Léim ar aghaidh chuig an bpríomhábhar
Gnáthamharc

Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 28 Mar 2000

Vol. 516 No. 6

Written Answers. - Departmental Surveys.

John Bruton

Ceist:

340 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 261 of 29 February 2000, his plans for publishing research in the family research programme; the consultation procedures being undertaken with families in regard to carrying out this research; and if he will give details of the persons conducting the research in each case. [9020/00]

The purpose of the families research programme, which I introduced last year is to support innovative, original research in the field of family policy and family services and in areas highlighted by the Commission on the Family in its report Strengthening Families for Life, as being in need of further investigation.

Some 33 proposals were received from universities, academic institutions, social policy researchers and analysts and national voluntary organisations which work with families, in response to the advertisement of the families research programme in the national press. Thirteen proposals, covering a range of family themes have been prioritised for funding. Themes to be researched include marriage and the processes of family formation, marital breakdown, children and parental separation, parenting needs and the roles of fathers and grandparents in family life.
The intention is to publish the research outcomes and to make the findings widely available in order to contribute to the debate on the issues facing families today and to help the Government to develop policies and services which would meet the needs of children and their families in a changing environment.
In addition to these projects, research to explore what would be involved in undertaking a longitudinal study of children in Ireland is to be undertaken by my Department jointly with the Department of Health and Children.
Consultations with families are a feature of several of the projects being undertaken under the families research programme. For example the major voluntary organisations providing marriage counselling services are surveying their clients to evaluate the effectiveness of the services provided. In these projects the consultations are being undertaken in accordance with established methodological approaches for this type of research work.
All projects are being undertaken independently by the participating organisations in the families research programme. Advisory groups on which my Department is represented have been established to monitor progress and to address any issues arising in each individual research project.
I have arranged for a copy of the families research programme information booklet to be forwarded to the Deputy. The booklet contains further details of the individual projects, the sponsoring organisations and the researchers involved and expected completion dates for the different projects.
Summary details of the projects and the sponsoring organisations are as follows: Client Satisfaction Survey – ACCORD Head Office, All Hallows, Gracepark Road, Drumcondra, Dublin 9.
The study aims to evaluate the service provided by ACCORD and to gauge the level of client satisfaction.
Assessing the impact of counselling on marriage and relationships: marriage and relationship counselling services, 24, Grafton Street, Dublin 2.
This proposes to evaluate their counselling services in order to identify what ways counselling is of help to individuals-couples who are experiencing relationship problems and what further requirements clients might need.
Children's experiences of parental separation in Ireland – The Children's Research Centre, Áras An Phiarsaigh, Trinity College, Dublin 2.
The centre explores the experiences of children in middle childhood and adolescence whose parents have separated. A key objective will be to identify children's support needs at critical times of transition and to make policy recommend ations for a child-centred approach to supporting children in families.
A Critical Assessment of the Impact of Flexible Working Arrangements to Inform Future Policy Development Regarding Family-Friendly Initiatives in the Workplace – Institute of Public Administration, Vergemount Hall, Clonskeagh, Dublin 6.
This aims to identify the challenges and benefits to introducing family-friendly flexible working arrangements; to identify the respective roles of public policy makers and assist them in identifying practical measures to further assist the development of family-friendly initiates in the Irish workplace.
Effective parenting: An exploration of need – Centre for Social and Educational Research, Dublin Institute of Technology, Rathmines House, Dublin 6.
It proposes to undertake a survey to explore needs in relation to the provision of parenting skills programmes and the development of policy on support for families. The study will include comparative analysis of good practice in other countries.
The First Five years of Marriage – ACCORD, Dublin, 39, Harcourt Street, Dublin 2.
This study aims to examine the first five years of marriage with a view to uncovering the issues that help or hinder marriage relationships, so that ACCORD and other appropriate agencies can help couples enhance their relationships through counselling and marriage preparation services.
NB: This part of the project will concentrate on the first year of marriage. The project has been divided into several stand-alone units ultimately aimed at examining the first five years of marriage. Only the first unit is receiving funding under the current round of the families research programme.
Grandparenthood in Modern Ireland – Age Action Ireland, Limited, 30-31 Lower Camden Street, Dublin 2.
A literature review and pilot study to explore the main issues facing grandparents in Ireland, culminating in the release of a report detailing conclusions and recommendations on the development of future family policy to promote greater understanding and awareness of the functions and roles of grandparents.
The Impact of Social Policies on the Family: Ireland in Comparative European Perspective – Department of Sociology and Social Policy, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN.
An analysis of how social policy in Ireland has configured the family, especially in the last ten years and how social policy compares to other European nations in respect of its approach to the family and associated outcomes.
Marginalised men's research project – The Katharine Howard Foundation, P.O. Box 6729, Swords. County Dublin.
The study proposes to examine the causes and effects of men's marginalisation from family, community, and society in general. It aims to make recommendations on how to relieve and prevent the process of marginalisation.
Marital breakdown research project – Cork Marriage Counselling Centre, Cork and Ross Centre, 34, Paul Street, Cork.
Proposal to take existing database and analyse nature of marital problems, effectiveness of marriage counselling and predicative ability of pre-marital screening to determine couples likely to breakdown.
A nine-year Psychosocial Follow-up study of Children and Families – University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4.
A follow-up study of children and their families by analysing a sample from the previous study in order to examine predictors of: educational and occupational success, utilisation of social welfare benefits and health services as well as providing information on the psychological and social state of the family.
Processes of Family Formation in Ireland – Economic and Social Research Institute, 4, Burlington Road, Dublin 4.
A proposal to investigate the processes of family formation in Ireland with particular reference to lone parenthood and cohabitation.
Strengthening families through fathers: a study of families in need with particular reference to the development of policy and practice with vulnerable fathers – Department of Applied Social Studies, University College, Dublin.
This seeks to generate original data in relation to families in need by focusing on vulnerable fathers, the aim being to identify good professional practice with families in need and to develop a model of professional intervention.
Barr
Roinn