Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Tusla has a short guide for parents arriving into Ireland. It answers the question, "Can I leave a baby home alone?" with, "No, not even for a few minutes." It states that a young child should never be left at home alone, not even for a short time. On the question of leaving an older child at home alone, the guide states that it is recommended that children under the age of 14 should not be left home alone for more than a very short time and that a child over 16 can be left home alone. We are at a variance here, coming back to Senator Higgins's point around "shall". The age limit of 12 is at a variance with Tusla advice with regard to children and minors being left alone. Are we saying children over 12 do not need their parent or that an arrangement that is working in the context of a workplace should be set aside because the child has attained 12 years of age? Tusla's advice is completely different. There is a disparity and we need some sort of consistency with regard to ages.