I also extend my sincere condolences to the family, friends and co-workers of the late Seamus Carroll and especially his wife, Treasa.

Last Sunday, a dignified protest was held across all Twenty-six Counties by women and men seeking a transparent, trauma-informed and trustworthy family court system. Those involved walked a mile in solidarity with people affected by ongoing failures in this deeply flawed system to highlight the damage that has been and is currently being done to children in particular. In some cases, children's shoes were left outside courthouses as a symbol of who is affected most. This is not a legacy issue of abuse. It is one that is ongoing and still hurting children and parents, especially but not exclusively women.

The Taoiseach may be aware of this grassroots campaign. It is called Walk in Our Shoes, and today a group is walking peacefully from the Four Courts to outside these Houses of the Oireachtas. They are walking right now, as far as I understand. They are doing it because the system is not fit for purpose, whether it is the in-camera rule, which allows bad decision-making to be brushed aside, or the over-reliance on so-called experts, some of whom appear to act as paid shills or devotees of a cult rather than focusing on putting the voice of the child first. We then have historical failures by Tusla, which are still going on all over the place. Most recently, we had appalling abuses over 12 years where a proper investigation did not take place because of an over-reliance on cultural sensitivities, among other things.

We had a very good debate last April on my Private Members' motion which called on the Government to replace this outdated, blanket in-camera rule with a controlled transparency framework, while implementing strict regulations on court-appointed experts and strengthening statutory oversight of Tusla. I mentioned that the current in-camera rule forces child custody access and childcare proceedings to happen behind closed doors. It creates a culture of silence that disempowers vulnerable parents and also masks the systemic under-resourcing, groupthink and poor decision-making that go on. This lack of scrutiny has led to so many children being exposed to emotional harm. Some who are now over the age of 18 are telling their stories but some are still in the system. While Ireland delays its own 2025 review recommendations, we now have jurisdictions like England and Wales, and the pilot in Northern Ireland, where they have transitioned to controlled transparency. Where the in-camera rule has gone, the assumption is that bloggers and journalists can report while also protecting the anonymity of children. We have had meetings with the Minister for justice. Guidelines have been promised on these so-called experts in the court that judges hugely rely on. However, I am worried that we are not going fast enough and that children are still going to be systemically abused because a light is not being shone on poor decisions and in some cases corrupt ones.

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.

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.

I will refer the Deputy's comments to the Minister. My instincts are to protect the child at all costs. We should never underestimate the impacts of trauma on a child at an early age in terms of the child's subsequent life journey and that would be my concern. I will be honest with the Deputy and say that I am not aware of the evaluation of the systems in the UK. I am open to looking at that but we need to remember that trauma can have a longer term impact on children. I will discuss this with the Minister for justice and ask him to come back to the Deputy on it.