Written Answers Nos. 38-45
39. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will give an assurance that no further cuts will be imposed on youth services in receipt of State funding in budget 2014; if she anticipates the commencement of a year-on-year restoration of previous supports; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38765/13]
View answerThe Youth Affairs Unit of my Department supports the delivery of a range of youth work programmes and services for all young people, including those from disadvantaged communities, by the voluntary youth sector. These schemes include the Youth Service Grant Scheme, the Special Projects for Youth Scheme, the Young People’s Facilities and Services Fund Rounds 1 and 2, Local Drug Task Force Projects and certain other programmes including the Local Youth Club Grant Scheme, Youth Information Centres, the European Youth in Action Programme (administered by Léargas – the Exchange Bureau) and Gaisce – the President’s Award. In 2013 €53.498m (including €1.75m capital) has been made available for these schemes and services for young people.
My Department, along with all Government departments, has been required to achieve significant savings on schemes and services in line with the reductions set out in the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure (CRE). The savings required under the CRE in 2013 amounted to €5.393m which equated to almost a 10% reduction on the 2012 funding available for the provision of youth services. My Department will try to ensure that in the determination process for the 2014 allocations, the front line youth services, particularly those for the most vulnerable young people, will be protected as far as is possible from the impact of any necessary reductions in funding.
My Department has tried to be as equitable as possible in achieving savings. In considering how best to manage within the reduced budgets available, organisations are being asked to consider the scope for reducing administration costs and overheads, if this is at all possible, in order to maintain the front line youth services for young people. In order to ensure that the maximum use is made of the available resources, my Department has afforded flexibility to youth services/grant administering agencies to reconfigure the funding allocations made by my Department on the basis of their knowledge of the local needs in their area subject always to the approval of the Department. It is the intention of my Department to continue to facilitate this flexibility going forward to 2014.
There is no doubt that the current budgetary situation is challenging for many organisations. Officials of my Department have met with representatives of all the national organisations that are funded under the Youth Service Grant Scheme to share information and to hear from the organisations about the impact of the reductions in funding on the services that they provide. I have met with , and continue to meet with, many youth projects and organisations from around the country to try and see how we can work together to minimise the impact of these necessary savings in order to ensure that the provision of quality youth services to young people is sustained in these challenging times.
40. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans to introduce legislation to ban violence against children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38726/13]
View answerConsiderable progress has been made to restrict the use of corporal punishment in Ireland. Corporal punishment in schools is banned, and regulations for creches, foster care and residential settings address the use of appropriate discipline. Corporal punishment in the home, while not specifically outlawed, is governed by the provisions of section 246 of the Children Act, 2001. Section 246 makes it an offence to assault, ill-treat, neglect, abandon or expose a child in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to the child's health or seriously affect his or her wellbeing. A limited defence of reasonable chastisement exists in common law for parents and persons acting in loco parentis, but successful high profile prosecutions have been taken by the State under section 246 where parents are deemed to have used excessive or unreasonable force in disciplining children.
My Department is reviewing the complex policy, legal and constitutional issues involved and is also currently engaged with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Attorney General's Office to respond formally to the European Committee of Social Rights of the Council of Europe (CoE) in respect of matters raised through the committee around the banning of corporal punishment in all settings. The Government has been invited to make a submission to the Committee on the merit of the complaint and it is my intention to do so. In responding, the submission will allude to the significant progress which continues to be made in relation to the Government’s commitment to protect the rights of children, including the proposal to amend the Constitution in relation to children’s rights, the enactment of a suite of relevant DCYA and Justice legislation, and progress in relation to fundamental reform of the child protection services, the establishment of the Child and Family Agency, and drafting legislation in relation to putting Children First on a statutory basis. I will be keeping my Cabinet colleagues fully updated in this matter and will be discussing with them the full range of policy options available.
There is a balance to be found between supporting parents in effective parenting, in particular, in use of non-violent forms of discipline, and the use of criminal law to impose criminal sanctions on parents who do not adhere to best practice in parenting. It is important to note that the general development of norms within Ireland and positive support and encouragement to parents has brought about a situation where physical punishment is increasingly avoided.
Recent research from the longitudinal study of children in Ireland shows that the great majority of parents do not use smacking as a form of discipline. The most frequently used method of discipline was "discussing / explaining why the behaviour was wrong and this discipline strategy was used by almost ninety percent of mothers (88%). Less than one percent (0.5%) of mothers reporting smacking their children "regularly or always".
41. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the steps being taken to address the shortfall of social workers within the child and family support agency; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38842/13]
View answerI want to acknowledge the challenges facing our child welfare and protection services and the pressures facing social work teams around the country. The service is operating in a climate of increased demand particularly in the area of child neglect. Since 2006 the number of referrals of child protection and welfare reports has almost doubled from 21,000 in 2006 to 40,000 in 2012. The increase in 2012 was almost 10,000 above the 2011 level.
The latest HSE employment census indicates that the number of whole-time equivalent (WTE) social workers employed in the HSE Children and Families service area was 1,397 at the end of June 2013. The census numbers reflect the outcome of a process of re-classification of social workers within the HSE into individual care groups, including Children and Families, to support the process of establishing the new Child and Family Agency.
