Thursday, 25 Oct 2012

Written Answers Nos. 30-44

HSE Staffing

Questions (31)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

Question:

31. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the anticipated number of social worker posts that will deal exclusively with children and family issues under the aegis of the Child and Family Support Agency, following its establishment as of 1 January 2013; the number currently in service with the Children and Families Service of the Health Service Executive; if and when a recruitment process will get underway to ensure the anticipated complement will be available to the new agency; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46758/12]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

The HSE compiles a monthly census of employment in the public health and social care sector. The most recent figures supplied by the HSE indicate that the number of WTE social workers employed in the Children and Families Service area of the HSE was 1,300 at the end of July 2012. The number of social workers employed in the Children and Families Service area at the end of February 2011 was 1231. The HSE has made considerable progress over recent years in recruiting additional social workers, with 260 social workers recruited under the Ryan Implementation Plan. The National Director of Children and Family Services, Gordon Jeyes, will continue to apply his discretion to the filling of social work vacancies, taking account of identified need and subject to services being delivered within available resources.

It is important to emphasise that work is ongoing within the HSE on the disaggregation of the Children and Families resource base from the HSE as part of the process of establishing the new Child and Family Support Agency next year. Consequently the number of social workers assigned to the Children and Families Service area will continue to be subject to change as the mapping/classification of posts into care groups is further refined between now and year end. Information regarding temporary and permanent contracts has been sought from the HSE. This information will be provided to the Deputy as soon as it becomes available.

Question No. 32 answered with Question No. 26.

Youth Services Provision

Questions (33)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

33. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she is satisfied that a network of youth or youth liaison officers are likely to be a feature of future child support whether in conjunction with child protection legislation or otherwise; the extent to which adequate enhancement of child psychological services is likely to emerge; if she intends to produce a menu of such support services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46765/12]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

The Youth Affairs Unit of my Department administers a range of services and programmes for young people through a number of different schemes. Funding of some €56.806 is available in 2012 to support the delivery of these services and programmes through the different schemes which include the Youth Service Grant Scheme, the Special Projects for Youth Scheme, the Young People’s Facilities and Services Fund, Youth Information Centres, the Local Youth Club Grant Scheme, the Local Drugs Force Task Scheme and certain other programmes including Gaisce - the President’s Award. These funding schemes support national and local youth work provision and involve approximately 1,400 paid staff and 40,000 volunteers working in youth services and communities around the country in some 477 projects.

As a support to this significant infrastructure, my Department provides funding for the employment of 24.5 (WTE) Youth Officer posts in VECs throughout the country. These Youth Officers have an important role to play in the delivery of quality youth services funded by my Department. They assist my Department also in administering grant-aid funding allocations to the local youth services/clubs in their respective areas. Youth Officers have a specific function in supporting the implementation of the National Quality Standards Framework (NQSF) for staff-led youth work around the country and they will have a significant role in the implementation of the forthcoming National Quality Standards for Local Volunteer-led youth groups.

One of the core principles of the NQSF and the National Quality Standards is a commitment to ensuring and promoting the safety and well-being of young people. Youth Officers support youth projects and organisations in working to achieve key indicators in this regard for young people attending services. Children First- National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children is being implemented by the youth sector throughout their services with the support of the National Youth Council of Ireland’s Child Protection Programme which is funded by my Department. The Youth Sector will work closely with the new Child and Family Support Agency to promote children and young people’s safety and well being.

The final report of the Task Force which I established to advise on the necessary transition programme to establish a Child and Family Support Agency, made recommendations on a number of key issues. These include recommendations on a range of services, including Child Psychology Services, which, in the opinion of the Task Force, should fall within the remit of the new Agency. I share with the view of the Task Force, that in order to achieve genuine improvements for children and families, the Agency must have a broader focus than child protection. Prevention, early intervention, family support and therapeutic & care interventions are all key to the provision of integrated multi-disciplinary services for children and families based on identified need.

The Task Force recommendations are being given detailed consideration in preparing for the establishment of the new Agency, and I will bring proposals to Government in this regard. It is my intention that the Child and Family Support Agency will assume statutory responsibility for services for children and families in early 2013. The necessary legislation is being prepared by my Department as a priority.

