Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 May 2012
578 Deputy Dominic Hannigan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of State agencies in her Department which were abolished or merged since 2011; the name and purpose of each one; the amount saved by the merger or abolition; the number planned to be merged or abolished in 2012; the name and purpose of each one; the amount expected to be saved from this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21586/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraI would like to inform the Deputy that the position in respect of public bodies under the auspices of my Department is that there are four agencies funded by the Exchequer through my Department's Vote. These are the Adoption Authority of Ireland, the Family Support Agency, the National Educational Welfare Board and the Ombudsman for Children. With effect from 1 January 2012, I have taken responsibility for the children detention schools as provided in Part 10 of the Children Act 2001. They are also funded through my Department's Vote. I can inform the Deputy that none of the Agencies under the aegis of my Department have been abolished or merged since 2011. There are plans to merge the back office function of the Office of the Ombudsman for Children's Office into the Ombudsman/Information Commissioner's Office and discussions are ongoing in this regard.
There are also plans to merge the Family Support Agency into the new Child and Family Support Agency with a view to its establishment in 2013. The Family Support Agency was established under the Family Support Agency Act 2001 and transferred to my Department in 2011. It is a dedicated Agency with clearly defined functions and responsibilities in the area of family services and policy. In November 2011, the Family Mediation Service which was part of the Family Support Agency transferred to the Legal Aid Board which comes under the remit of the Department of Justice and Equality.
The National Educational Welfare Board was established in 2002 under the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 as the statutory agency with responsibility to ensure that every child attends school regularly, or otherwise receives a certain minimum education, and provides a service to most disadvantaged areas and the most at — risk children and young people. I propose to review the role of the National Educational Welfare Board by the end of June 2012 in the context of the establishment of the new Child and Family Support Agency and a working group has been established to progress this.
There are currently no plans to rationalise or review the functions of the Adoption Authority of Ireland. It should be noted that following enactment of the Child Care Amendment Act 2011 the Children's Act Advisory Board was subsequently dissolved by means of the commencement by the Minister of Health of Part 6 of the Child Amendment Act 2011.
