A new state body to protect children has been billed as a ferocious corporate parent demanding the best for the country's youngsters.
The Child and Family Agency will takeover the role of three separate bodies to improve services for children, which the Government says is the most effective response to repeated and tragic failings of the past.
It will have 4,000 staff, a budget of 609 million euro and a national network of 106 community based family resource centres.