Foster Care Provision

Questions (34)

Peadar Tóibín

Question:

34. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the progress being made by the Health Service Executive in their efforts to ensure that all foster carers are fully compliant with all regulations and standards, including full vetting; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46762/12]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

All foster carers must be assessed and approved by the Foster Care Panel prior to placement of a child in their care, except in circumstances where a child is being placed in an emergency with relatives. The placement of children with relatives in an emergency is covered by Part III of the Child Care (Placement of Children with Relatives) Regulations 1995. A preliminary assessment of suitability is carried out at the time of placement and in the vast majority of cases the full assessment is commenced. Assessment of suitable candidates for children in care should not be rushed as time is required for all parties to seriously consider the task been undertaken. The quality of the assessment is more important than the time frame in which it was carried out. Efforts are ongoing to ensure that all foster carers are fully compliant with regulations and standards, including full vetting. The National Standards for Foster Care in place since 2003 are inspected against by HIQA who have been resourced to undertake an increased rate of inspections commencing later this year.

Child Care Services Provision

Questions (35)

Mary Lou McDonald

Question:

35. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans to ensure the registration and regulation of all paid child minders; her plans to introduce child protection training and Garda vetting requirements for the sector; her plans for routine inspections; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46754/12]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

My Department has begun work on Ireland’s first Early Years Strategy. I have received Government approval for the approach I am taking in developing to this Strategy as an innovative and dynamic blueprint for the future development of Ireland’s Early Years sector aimed at providing a coherent approach to seeking to improve the lives of children from birth to age six. One of the issues of policy which I have identified for consideration in the preparation of the new Strategy is the development of the child minding sector as a fully-integrated component of early childhood care and education, in particular for under-one age group.

At present pre-school services are regulated under the Child Care (Pre-School Services) (No.2) Regulations 2006, as provided for under Part VII of the Child Care Act 1991. Services providing care for children who have not yet commenced primary school are required to notify their service to the Pre-School Inspectorate of the Health Service Executive (HSE) and are subject to inspection and report by the Inspectorate on a regular basis. Services covered by the Regulations include full-time, part-time and sessional services as well as childminders taking care of more than three pre-school children from different families in the childminder’s home. Childminders taking care of not more than three pre-school children from different families are not covered by the Regulations, recognising parental choice to place children with friends and neighbours, and the challenges of the over-regulation of the more informal arrangements chosen by parents.

The National Guidelines for Childminders, compiled by the National Childcare Co-ordinating Committee which oversees the development of an integrated child care infrastructure throughout the country, provide guidance to childminders on good practice, and assist them to decide whether they are subject to the Regulations, as well as providing other useful information on the role of the childminder in the provision of child care services.

As is the case with all regulatory requirements, the Child Care Regulations set the minimum standards which services are legally required to comply with. However, my Department is pro-active in monitoring, promoting and developing the highest standards of care and education throughout the sector, including the regulatory environment, given the important role which these services play in this crucial phase of children’s lives.

The Children First National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children, which I published in 2011, provides clarity and guidance for individuals and organisations in identifying and responding appropriately to child abuse and neglect. It also sets out what organisations that care for or work with children should do to ensure they are safe whilst in the care of the organisation. The Government has committed, as a priority, to the introduction of legislation to underpin Children First.

The Deputy will be aware that I published the Heads of the Children First Bill in April 2012. The purpose of the Bill is to ensure that organisations and professionals who work with children have a statutory responsibility to report reasonable concerns about the abuse or neglect of children in their care to the HSE Child and Family Services. I asked the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children to consider the Heads of the Children First Bill and make recommendations. I received their comprehensive Report in July and I thank the Committee for its work on this matter. My Department is currently considering the broad range of submissions to, and recommendations of the Joint Committee, including those submissions pertaining to the issue of childminders, and I hope to be in a position to publish the Bill in the coming months.

Children in Care

Questions (36)

Sandra McLellan

Question:

36. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent of aftercare provided; the length of same to young persons who have been resident in high support and special care unit residential places up to their eighteenth birthday; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46759/12]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

The national HSE aftercare policy 2012 states that all young people are assessed for an aftercare service from 16 years onwards. The length of time an aftercare service is provided is dependent upon the assessed needs of the young person, but is generally provided for up to the age of 21 years or 23 if the young person is in education. Young people in special care and high support have an equitable right to the aftercare service, based on their assessed needs, as any other child in care.

