Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 6 Feb 2001

Vol. 529 No. 4

Written Answers. - Child Care Services.

Róisín Shortall

Question:

153 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Health and Children the legal and other requirements of health boards in respect of the placement of children within their care, the legal and other requirements of child care facilities in which health boards place children, his views on child care facilities which are operated by a security company (details supplied) such as a facility in the Eastern Regional Health Authority area, and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2938/01]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

The Child Care Act, 1991, and regulations made under the Act set out the statutory requirements in relation to the placement and care of children in services operated by the health boards themselves and by other service providers acting on behalf of health boards.

Section 3 of the 1991 Act requires each health board to promote the welfare of children in its area who are not receiving adequate care and protection. Section 3 also requires health boards to regard the welfare of the child as the first and paramount consideration and to have regard to the wishes of the child.

Under section 4 of the Act, health boards have a duty to take a child into care on a voluntary basis if the child requires care and protection, and is unlikely to receive it unless taken into care, provided the parents or persons acting in loco parentis consent to this arrangement.

Separate arrangements apply where the parents or persons acting in loco parentis do not voluntarily agree to a child being taken into care under section 4. These can be summarised as follows:

Part III of the Act provides for the making of emergency care orders; Part IV provides for the making of interim care orders, care orders and supervision orders; and Part IV – section 16 – also places a duty on a health board to initiate proceedings where a child is considered to require care or protection. Section 24 restates, in respect of proceedings regarding the care and protection of children, that the welfare of the child shall be regarded as the first and paramount consideration and that regard shall be had to the wishes of the child. Against this broad statutory framework, health boards act in the best interests of the child concerned and deal with each individual case on its merits.

Where a health board takes a child into care in accordance with the provisions of the 1991 Act, it has two main options in regard to the placement of the child – either foster care or residential care. Both types of care are regulated by Part VI of the Act and associated regulations.

In regard to residential care, a health board can either place a child in a residential home which it operates itself or it can place the child in a children's residential centre, that is, a registered centre which is not operated by a health board. Residential homes are subject to inspection by the social services inspectorate under section 69 of the Act and children's residential centres are subject to inspection by the health board in whose functional area they are located in accordance with Article 18 of the Child Care (Standards in Children's Residential Centres) Regulations, 1996, these regulations also incorporate a Guide to Good Practice in Children's Residential Centres.

I have been informed by the Eastern Regional Health Authority that the area boards in the eastern region have been placing children in houses run by the child care division, as distinct from the separate security division, of the organisation referred to by the Deputy. At present eight children are being cared for under this arrangement. This service is availed of as an interim measure as the boards are currently developing a wide range of new and alternative services for children and young people in the region. All staff employed in the child care division of the organisation concerned have obtained Garda clearance and about 50% have a recognised qualification in child care. Other staff have relevant qualifications for working with young people.

Regular reviews are held in the case of children placed with this organisation, a teacher has been appointed to provide daily tuition and prepare the young people for mainstream education. A staff consultant/trainer has also been engaged by the organisation concerned.