Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 21 Feb 2001

Vol. 531 No. 1

Adjournment Debate. - Child Care Services.

Ms Fitzgerald

I welcome the opportunity to raise this issue which has been raised previously in the Dáil. I thank the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Hanafin, for being present to respond.

This week in the High Court Mr. Justice Peter Kelly said that the State's record on troubled children had "descended to new levels of farce". He was concerned about a situation where a 13 year old and a 14 year old boy were placed in hotels. He was informed that there were no places available for them for months. He said that he would not lend the court's approval to the detention of troubled children, some of whom have a propensity to violence, in a less than secure facility. He also said that he had grave concerns about the security of other hotel guests.

As the Minister of State is aware, that is but one in a series of cases about which concern has been expressed. I will give the House other examples which illustrate that residential child care is in crisis. A troubled 13 year old boy was held in a Dublin Garda station for five days. A teenage girl was detained at the Central Mental Hospital. A 15 year old boy was forced to sleep in Pearse Street Garda station, while a 14 year old spent a number of nights in Waterford Garda station. It is clear that young people who are most at risk are staying in a variety of accommodation, including Garda stations, bed and breakfast establishments, hotels and psychiatric hospitals instead of the high care secure facilities in which they should be placed which offer good therapeutic help. I ask the Minister of State to explain to the public the numbers of children at risk who are being placed in such accommodation. Can she explain to the public the reason places are not being provided and when the Government intends to provide them?

It is clear the situation is unacceptable. There have been crises in many sectors, whether it be the agricultural sector or others, which can be responded to by Government. Why is this not being regarded as a crisis? Why has an emergency package of measures not been announced to deal with it? We have a national children's strategy, but it rings hollows when the day-to-day position facing some of our most vulnerable people is exposed in this way. Action can be taken which could make a difference.

I am sure that the Minister of State will indi cate that residential child care is going through a difficult period. Staff working in this front-line area must be adequately rewarded and supported and trained. New initiatives to recruit and train staff must be put in place. I refer the Minister of State to Austria where this issue has been tackled. Many people want to work in this area, but they must have the supports in place to enable them to do so. In Austria, for example, appealing courses have been put together. Support has been given to workers in this area which means there is no shortage of workers willing to do this difficult work.

We have a problem which must be tackled. The Government and society must recognise the invaluable work child care and residential workers are doing. There is no doubt that for too long social services have been the poor cousin. Just as we need careful planning to implement infrastructural investment, we need careful planning to implement services for children. We need the equivalent of the national development plan for children. If there are barriers to providing secure places, such as finding suitably qualified staff, I ask the Minister of State to take further action and obtain the support of the Government to remedy this problem. Nowhere is the need for a co-ordinated approach more urgent than in relation to children. We know many of the reasons many children are vulnerable and we also know many of the consequences if they do not receive help, therapy and appropriate intervention. It is a political imperative that we take decisive action. We must not wait for the next crisis in placement to emerge in this area.

Ms Hanafin

I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to reply and indicate yet again that the provision of child care places and our policy in relation to children is a priority for the Government and has been since the day we took office in 1997. That is evident from the fact that we have invested more than £90 million extra revenue in the development of our child care services, including new child and family support services, such as specialised fostering and early intervention projects, to allow health boards to provide for a range of appropriate interventions which will place specialised residential care in an appropriate context. This additional funding has allowed the health boards to increase the number of high support and special care places. When this Government took office there were only 17 such places. Unfortunately, from the time of the High Court case in 1995 not one extra place was provided by the previous Government nor was there any planning for such places. Now we have a total of approximately 70 places, which includes one third of the 24 places in the purpose built special care unit at Ballydowd in Dublin, which is ready, but which can only be opened on a phased basis due to the difficulties in recruiting staff.

A number of special arrangements have been provided for by health boards for individual children. This will continue to be a feature of the boards' responses to the needs of troubled children. A national development plan exists for the provision of places. The health boards identified the need and plans are under way to provide an additional 56 places nationally. In the Eastern Regional Health Authority area the construction of a high support facility providing 24 places at Portrane has commenced. It is anticipated that this unit will be ready by autumn 2001. The Midland Health Board, the North Eastern Health Board, the North Western Health Board and the Western Health Board are co-operating to provide 12 high support places on a single campus in Castleblayney. Places being provided in the other boards include ten high support places and a special care facility with five places for adolescent boys in the Mid-Western Health Board and five high support places for boys in the Southern Health Board. These places are due to become available by the end of 2001.

As mentioned above, special arrangements for individual children will continue to be provided. This will bring the total number of places available to approximately 160 at a total capital cost of approximately £30 million. There were 17 places when the Government came into office.

I draw attention to a number of points in relation to the speed at which the development of high support and special care can be undertaken and put in place by health boards. Because of the public perception of these services and some opposition from local communities I understand from the health boards that sourcing suitable sites or premises has been difficult. This complicates and lengthens the planning process. The current economic climate makes the recruitment of staff difficult. This has meant that health boards have had to recruit staff from outside the State. Against this background, considerable progress has been made by the health boards in putting this programme of developments in place.

The Children Bill, currently before a committee of the House, provides for a number of important measures for non-offending children in need of special care or protection. These include Part 3 of the Bill which empowers health boards to apply to the courts for special care orders to detain non-offending children in need of special care or protection and Part 2 which introduces the family welfare conference on a statutory basis for the first time. The family welfare conference has been operating on a pilot basis for the past year. It has been evaluated and given us some valuable guidance and information for the future.

The Government also recognises that research is needed to establish what works in responding to the needs of children. It is not enough to be well intentioned. Our policies need to be underpinned by solid, research based evidence. In this context, the Deputy will be aware that a £200,000 annual research fund has been established under the aegis of the National Children's Office as part of the national children's strategy for research into the needs of children in care.

Child welfare services are not just about additional funding and additional specialised residential services being put in place. They are, more importantly, about ensuring the highest standards in the provision of these services, especially in the provision of services for children in care. Considerable progress has been made since the Government came into office, with the establishment of the social services inspectorate on an administrative basis in April 1999. In the first three years, the inspectorate is concentrating on the child care area and, in particular, on residential child care services. I acknowledge the important work the inspectorate has done to date, in a spirit of partnership with the health board management and staff and other providers of services, in recognising best practice and in helping to improve standards.

Having considered the matter carefully, including concerns about isolated instances where standards of care have fallen short of what is expected, I intend proposing to Government that the social services inspectorate be established on a statutory footing to strengthen its role in ensuring that our child welfare services are of the highest standards. Such a development would also complement the role of the office of the ombudsman for children, which when established will act as a powerful advocate for children and promote the welfare and rights of the child. Along with the ombudsman for children, I intend to continue to be an advocate for children and I know that I have the full backing of the Government in ensuring that will happen.