Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 April 2013
141. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if the cross-departmental consultations on the proposed new children and young people's policy framework have concluded as anticipated by end of March, 2013; if the analysis of the public consultation is nearing completion; her now anticipated time-frame for the publication of the new policy framework; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17275/13]
View answerMy Department is developing a new strategy for children and young people. It will build on Our Children - Their Lives, Ireland’s first children’s strategy which was published in 2000 and it will cover the 5-year period from 2013 to 2018.
In keeping with my Department’s responsibilities for children and young people, the new Children and Young People’s Policy Framework is being developed in a holistic way which will comprehend the continuum of the life-course from infancy through to early and middle childhood, adolescence and early adulthood. It will be the overarching Framework under which policy and services for children and young people will be developed and implemented in the State.
In relation to the analysis of the public consultation carried out in 2012, the responses to this are being analysed at present, and an interim analysis was delivered to my Department last month, and a final report is expected by the end of this month. This analysis will inform the final draft of the Framework, in conjunction with other consultations, such as the Children and Young People's consultation carried out in 2011 and consultations with organisations represented on the National Children's Advisory Committee (NCAC).
Consultations with other Government Departments are ongoing and they are expected to be completed in the coming month, around the same time as the above processes, allowing the Framework to be drafted in the context of the most complete consultation practicable.
I anticipate that the final draft of the Framework will be presented to Government for approval by the middle of this year.
