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

I thank Senator Ruane for raising this important matter. I am aware of the vulnerability of people leaving care. I met with representatives from the Irish Aftercare Network on Monday, and we had a good discussion. It is not the first time I met with them. I have met groups such as Empowering People in Care, EPIC, so I am engaged with people, both dealing with children in care, and those supporting children in aftercare. I listen carefully to what they have to say.

As the Senator is aware, the Ryan report implementation plan recommended that a longitudinal survey will be carried out to follow young people for ten years after they left care, with the agreement of the young people involved. At various times over subsequent years, consideration has been given by my Department to how to best implement this recommendation. Tusla and my Department commissioned a feasibility report, of which the Senator spoke, which was authored by Dr. Carmel Devaney and Dr. Clíona Rooney of the UNESCO child and family research centre at the National University of Ireland Galway and which was published in 2019. The report provided evidence and learning from longitudinal studies in other countries and, importantly, it also recommended extending any consideration of longitudinal research to include children in care, as well as those who are leaving care. The report highlighted the need for more information regarding the experiences of and outcomes for children in care and leaving care in Ireland, which could then be used to inform policy and service development.

There is an agreement between my Department and Tusla that greater knowledge of the lives of children in care, as well as those leaving care, is needed. It is accepted that the Ryan report recommendations should be extended to include both cohorts. However, the scale and cost of longitudinal research is substantial. As a result, careful consideration needs to be given to whether and in what format a longitudinal study on children in care and leaving care should be carried out. There have been significant developments the collection and analysis of administrative data on children in care since the publication of the Ryan report. These also need to be considered and incorporated in any decision that is made on how to proceed.

We established a working group between my Department of Tusla in November 2020. The purpose of the working group is to inform me of the ways in which the Ryan report recommendation for longitudinal research into the lives and experiences of children in care and those living care can best be met. This will include consideration of the feasibility of conducting longitudinal research with these children and young people. The working group has met six times to date. There are two more meetings planned for October and November. It is my expectation that the working group will produce a high-level report in which it will outline the findings and conclusions of its work. I will consider this when making a decision on how best to proceed.

The working group was originally meant to report in quarter 3 of this year. As has been the case with so many aspects of Tusla's operations, the cyberattack has delayed that. I am now expecting the report by the end of 2021. That will allow me, hopefully in early 2022, to make a decision on how we provide the best available research for children in care at the moment and those leaving who are leaving care.