30 Apr 2012, 17:08
Fergus Finlay, Chief Executive, Barnardos; Caroline O’Sullivan, Director of Services, ISPCC; Tanya Ward, Chief Executive, Children's Rights Alliance; Maria Corbett, Deputy Chief Executive, Children’s Rights Alliance; and Maeve Lewis, Executive Director, One in Four will present submissions to the Committee on Health and Children tomorrow, 1st May on the draft Heads of the Children First Bill.
The Committee is inviting submissions from interested groups and stakeholders on the Heads of the Children First Bill which was published last week by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Frances Fitzgerald TD.
The purpose of the Bill is to put Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children on a statutory basis.
The Minister has sent the Heads of the Bill to the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children for consultation before the Bill is finalised.
Committee Chairman, Jerry Buttimer TD said: “Minister Fitzgerald has asked the Committee to play an active role in preparing the Children First Bill and we are delighted to have this opportunity to contribute to the drafting of this crucial piece of legislation.
For the Children First legislation to be effective, we must engage with and have an open dialogue with those groups who will be working with it on a daily basis. We’re looking forward to the contributions from Barnardos, the ISPCC and the Children’s Rights Alliance tomorrow. The meeting will provide these groups with an opportunity to give their perspective on draft Heads of the Children First Bill and give them a chance to contribute to the drafting of this legislation which will provide the necessary safeguards to protect children and combat child abuse and neglect.
Our meeting will also allow members of the Committee to be fully informed and enable us to provide meaningful input into the legislation, make observations and suggestions before the bill comes before the Dáil and Seanad.
This is the first time that the Joint Committee on Health and Children has been asked to provide its input into the Heads of a Bill. Given the importance of the proposed legislation, the Committee has agreed to concentrate on the Bill for the next five weeks and written submissions are requested to be submitted to the Joint Committee no later than 4th May 2012.”
The meeting takes place tomorrow, Tuesday 1st May, 2.30pm in Committee Room 1, LH 2000. Committee proceedings can be followed live at: http://bit.ly/24YmPI
For more details on making a submission to the Committee, click on the following link: http://bit.ly/KudZIb
For further information please contact:
Ciaran Brennan,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Communications Unit,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
P: +3531 618 3903
M: 086-0496518
F: +3531 618 4551
ENDS
Committee Membership:
Deputies
Jerry Buttimer, Fine Gael
Catherine Byrne, Fine Gael
Michael Colreavy, Sinn Fein
Ciara Conway, Labour Party
Regina Doherty, Fine Gael
Robert Dowds, Labour Party
Peter Fitzpatrick, Fine Gael
Seamus Healy, Independent
Derek Keating, Fine Gael
Billy Kelleher, Fine Fail
Eamonn Maloney, Labour Party
Charlie McConalogue, Fianna Fail
Mattie McGrath, Independent
Denis Naughten, Independent
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, Sinn Fein
Senators
Colm Burke, Fine Gael
John Crown, Independent
David Cullinane, Sine Fein
John Gilroy, Labour Party
Imelda Henry, Fine Gael
Marc Mac Sharry, Fine Fail
Jillian Van Turnhout, Independent