Madam, - Carol Coulter’s article (Opinion, May 20^th) describes the role of a court appointed guardian ad litem as talking to families, teachers and the children themselves “in attempting to establish what is really in their (the children’s) best interests”, suggesting that social workers, the key professionals in this area, act in something other than the child’s best interest.  For this to be true, which it is not, social workers would not only be contravening their own professional ethics and standards but also the clear statutory duty delegated to them by the HSE under the Child Care Act 1991.... click here to read more..