Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 29 Jan 1998

Vol. 486 No. 2

Written Answers. - Rights of the Child.

Eamon Gilmore

Ceist:

34 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Health and Children the commitments made on behalf of the Government at the recent hearings in Geneva of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child; the timetable for their implementation; the additional resources that will be made available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2133/98]

Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children (Mr. Fahey)

The hearing in question took place in Geneva on 12 and 13 January last and involved more than ten hours of detailed discussions on every aspect of public policy towards children.

The concluding observations of the committee were received by the Department of Foreign Affairs on Friday last, 23 January, and forwarded that afternoon to my Department. However, the official record of the committee's hearing has not yet been received. When this record is to hand, I will write to the Deputy with a detailed response to his queries. The Deputy will appreciate that other Departments will also be involved in implementing commitments under the convention.

The principal commitments made at the recent hearings of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on behalf of the Government in so far as the responsibilities of this Department are concerned were clarification of my responsibilities in relation to child care issues and this issue is being addressed.

The Deputy will be aware that I have recently been appointed as Minister of State at the Departments of Education and Science and Justice, Equality and Law Reform. When the details of the delegation of functions in regard to these two Departments have been finalised, I will be assisted in my new responsibilities by a cross-departmental team.

In addition, it was indicated to the committee that a social services inspectorate would be established and this is my top priority for 1998.