Child Welfare and Protection services have also been faced with particular challenges over recent months arising from a high number of vacancies due to maternity leave and to a lesser degree sick leave. In response to these pressures a new panel of professionally qualified social workers was established in June 2013 to allow for the filling of vacancies in social work teams. A total of 112 vacant social worker posts have been approved for filling from this panel with the position being kept under constant review.
42. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if the European External Action Service has received clarification from the United States authorities in relation to alleged surveillance by the United States at European Union offices; if he has received clarification from the United States Embassy in Dublin in relation to these allegations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38970/13]
View answerThe European External Action Service (EEAS) reported to EU Member States in July last that High Representative Ashton had raised the allegations of surveillance at EU Offices with both US Secretary of State John Kerry and National Security Advisor Susan Rice. I have received no further clarification as yet. The EEAS have informed us that while no formal response has as of yet been received from the US authorities, they intend to brief Member States in the coming weeks on the steps they have taken to obtain clarifications from the US authorities about the allegations, as well as reassurances for the future in respect of surveillance of EU offices.
43. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the recent discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Secretary of State or with Members of the Northern Ireland Executive in relation to the establishment of a civic forum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38973/13]
View answerParagraph 34 of Strand One of the Good Friday Agreement provided for the establishment of a consultative Civic Forum. Section 56 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 required the First Minister and the deputy First Minister, with the approval of the Assembly, to make arrangements for obtaining the views of the Civic Forum. The Forum was set up in October 2000 and was suspended along with the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2002. Following the restoration of devolved powers in May 2007, the then First Minister and deputy First Minister considered the position of the Civic Forum in the re-established devolved arrangements and commissioned a review of the effectiveness and appropriateness of its structure, operation and membership. In April 2013 the NI Assembly voted in favour of an SDLP motion to re-establish the Civic Forum. In my ongoing contacts with the Secretary of State and with the Northern Ireland Executive including in the context of the North South Ministerial Council, I have pressed for the re-establishment of the Civic Forum as a valuable and, as yet, unimplemented provision of the Good Friday Agreement. I welcome the recent invitation which Richard Haass, independent chair of the all-party talks, has given to community groups and to representatives of wider civil society to contribute ideas to the talks process.
In my address to the British Irish Association on 7 September, 2013, I pointed out that Northern Ireland was currently facing many difficult issues and that it was neither sensible nor realistic to expect the political system to shoulder these on its own. I have previously put on the record of the Dáil that I support the establishment of a Civic Forum which would provide for a broad range of voices on community relations and stimulate informed public debate in relation to key societal challenges.
I will be hosting a Reconciliation Networking Forum event in Dublin Castle on 16 October 2013 for people who are involved in community, peace-building, public policy or reconciliation work, to discuss what civil society, including the community sector, can and should do to meet the reconciliation challenges ahead. This is in line with the view of the Government that a strong and resilient civic society can play an important role in building a more reconciled and prosperous Northern Ireland.
44. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the proposal for the next North-South Ministerial Council; the issues to be discussed at that meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38974/13]
View answerThe North South Ministerial Council meets in three formats: Plenary, Institutional and Sectoral. The next Plenary meeting is scheduled to take place in November 2013 and to be chaired by the First Minister and deputy First Minister. While the Northern Ireland administration will therefore propose the agenda on this occasion, it is likely that discussions will touch on financial, economic and EU matters and that Ministers from North and South will together take the opportunity to review the work undertaken in the areas of North South cooperation, including by the North-South implementation bodies, since the preceding plenary meeting on 5 July 2013. I would also expect youth unemployment, the action being taken in both jurisdictions to tackle this issue and the opportunities for collaboration to address this important matter and other matters of topical concern to be discussed. I hope that we will also discuss progress made on the St Andrews Agreement Review on expanding the areas of North South cooperation, the North West Gateway Initiative and the current position on the North South Consultative Forum.
Meetings of the North South Ministerial Council in Plenary format have become an excellent forum for substantive exchanges on topics of mutual interest. I am therefore looking forward to the Plenary in November and to continuing to work with our Northern colleagues in further developing North South cooperation.
45. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the basis on which a passport has been refused in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Dublin who is an Irish citizen; the basis on which the person can address the issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38985/13]
View answerThe Passports Act, 2008 requires that before issuing a passport to a person, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade shall be satisfied as to the identity of each applicant and that the person is an Irish citizen. The issue of a passport is the culmination of an important and legally binding process. The checks and balances within the passport process embrace the standard principles that are provided for in the Act and help to ensure that the identity of the applicant is known and that the person in question is an Irish citizen. This serves to maintain the worldwide good reputation and integrity of the Irish passport, which, in turn, ensures the safe travel and well-being of Irish citizens as they travel abroad. Moreover, it helps to combat passport and identity fraud. Moreover, it helps to combat passport and identity fraud. Documentary proof in respect of identity and entitlement to citizenship are required for all passport applications. These requirements are outlined in the passport application form notes that accompany each application form. Details are also available on the Department’s website
The Department received an application from the person in question on 11 June 2013. While the person concerned has been granted Irish citizenship through naturalization, the authenticity of an identity document submitted with the passport application has been called into question and requires further investigation. The Department wrote to the applicant on 9 September 2013 to inform him of the situation. The matter has been brought to the attention of the Department of Justice and Equality.
