Mary Coughlan
Ceist:235 Miss Coughlan asked the Minister for Justice the amount of money expended by his Department on the care of children; and the way in which such money is administered. [19376/96]
Written Answers. - Child Care Costs.
Many of the activities managed and funded by my Department, while not focused primarily on the care of children, do include certain services for children. Examples of the foregoing are the Garda Síochána Juvenile Liaison Service, the Garda Mother and Child Unit, the various youth diversion schemes funded by my Department, the Children's Court in the Dublin Metropolitan District Court and certain services operated by the Probation and Welfare Service. The remit of each of these services is broader than the care of children. The Deputy will appreciate, therefore, that it would not be practical to extract any meaningful expenditure figures relating directly to the care of children.
However, if the Deputy wishes to expand on her precise area of interest in relation to the care of children or to put down a question about a particular aspect of services operated by or under the aegis of my Department which have dealings in the area of children, I will endeavour to assist her in providing the information requested.