The HSE aftercare policy sets out that young people over 16 years of age will have an assessment of need carried out and a leaving aftercare developed. This plan is then put into place when the young person leaves care at 18 regardless of the type of setting from which they are discharged. A young person may access the after care service for an assessment of need at any time up to age 21 even where they have not taken up an offer of aftercare services when they left care at age 18. As stated above, the basis of the service is an individual needs assessment which identifies a young person’s need for accommodation, financial support, social network support and training and education. The level of support required will vary for each individual from advice to accommodation to further education, employment or training and social support. Many young people in foster care remain in their foster care placement as their aftercare support.

The HSE National Aftercare Service is underpinned by a National Policy and Procedures Document which was developed in co-operation with the key stakeholders, including the voluntary sector agencies representing children in care and those involved in aftercare provision and my Department. The policy commits to promoting and achieving the best outcomes for young people leaving care and in ensuring consistency of support to these young people.

Question No. 37 answered with Question No. 8.

Question No. 38 answered with Question No. 26.

Question No. 39 answered with Question No. 17.

EU Presidency Expenditure

Questions (40)

Gerald Nash

Question:

40. Deputy Gerald Nash asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide in tabular form the total amount allocated by his Department to the operation of Ireland's forthcoming Presidency of the EU; if he will provide direct comparisons with the amount spent by his Department during Ireland's previous presidency in 2004; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47046/12]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade

An overarching focus of the Government in planning for Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union during the first half of 2013 is to perform this important function in an efficient and cost-effective manner. An effectively managed Presidency will deliver long-term reputational benefit for Ireland. Short-term benefits include significant benefits for the local economy from an influx of up to 15,000 delegates, press and representatives of NGOs who will use local services including hotels, restaurants, taxis etc. over the six month Presidency period.

The use of Dublin Castle and a small number of other state-owned venues mainly in Dublin to host most Presidency meetings will reduce venue hire, transport and set-up costs, not to mention significantly reducing the “carbon footprint” of the Presidency. The procurement of most logistical requirements for the Presidency is being centralised to reduce costs, reduce administrative burden, and increase efficiencies. Procurement is being carried out on a collaborative basis involving principally my Department, the National Procurement Service and the Office of Public Works. Purchasing is being conducted transparently and on a competitive basis.

As the planning of the operational elements of the 2013 Presidency are more centralised than for our Presidency in 2004 and because both the configuration of Government Departments and the nature of the Presidency role have changed in the interim, some caution should be exercised in making direct comparisons between expenditure in 2003/4 and expenditure linked to the current Presidency. Set out below, and drawn from the Appropriation Accounts for 2003 and 2004 and the Revised Estimates Volume for 2012, is a table showing the expenditure specifically incurred or allocated for the Presidency. In neither case does it take account of expenditure incurred under different account codes that was directed towards the Presidency but which was not directly charged to Presidency allocations.

Allocations for 2013 have not yet been decided but the Government decided in December 2011 to allocate a total budget in the order of €60m over 2012 and 2013 to resource the Presidency, which excludes security costs. This budget is broadly in line with budgets for recent Presidencies hosted by other EU Member-States.

EU Presidency Expenditure	2003	2004	Allocated 2012
Department/Office	€'000	€'000	€'000
Taoiseach	0	1,568	1,950
Finance/Public Expenditure & Reform	312	2,863	2,338
Justice & Equality	1,023	4,122	1,264
Garda Síochána	1,196	33,478	0
Environment, Community & Local Government	966	2,474	632
Community, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs	0	299	n/a
Foreign Affairs and Trade	10,708	21,372	8,850
Communications, Energy & Natural Resources	563	2,522	156
Agriculture, Food & the Marine	0	1,119	0
Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation	503	2,552	1,956
Arts, Heritage & the Gaeltacht	0	3,616	1,389
Defence	0	1,638	49
Office of Public Works	0	0	4,000
Education & Skills	0	0	175
Social Protection	0	0	8
Health	0	0	300
Children & Youth Affairs	n/a	n/a	97
Total	15,271	77,624	23,164

Consultancy Contracts

Questions (41)

Barry Cowen

Question:

41. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide the name, costs, date of commission, date or expected date of publication and name of the external consultant of all external reports commissioned by his Department since March 2011. [47077/12]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade

My Department is responsible for two Votes – Vote 28 (Foreign Affairs and Trade) and Vote 27 (International Cooperation). The Department commissions external expertise where highly specialised skills are not available within the Department and particularly where ongoing independent evaluation of programmes and projects is required. During the course of their engagements these consultants/experts may prepare reports and other documentation for the Department. In-depth analysis of issues by external experts has informed - and continues to inform - my Department’s policies, allowing for more targeted use of resources and greater accountability in the allocation of budgets. The reports and documents are not published but can be made available on request.

