Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 11 Feb 2003

Vol. 561 No. 1

Written Answers. - Crisis Pregnancy Agency.

Jan O'Sullivan

Question:

127 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health and Children the progress which has been made to date with regard to the establishment of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency; the number of staff recruited to date; when it is expected that the agency will begin to offer a service to the public; the nature and terms of that service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3424/03]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin):

The Crisis Pregnancy Agency was established on 2 October 2001, under the Health (Corporate Bodies) Act 1961. The agency is a planning and co-ordinating body, rather than a provider of services. The task of the agency is to draw up a national strategy to address crisis pregnancy and to oversee its implementation, in consultation with Government and other non-statutory agencies. The agency became fully operational in 2002, however, as the agency is not a service provider, it will not be providing a service directly to the public.

The prevention of crisis pregnancy in the first instance is a primary goal of the agency. Preventative issues concerning the education of young adults, as well as services appropriate to their needs and lifestyles will be addressed. The agency will work to develop strategies to make women more aware of their options, should they have a crisis pregnancy, and to improve the supports and assistance available to women in this situation, so that they will feel that they will have genuine alternatives to abortion. Women who have had an abortion, either recently or some time ago, have particular needs also and this is another area which the agency has been asked to address. The agency will work towards ensuring quality services are developed, where women are treated with compassion and understanding and that both their emotional and physical health needs are attended to.

I appointed Ms Olive Braiden as chairperson on 3 October 2001. Eight board members were subsequently appointed. The board meets on a monthly basis and also works through a number of sub-groups. A director and two senior managers – administration and programmes and communications – were recruited in May 2002. A research officer, health promotion and education officer and an administration officer as well as administrative support staff are also in place. To complete the agency's staff complement a second research officer will be recruited in 2003.

The statutory instrument under which the agency was created provided for the establishment of a 20-person consultative committee which would provide expert advice to the board of the agency. This committee was established in November 2002 under the chair of Dr. Linda Hogan and has various statutory and non-statutory organisations represented on it.

A strategic framework, which will identify the various strands of the strategy to address crisis pregnancy in Ireland, is currently being drafted. Work will then commence on the development of the agency's strategy to address crisis pregnancy with a view to having it completed by the end of the year. It is hoped to incorporate an action plan for the coming years in the strategy. This will provide the agency with a framework to implement its strategy in a planned and structured manner. This will form a key part of the agency's work in 2003.

In May 2002, the agency invited funding proposals from service providers. The merit of each proposal was assessed and the agency allocated €900,000 in 2002 to carry out innovative work in the areas of information provision and capacity building. This funding has knock-on costs of €1.898 million for 2003. Funding proposals for capacity building in the provision of the coun selling services will be evaluated in March, and new funding proposals will then be invited.

A major information programme was developed by the agency in 2002 to promote information on support services in crisis pregnancy. Entitled the Positive Options Campaign, it focuses on making women more aware of their options, should they have a crisis pregnancy, and improving the supports and assistance available to women in this situation. The project has been developed in co-operation with Cherish, Cura, Dublin Well Woman, Irish Family Planning Association, Life, Pact and Treoir.

Phase one of the positive options campaign included media placement, an SMS pilot, an information leaflet, posters, a web portal and dedicated crisis pregnancy web pages on service provider sites. Additional elements, such as supports for ethnic groups, a telephone information line and Aertel pages are currently being assessed. Further initiatives will include intensive advertising of each campaign element and targeted promotions within particular settings such as the workplace and third level colleges.

A research programme also commenced in 2002. The main priorities for this area include the development of an initial framework, an audit of existing research and an analysis of research gaps.

The National University Ireland, Galway, has been engaged to carry out a major piece of research into current counselling services in Ireland. This research will be completed by April 2003 and will inform the future direction of counselling services. Other developments in 2002 included an audit of the services provided nationally.

In conclusion, the establishment of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency is intended to play a major role in the development of co-ordinated, responsive and appropriate services. The agency hopes that, over time, it will be possible to reduce the incidence of unwanted pregnancies among Irish women and ensure that women who find themselves in this situation will have available to them the widest possible range of assistance to help them deal with their situation.