Vol. 490 No. 4
15 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason the Child Care Act, 1991, is not being fully implemented, particularly in relation to a back-up system which does not exist and particularly at weekends which is causing considerable problems for foster parents. [10179/98]
A committee has been established under the aegis of the Health Services Employers Agency consisting of representatives from the health boards and the voluntary hospitals to examine the emergency services required to be provided for children during the out-of-hours period, that is, those hours outside the core hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The first meeting of this committee took place yesterday. It is expected that the committee will progress this issue quite quickly.
