Written Answers Nos. 375-388
375. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of officials in her Department that are receiving the cost of club membership fees, including sports clubs and professional bodies, as part of their contract of employment; the total cost per year to her Department of paying these fees; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51362/13]
View answerIn order to meet continuing professional development requirements some professional bodies require payment of membership fees. In 2013 my Department paid €1,185 towards professional memberships fees for four employees covering the fields of accountancy and social work.
376. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if her Department is paying for any of its employees to receive third-level qualifications; if so, the annual cost for each of the past five years; if the employee will receive a financial bonus as a result of receiving this qualification; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51376/13]
View answerThe provision of payment of third level fees in the civil service is governed under Circular 23/2007 which sets out the arrangements to facilitate the development of appropriate skill and expertise levels in Departments and in supporting officers efforts in the area of self-development and life-long learning.
As my Department was established in June 2011 I am not in a position to provide details prior to this as commitments made to employees would have been paid by previous relevant Departments.
At end December 2012 my Department paid €21,215 towards employees receiving third-level qualifications. No employee in my Department will receive a financial bonus as a result of receiving these qualifications.
377. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she has responsibility for Child Protection Services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51427/13]
View answerThe operation, management and delivery of child welfare and protection services is a matter for the Health Service Executive under the Health Act, 2004 and the Child Care Act, 1991 as amended. The Child Care Act 1991, as amended, sets out the statutory framework within which the Health Service Executive provides family support and child welfare and protection services. Matters of policy and legislation fall within the remit of my Department. My Department is also responsible for the harmonisation of policy issues across sectors.
The new Child and Family Agency, upon establishment, will assume full statutory responsibility for a range of child and family services currently provided by three separate agencies; namely the HSE, the Family Support Agency and the National Educational Welfare Board. On establishment of the Agency the functions which are due to transfer will continue to be discharged by the relevant statutory bodies.
Following the Government decision on the Heads of Bill in November last, work on the drafting of the legislation – the Child and Family Agency Bill – was advanced in conjunction with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel. The legislation to establish the new Agency has completed its passage through the Dáil and is currently being considered by the Seanad.
Concurrently, a comprehensive change programme is currently being implemented in the HSE and is addressing the quality and consistency of child welfare and protection services. This change process will continue into the new Child and Family Agency.
378. Deputy Olivia Mitchell asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the steps that can be taken to ensure the adoption of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 16 will be finalised; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51438/13]
View answerThe responsibility for the registration of intercountry adoptions is a matter for the Adoption Authority of Ireland (AAI), an independent quasi judicial entity established under the Adoption Act 2010. It is a matter for the AAI to ensure that all adoptions are made in accordance with the provisions of the Adoption Act 2010. Accordingly, as Minister, it is not open to me to intervene in individual cases.
The Authority has advised me that they have examined this matter comprehensively and taken legal advice in this regard. The Adoption Authority has determined that it does not have the statutory power to recognise certain adoptions of children born in Mexico or to register the adoption on the Register of Intercountry Adoptions. The matter is now the subject of legal proceedings in the High Court.
380. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will provide a copy of all inspection reports for a facility (details supplied) in County Meath. [51582/13]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy with the most up-to-date information.
381. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if her Department is willing to provide further relief and support for those who adopt children here, in view of the low rate of adoption of Irish born children at the moment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51585/13]
View answerThe Adoption (Amendment) Bill aims to provide, in a more effective and appropriate way, for the adoption of children of marriage. I intend to progress the Bill as soon as the proceedings and processes relevant to the Children's Referendum are concluded.
382. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will provide a list of the 50 applications that were made to participate in the area-based childhood programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51786/13]
View answerLast week I was delighted to announce with my colleague the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr. Eamonn Gilmore TD that an additional nine areas have been selected to enter the design stage of the Area-Based Childhood (ABC) Programme 2013-2016 in line with a key Programme for Government commitment.
This brings the total number of areas to 13, as three existing projects which participated in a forerunner Prevention and Early Intervention Programme in Tallaght, Ballymun and Darndale have already been approved for entry into the new ABC Programme and a further project in the Midlands linked to the existing ‘Preparing for Life’ project in Darndale, is being included.
I was also pleased to confirm that the Programme has attracted 50% co-funding from the Atlantic Philanthropies, bringing total funding to €29.7m. It would not have been possible for us to have considered bringing in this number of programmes were it not for the generosity of the Atlantic Philanthropies.
