Vol. 499 No. 3
332 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the areas of responsibility, if any, his Department has with regard to the Government's policy on children; the areas of responsibility, if any, his Department has with regard to the Government's policy on the family; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2746/99]
While my Department does not have specific responsibility for areas of Government policy concerning children or the family, it does have responsibility for overseeing implementation of elements of the Operational Programme for Local, Urban and Rural Development 1994-1999 in conjunction with Area Development Management Ltd, focusing especially on promoting integrated development of the most disadvantaged areas through enterprise and job creation, community capacity building and education initiatives; on a priority and co-ordinated basis. This targeted response in areas of need has had a positive impact on children and families, albeit in a secondary way to the primary aims.
In addition, the Minister of State at the Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation chairs the Inter-Departmental Committee on Local Development which has responsibility for the Integrated Services Project (ISP). The purpose of the ISP is to develop new procedures to ensure a more focused and better co-ordinated response by the statutory authorities to the needs of communities with the greatest levels of disadvantage, as a basis for a model of best practice. The implementation of ISP will involve both longer-term generic changes as well as quality of life improvements across a wide range of State services. It is anticipated that the projects focus on enhanced service delivery with local consultation will impact in a positive way on families and children in the target areas in a real and sustainable way.
Finally, the Department's responsibilities in relation to sport and recreation also contribute, indirectly of course, through the emphasis on family and child anticipation, to the furtherance of the Government's policy on children and the family.
