One in eleven Irish children say their lives are negatively affected by parental alcohol problems – that’s more than 100,000 children (ISPCC 2010) while one in every six cases of child abuse in Ireland is attributed to substance abuse (CMO, 2010). In June 2011, there were 6,175 children in care, the largest number since records began, with more and more cases of neglect being the reason why children have been taken into care. We have more than 12,000 that are known to the care system – that is, where an expression of concern has been made to the HSE about their wellbeing.