The following tables set out the details of external reports commissioned under Vote 28 and Vote 27 since March 2011.

External Reports commissioned under Vote 28

Date of Commission	Experts/Consultants	Matter Reported On	Cost - (€)
06.09.2012	Mike Williams	Evaluation of the Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation	Not finalised. Maximum budgeted for is €15,000

External Reports commissioned under Vote 27 (International Cooperation)

Date of Commission	Experts/Consultants	Matter Reported On	Cost - (€)
28.04.2011	Kevin Moore	Support to the Governments of Zambia and South Africa to develop Special Economic Zones for the promotion of inward investment and employment	€13,581
28.04.11	Paul Sheane	Support to the Governments of Zambia and South Africa to develop Special Economic Zones for the promotion of inward investment and employment	€9,965
05.05.2011	Stefanie Meredith	Review of Irish Aid Support for Product Development Partnerships in developing countries.	€10,100
05.05.2011	Samia Saad	Review of Irish Aid Support for Product Development Partnerships in developing countries.	€9,198
05.05.11	Paud Murphy	Development Education Reviews - to examine the current funding support and engagement in each of the priority areas identified in the Development Education strategy (primary, post primary, third level, adult, community and youth work).	€9,064
05.05.2011	80:20	Development Education Reviews - to examine the current funding support and engagement in each of the priority areas identified in the Development Education strategy (primary, post primary, third level, adult, community and youth work).	€9,870
05.05.2011	Eilis Murray	Development Education Reviews - to examine the current funding support and engagement in each of the priority areas identified in the Development Education strategy (primary, post primary, third level, adult, community and youth work).	€6,068
05.05.2011	ISOS	Development Education Reviews - to examine the current funding support and engagement in each of the priority areas identified in the Development Education strategy (primary, post primary, third level, adult, community and youth work).	€42,247
01.06.2011	Bernard McLoughlin	Review of the Irish Aid Centre, Dublin	€6,143
01.06.11	Cathal Higgins	Preparation of a report on the programme of  education sector budget support towards school infrastructural development in Karamoja region and skills development in the oil sector (Uganda)	€5,000
19.11.2010	Nata Duvvury, NUI Galway	First draft of Ireland’s National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325	€16,106
20.12.2010	Rodney Rice	Scoping Irish Aid existing and potential for support for media development to improve governance and transparency in key African countries.	€18,756
12.09.2011	Humanitarian Policy Ltd	Review of Security Policy & Practice among Irish Aid Humanitarian Partners	€33,930
01.08.2009	Channel Research	Review of the Irish Aid Rapid Response Initiative	€2,033
12.08.2011	Mike Williams	Review of Humanitarian Programme Plan for Irish Aid	€18,742
09.01.2012	Cathy Roche	Review of the Our World Awards 2005-2011	€6,300
18.05.2012	Everywhere Consulting	Feasibility Study on the Establishment of a Humanitarian Hub at Shannon Airport	€40,584

Departmental Programmes

Questions (42)

Brendan Smith

Question:

42. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the discussions he has had to date in relation to the establishment of a successor programme to the current Peace III Programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47137/12]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade

A successor programme to the current PEACE programme is highly desirable given the importance that PEACE funding has played in the past in Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland. It is the Irish Government’s view that a successor PEACE programme should deliver sufficient funding to sustain important ongoing work and that the funding should be spent on projects in an independent way administered by the Special EU Programme Body. It is also considered crucial that the EU retains a sense of partnership via the PEACE fund in the Northern Ireland peace process. I am engaged in ongoing discussions with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on this matter.

Departmental Expenditure

Questions (43)

Mary Lou McDonald

Question:

43. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the full cost to the Exchequer in the previous 12 months for his Department staff attending conferences including registration fees and travel. [47150/12]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade

The cost of attendance at conferences on the island of Ireland by staff of my Department in the past 12 months was €5,386.21.

