Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 29 Jun 2000

Vol. 522 No. 4

Written Answers. - Child Care Policy.

Róisín Shortall

Question:

146 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Health and Children if he has satisfied himself that he has struck the right balance in the formulation of his Department's child care policy in respect of the proportion of funding going to crisis management rather than prevention; the strategy, if any, he has in relation to prioritising prevention within the overall policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19084/00]

Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children (Ms Hanafin)

A number of factors impact on the balance of funding between preventative programmes and child protection and interventions, including crisis intervention, in the child care area. First, the introduction of the Child Care Act in 1991 placed new responsibilities on health boards and this development resulted in the provision of additional resources and in the prioritisation of funding intended to enable the boards to meet their obligations under the Act. Second, there has been a substantial increase in the level of reported and confirmed cases of child abuse in the past ten years. The number of reported cases has increased by 261% between 1988 and 1998 while the number of confirmed cases has increased by 171% for the same period. Third, there has been a substantial increase in the number of children in care – 52% over the period 1988 to 1998 from 2,614 children in 1988 to 3,984 in 1998.

Against this background, it was critically important to build up the intervention services and also to further develop the services for children coming into care.

Under the Child Care Act, each health board is obliged to promote the welfare of children in its area who are not receiving adequate care and protection. The Act makes specific reference to the provision by health boards of family support services and the Government is acutely aware of the need for further development in this area. This Government has put in place a number of initiatives to strengthen the preventative and early intervention services in the last three years. In 1998 the Springboard initiative was launched. This initiative has set up 15 pilot projects across the country to work intensively with children who are at risk of being taken into care or becoming involved in anti-social behaviour and their families. The projects have established formal collaborative structures involving the health boards and other relevant public agencies, the voluntary sector and the local community. A sum of £7.2 million was allocated to these projects from the young persons services and facilities fund.

In addition, a teenage parenting support programme has been established to help identify single teenage parents who are deemed medium risk at ante-natal stage, and once identified, provide a range of necessary support services through the pregnancy and beyond it for mother and child.

Health boards also provide financial supports to certain pre-school services which cater for children who are regarded as being at-risk or disadvantaged. Funding of approximately £3.9 million, capital and revenue, was provided by the health boards towards these services in 1999 and approximately 8,000 places were funded. An additional £1.75 million is being provided for this purpose in 2000. The Government will continue to give attention to this important issue.

Róisín Shortall

Question:

147 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Health and Children the proportion of funding for each health board area in respect of preventative services for children in the past three years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19085/00]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

As the information requested by the Deputy is not readily available I have referred the Deputy's question to the chief executive officers of the health boards and to the chief executive officer of the ERHA for their attention and for direct reply.