asked the Minister for Health the provisions, if any, governing abandoned children or for those who have left their parents; if children in these circumstances are generally sent back to their parents or are kept in custodial care; if so, the number of these children in care and the location of same.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Treatment of Children.
37.
There are three main legal provisions for the care of children who have been abandoned or who are in need of care.
Under section 55 of the Health Act, 1953, health boards are empowered to assist a child who has been deserted by its parents or who is not being adequately supported by its parents, by placing the child in a foster home, in residential care, or if appropriate in employment. This is the usual way in which children come under the supervision of a health board.
Under section 59 of the Children Act 1908, a court may order that a child, who is found wandering abroad and not having any home or whose parents do not exercise proper guardianship, be put in the care of a relative or other fit person. A fit person may be an individual, or an organisation such as a health board. Where a health board is designated a fit person, the board have the choice of placing the child in a foster home or in residential care. A small number of children are supervised by the health board under this section.
Under section 58 1 (b) of the Children Act, 1908, a child who is found wandering and who does not have a home or whose parents do not exercise proper guardianship may be committed through the courts to a residential home approved by the Minister for Education. The number of children coming into care under this section is declining.
A decision to return a child to its family will be taken only when the health board are satisfied that the child will receive proper care and attention at home. At the end of March 1978, there were 994 children in foster care under the supervision of health boards. At the same time there were 897 children under the care of health boards. It is estimated that approximately 150 of these children were in care because of abandonment or desertion.
Is the Minister satisfied with the capacity of the various agencies to respond to the problem of abandoned children or children who have strayed from home? The figures he gave fortunately and thankfully relate to children in care but there are large numbers of children who regrettably are not under the aegis of any authority at the moment and who are abandoned and I am sure there are many more children we do not even know about.
Unfortunately there are such children and I am not satisfied that adequate provision is made for them at present. As the Deputy is probably aware we have a number of measures in train to deal with the situation.
38.
asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to recent reports indicating the very bad conditions under which children are living rough in Dublin city, and that there has been deliberate ill-treatment of these children in order to make them more effective beggars and that some of these children have become involved in crime in order to survive; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
39.
asked the Minister for Health if, in view of the growing number of reports of distress caused to itinerant and other children found on the streets of Dublin and other urban centres, he will convene a meeting of all interested agencies to review present procedures and personnel involved with a view to coping with this problem.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 38 and 39 together.
I am aware that there is a problem with regard to children living rough and wandering abroad in Dublin city and some other urban centres. Many of these children come from travelling families.
I have not had any reports of children being deliberately ill-treated for the motive mentioned by the Deputy. If, however, the Deputy has any specific information in this regard perhaps he would communicate it to me and I will have it fully investigated by the appropriate authorities.
The Deputy will be aware of the recent joint report completed by Dublin Corporation and the Eastern Health Board which makes specific recommendations to improve the services available for travelling children, particularly those who are begging in the city centre.
As I announced recently in Galway, I am making funds available to the Eastern Health Board to implement the recommendations of this report.
Funds are also being made available to health boards to enable them to develop new services and improve existing ones for travelling children.
I would regard the improvement of the quality of life of travelling children as one of the major objectives of the International Year of the Child in this country. It is for this reason that I have suggested to the National Council for Travelling People, at their annual conference in Galway, that they would prepare a comprehensive plan to help travelling families and their children. I envisage that the plan would be prepared in consultation with the various authorities involved and would have clear targets and a set timescale. The implementation of this agreed plan will have my fullest co-operation and that of the Minister for the Environment and the Minister for Education.
Is the Minister aware that there appears to be, from all reports, including the recent Hope Report, hundreds of children who unfortunately are not within the responsibility of any agency? Will the Minister agree that some change in existing legislation is necessary in order to ensure that when parents come before the courts there is automatically some kind of mandatory check on whether or not they have children? The Garda and others are doing good work in this area but there does not appear to be any automatic checking out of the existence of children. In some cases babies as young as six months old have been left alone for as long as a week. I am sure nobody in the House wants that. There is a loophole there that the Minister would want to close if it is at all possible. It may not be a matter specifically for the Minister for Health.
It is an important safeguard that must and will be made in the future.
The remaining questions will appear on tomorrow's Order Paper.