Departmental Staff Promotions

Questions (44)

Mary Lou McDonald

Question:

44. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of staff members of his Department that have been awarded internal promotions and or additional acting up or temporary allowances to perform more senior roles since 27 March 2009; the details of the grades involved; the pre-promotion temporary acting and post promotion temporary acting pay scales; the total increase in salary payments to each staff member involved; the duration of assignments; the area to which each person was assigned; the business reasons supporting any such decision; the details of sanction received from the Department of Finance and or Public Expenditure and Reform; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47165/12]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade

Promotions in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have been relatively few since the introduction of the moratorium by the Government with effect from 27 March 2009, with any exceptions requiring the specific approval of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. In the period since then the Department’s core staffing decreased by approximately 190, or about 12%. Predictably, senior levels were most severely affected and, in the circumstances, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform recently approved the filling of some of the critical gaps that had arisen at these levels, particularly since the end of the pensions “grace period” on 29 February 2012. Details of promotions in the Department since 27 March 2009 are set out in the following table. In each case the rules of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform governing pay-on-promotion were followed in determining the new scale point and increment date.

Internal promotions since 27 March 2009

-	-	-	Internal promotions since 27 March 2009
Date	From grade / salary scale	To grade / salary scale	Assignment
01.10.2009	Counsellor €86,968 to €106,582	Assistant Secretary €131,748 to €150,712	Embassy, Seoul
01.11.2009	Counsellor €86,168 to €106,582	Assistant Secretary €131,748 to €150,712	Embassy, Dar-es-Salaam
01.12.2009	Counsellor €92,730 to €114,366	Assistant Secretary €131,748 to €150,712	Embassy, Latvia
30.03.2010	Services Attendant €20,806 to €27,376	Services Officer €20,806 to €27,739	Iveagh House
23.08.2010	Counsellor €80,051 to €98,424	Assistant Secretary €127,796 to €146,191	Anglo-Irish Division
18.02.2012	First Secretary €67,913 to €84,296	Counsellor €80,051 to €98,424	Vienna (OSCE)
03.09.2012	First Secretary €65,185 to €80,678	Counsellor €84,132 to €103,472	Political Division
03.09.2012	First Secretary €67,913 to €84,296	Counsellor €80,051 to €98,424	Anglo-Irish Division
03.09.2012	First Secretary €65,185 to €80,678	Counsellor €84,132 to €103,472	Trade and Promotion Division
03.09.2012	First Secretary €65,182 to €80,678	Counsellor €84,132 to €103,472	Development Cooperation Division
12.10.2012	Third Secretary €42,838 to €60,224	First Secretary €65,185 to €80,678	Permanent Representation to the EU, Brussels
12.10.2012	Third Secretary €33,247 to €58,294	First Secretary €65,185 to €80,678	Permanent Representation to the EU, Brussels
12.10.2012	Third Secretary €33,247 to €58,294	First Secretary €65,185 to €80,678	Development Cooperation Division
12.10.2012	Third Secretary €42,838 to €60,224	First Secretary €65,185 to €80,678	Embassy, Vienna
12.10.2012	Third Secretary €42,838 to €60,224	First Secretary €65,185 to €80,678	Anglo-Irish Division
12.10.2012	Third Secretary €33,247 to €58,294	First Secretary €65,185 to €80,678	Permanent Mission to the UN, Geneva
12.10.2012	Third Secretary €42,838 to €60,224	First Secretary €65,185 to €80,678	IDA Ireland (secondment)

Details of the temporary acting-up allowances awarded in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in the period since 27 March 2009, again with the sanction and under the pay-on-promotion rules of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, are set out in the following table.

Acting-up allowances awarded since 27 March 2009

Date	From grade / salary scale	To grade / salary scale	Assignment
21.08.2009 to date	First Secretary €67,884 - €84,296	Counsellor €80,051 - €98,424	Embassy, Beijing
02.04.2012 to date	Third Secretary €42,838 - €60,224	First Secretary €65,185 - €80,678	Political Division

A small number of temporary acting-up allowances are also awarded annually to Clerical Officers in the Passport Service who undertake supervisory duties when Temporary Clerical Officers are recruited for the peak application period or during absences of production facility supervisors.