Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-30
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Paul Nicholas Gogarty (IND), Dublin Mid-West

The Taoiseach mentioned Tusla. I would be the first to say there are many great people working in Tusla who deserve commendation. Tusla needs to be resourced better and it also needs greater scrutiny, as has been mentioned by other Members of these Houses in various contexts.
I am concerned that the Taoiseach is concerned about the abolition of the in-camera rule because we have to look at best practice. A number of pilot studies were done in the UK. After these, when the abolition was rolled out, it was found that no harm was caused to children and there were no breaches of anonymity. By being able to report, it shines a light on the decision-making process and puts more scrutiny. In any situation where a light is shone on something, it makes people think twice, even in terms of the media reporting on the Houses of the Oireachtas and this debate being televised. Scrutiny is needed at all stages. Groups like the Alliance of Birth Mothers Campaigning for Justice, the Right to Transparency and the Walk in Our Shoes campaign are consistently advocating for this reform because they see every single day in the courts where children are being hurt. We need to review this and look seriously at how the English and Welsh court systems have moved forward.

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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