The programme is being introduced on foot of the Programme for Government commitment to adopt an area-based approach to child poverty, drawing on best international practice and existing services to break the cycle of child poverty where it is most deeply entrenched and improve the outcomes for children and young people. The programme will build on and continue much of the work of the PEIP which was also implemented by my Department and co-funded by the Atlantic Philanthropies.
50 applications were received from consortia wishing to participate in the Area-Based Childhood (ABC) Programme 2013-2016. Three proposals were received from PEIP participants, and a basis for their transition into the new programme was agreed during the Summer. The 47 other proposals were considered against criteria set out in the applications process, namely Evidence of Need, Quality of the Proposal, Additionality & Sustainability, and Understanding and Capturing Outcomes, and ranked accordingly.
I will provide the Deputy with a complete list of the 50 applications today.
384. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the steps that are being taken and will be taken by her Department to incorporate the findings and recommendations of reports published by the national review panel for serious incidents and child deaths into her Department’s child protection policy. [51869/13]
View answerThe findings of the National Review Panel Reports consisted mainly of operational learning points. The HSE accepted all of these recommendations and has been undertaking a country-wide process to improve practice in relation to such cases across the country. Most recently this process has involved the convening of a series of workshops for social work staff and managers nationwide. A minimum of two workshops were held in each region presented by Ms Helen Buckley, Chair of the National Review Panel and Ms Lynne Peyton, Consultant in Children’s Services and Social Care. Ms Peyton was responsible for the three neglect audits undertaken following the Roscommon incest case. The workshops covered the learning emerging from the Child Death Review Process and the neglect audits.
The necessary actions to incorporate the findings and recommendations of reports published by the National Review Panel for Serious Incidents and Child Deaths are being implemented at a policy level in the context of the Government’s reform programme for children’s services, the most radical reform of child welfare and protection services ever undertaken in the State. The integrated delivery of these reforms will ensure that responses to many review groups recommendations will be mainstreamed into the work programme of the new Child and Family Agency.
385. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the current number of children in care who are placed with relative foster carers; and if she will report on the number of these relative foster carers who have received training and support from the Health Service Executive’s children and family services before the children have been placed with them. [51870/13]
View answerThe HSE compiles monthly performance reports which include statistics in relation to children in care. These reports are published on the HSE website. The latest published report shows that there were 6,465 children in the care of the HSE in September 2013, of which 1,888 (29.2%) were placed with relative foster carers.
All prospective foster carers or applicants undergo an assessment and training process to establish their suitability and competence as future foster carers. The assessment is undertaken by a social worker from the local fostering team and includes Garda vetting, internal HSE checks to establish previous involvement with child protection services, a medical assessment, personal interviews in the applicant’s home and if the applicant(s) have children, the social worker will also talk to them about being part of a foster family. The social worker's report is then presented to the Foster Care committee for approval, including a recommendation as to the age of the child and type of foster care suitable to the applicant(s). All approved foster carers are entered on a panel of approved foster carers.
When a child is being placed in foster care, the suitability of a placement with relatives is explored in the first instance. Where the HSE is satisfied that an immediate placement with relatives is in the interests of the child, such placement may occur before full approval of the committee is in place. Such emergency placements are provided for in the regulations. Prior to placement, the relative is assessed by a principal social worker, including early Garda vetting. This is followed by a full assessment and approval by the foster care committee as outlined above.
The HSE has advised me that they do not collect information on the numbers of relative foster carers who receive training before children are placed with them. However, training is provided regularly for all foster carers including relatives. The importance of attending training is emphasised as part of the assessment process and through the relative carer's link social worker.
386. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 569 of 26 November 2013, the number of staff currently working in the Health Service Executive's information and tracing unit, in the specific project of organising and storing files which have been transferred to the HSE from mother and baby homes and adoption societies in recent years; if additional staff may be deployed to speed up the process of cataloguing all of the files involved; and if she will report on the arrangements that will be in place for this work when the Child and Family Agency is established. [51871/13]
View answerAs this is a service matter for which the HSE has responsibility, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy.
388. Deputy Ray Butler asked the Minister for Health with reference to the four remaining staff of the former regional ambulance control and command centre (details supplied), if the Health Service Executive will be bound by the public service agreements and Labour Court recommendation and treat the affected staff equally by allowing these remaining staff and their budgets to redeploy to the wider HSE and the public sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51356/13]
View answerAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply.
