Ceist:
463 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason no action has been taken to provide proper care for persons (details supplied) who beg and sing on Grafton Street every day. [1060/02]
Written Answers. - Health Service Provision.
I understand from the Eastern Regional Health Authority, ERHA, that many children who beg on the streets are from the Traveller community, with an increasing number coming from the Roma community. The area health boards provide a range of services for Traveller children and their families, for asylum seeking and refugee families and for unaccompanied minor asylum seekers. The ERHA set up a working group last year to examine the services currently available for children who beg and to determine how these services can be improved. The working group comprises the Garda, a range of Traveller organisations, the Leanbh service of the ISPCC, the crisis intervention service, Focus Ireland and the ERHA. It is due to complete its work by September 2002.
The Leanbh service was set up specifically by the ISPCC to work with children begging. It works closely with the Garda, schools and training centres and employs childhood support workers. It works with children and their families. The Leanbh service comprises an outreach and street service and operates for 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Government has allocated 114,300 over the next three years to support the project. The Children Act, 2001, updates the law in relation to child begging. The provisions of the Act make it an offence for a child to be allowed, or induced, by an adult to beg in any street or public place or to make house to house calls for the purpose of begging or receiving alms. The Act will be brought into operation on a phased basis. The National Children's Office is at present drawing up a plan for the implementation of the Act, which it hopes to submit to Government soon.
I have been advised by ERHA that if a member of the public is concerned about a child begging they should contact either the local Garda station, the Leanbh service or the local health board community care area. My Department has asked the regional chief executive officer of the Eastern Regional Health Authority to reply to the Deputy directly in relation to the individual cases of children begging which have been raised.