling to see any woman, any Irish citizen, treated in this way. We all wish Tori and her mother well on their return home.

I want to raise the appalling situation facing so many vulnerable children in Ireland, namely, those who are in the care of the State. On Monday the Child Law Project published its latest volume, comprising 70 reports on court proceedings related to children in care, detailing some really harrowing and difficult situations for children, including concerns around sexual and criminal exploitation. The report also highlights a serious shortage of appropriate care placements.

The Child Law Project has been doing vitally important work in shining a light on in camera proceedings over many years now, since 2013. What does the Government propose to do when its contract comes to an end in October? I am very concerned, as is the project, that there will be no further communication between the courts and the public. The Ombudsman for Children has raised concerns too. We do not have any indication as to what will happen when the reporting of child protection proceedings comes to an end in October and whether any new mechanism for reporting will be commissioned by the Government.

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