Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-30
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. There is no simple answer or response to this. I would have concerns about removing the in-camera rule in the children's court, which the Deputy has advocated for. We always have to protect children and it has to be our first priority in situations like this. That said, we should also be responsive to concerns parents and families may have about how the court system and the children's court work. We are open to engaging with advocates in that respect. There is a need for regulation around court-appointed experts who make submissions. I am aware of some cases that were very negatively impacted as a result of the inputs of some so-called experts, particularly in child custody cases. There have to be sufficient and effective safeguards for that.
We are improving resourcing of our children's court and will continue to do that. I will bring the issues the Deputy has raised to the attention again of the Minister. I know there was a Private Members' debate earlier this year. It is somewhat complex. The Deputy spoke about what he described as the historical failures of Tusla. I tend to take a different perspective on Tusla. It does not do everything perfectly in some respects but without question, if we take State agencies generally, it has probably one of the most complex, sensitive and difficult breadth of issues on its desk. These are not easily resolved and that should be acknowledged. That does not excuse any bad behaviour or poor performance but we have to look at it overall and we have to recruit more people into Tusla. We have to make sure that people in Tusla can reach their objectives of wanting to contribute to society effectively as professionals. I think the desire of the vast majority of people working in Tusla is to provide a good service to children and young people. It is not an easy area to come down on hard and fast. I am not saying the Deputy is suggesting that sort of methodology or approach to dealing with issues.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-30/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:00:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-30