Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 April 2013
1108. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she is satisfied regarding the adequacy of the resources available to her Department to combat issues such as child abuse and various forms of bullying including electronic or social media; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17598/13]
View answerMy Department was set up to drive the delivery of key commitments in relation to children and young people and to put in place a unified framework of policy, legislation and provision across Government in respect of children and young people.
The 2013 estimate includes an allocation of €443m for my Department which represents an increase of €16m over the 2012 allocation and this clearly demonstrates the continuing commitment of this Government to the ongoing development of quality and effective services to support children and families.
As regards service delivery, the commitment to establish a new Child and Family Support Agency is at the heart of the Government's reform of child and family services. The new Agency will assume responsibility for Children and Family Services, currently provided by the HSE, and the Family Support Agency. It will have a workforce of approximately 4,000 staff, and a combined existing budget of over €590 million. The Agency will be headed by Gordon Jeyes, as the Chief Executive designate, who will be supported by a senior management team.
In order to achieve genuine improvements for children and families, the Agency will 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.
It is my intention that the new Agency will address the persistent issues which have been raised regarding the standardisation of services, communication, coordination and sharing of risk assessment, management and treatment for many of the children and families with the most complex needs. At the same time, the Agency will have a role in supporting families - providing less complex, less intrusive and less expensive responses which have a preventive function.
The new Child and Family Support Agency and the wider transformation of children's services represents one of the largest, and most ambitious, areas of public sector of reform embarked upon by this Government.
In relation to the specific issue of bullying raised by the Deputy, the Action Plan on Bullying - produced by cross-sectoral working group on which my Department was represented, contains a range of evidence based actions to support parents, young people, schools and community interests, in tackling this issue which can have a serious impact on young people. My Department will work closely with the Department of Education and Skills on the implementation of the Action Plan and is undertaking a series of initiatives to raise awareness about the problem and the measures to be taken to tackle prejudice and promote a safer environment for our young people.
