Written Answers Nos. 165 - 172
165. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she is conscious of the need to encourage greater awareness of health amongst children and young adults with particular reference to addressing such issues as obesity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40883/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraTackling obesity among children and young people requires a cross-departmental, cross-agency and multi-faceted response and health promotion and greater awareness is central to this response. All relevant Government Departments and Agencies, including my own, have a role.
My Department has a key leadership role to play in this area through overseeing the on-going implementation of the national play and recreation polices; and over the past few years, my Department has made significant investments in play and recreational facilities and, as part of this ongoing commitment, I recently launched the Local Authority Play and Recreation Network. This Network brings together relevant staff from the local authority sector who are involved in the provision of play and recreation services to local communities to share best practice information and to encourage mutual cooperation where relevant.
The Department of Health has established Special Action Group on Obesity, which includes a range of relevant stakeholders, including an official from my Department. This Group focuses on a specific range of measures including Healthy Eating Guidelines, restricting the marketing of food and drink high in fat, sugar or salt to children, nutritional labelling, calorie posting on restaurant menus, the detection and treatment of obesity and the promotion of physical exercise.
Other initiatives to increase awareness include: the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s ‘Food Dude Programme’, the Department of Education and Skills ‘Active School Flag Campaign’ and the Health Services Executive ‘National Physical Activity Guidelines’.
The on-going findings in this area to emerge from my Department’s longitudinal study, Growing Up Ireland will help us to identify where we need to continue focussing our efforts.
166. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the steps she will take to ensure a more rapid response to reported abuse of children, whether of a physical or sexual nature; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40884/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Deputy will be aware that I published the Heads of the Children First Bill in April 2012. The purpose of the Bill is to ensure that organisations and professionals who work with children have a statutory responsibility to report reasonable concerns about the abuse or neglect of children in their care to the HSE Child and Family Services.
Children First has operated on the basis of voluntary compliance since it was first published by the then Department of Health and Children in 1999. Significant resources have been put in place to support the implementation of Children First and in the case of the HSE and An Garda Síochána, Children First has formed an integral part of their existing operations and practices.
The HSE has provided training, information and advice on the implementation of Children First throughout the HSE, voluntary and community sector.
In addition to the existing structures in place to support Children First, significant additional resources have been provided to the HSE over the past three years to increase the number of social workers in the child welfare and protection area. The recruitment of these additional social workers was included in the Ryan Report Implementation Plan, as was the commitment to place Children First on a statutory basis. An additional 260 social workers have now been recruited on foot of the Ryan Report.
The recruitment of the additional 260 social workers is one element of a wider reform agenda within the HSE, through which I believe we can deliver better outcomes for children and families. This reform agenda will lead to the establishment of a new Child and Family Support Agency in early 2013 which will provide a dedicated focus on child protection and will support families in need.
167. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which she envisages improved counselling for children at risk and their families; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40885/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraFunding provided by my Department provides support to youth services which also offer a range of counselling supports to young people.
Teen Counselling aims to provide a professional counselling service for young people and their families who are struggling with behavioural and emotional difficulties and to inform, support and complement the role of the State sector and other voluntary organisations.
The Youth Affairs Unit of my Department has also reserved grant aid of up to €88,358 for 2012 towards the administration of the National Youth Health Programme. This programme is a partnership between my Department, the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) and the Health Service Executive
The aim of the programme is to provide a broad-based, flexible health promotion / education support and training service to youth organisations and to all those working with young people in out-of-school settings. The programme has sought to develop the capacity of the sector and organisations to advocate on issues that affect young people and develop evidenced based resources and training to support that work. The advantage of this training is evident in the fact that Youth Work often acts as the first point of contact and referral in the interface with other youth-related services spanning the realms of care, health and welfare.
The Family Support Agency under the remit of my Department administers a programme of grants for voluntary organisations that provide marriage and relationships, child and bereavement counselling services. Some 600 organisations are funded each year. In 2012, an amount of €9.413m has been allocated to this programme. These services aim to support people deal with difficulties they are experiencing in their relationships, to help children whose lives have been affected by parental separation and to support families who have experienced the death of a family member.
The Health Service Executive also provides counselling services to young people.
The HSE National Director, Mr. Gordon Jeyes, is leading a programme of reform in order to ensure that there is:
- a closer integration across family support, child protection, and child and adult mental heath services;
- better integration of services and information;
- a model of managing referrals to ensure rapid response to welfare as well as child protection concerns, known as the differential response model.
Looking to the future, the Family Support Agency will, along with the HSE’s Children and Family Services, form an integral part of the new Child and Family Support Agency, due to be established in 2013. Plans for the transition to this new entity are well under way. I believe this will provide for greater integration of these complementary services, with their shared aims of supporting parents and families and ensuring the welfare and protection of children are adequately safeguarded.
168. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if any particular studies have been done to address the issue of child psychological services in all areas throughout the country having particular regard to experiences of the past; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40886/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe type of research initiated through my Department’s National Children’s Research Programme and, in particular through the National Longitudinal Study of Children - Growing Up in Ireland - is providing us with a wealth of valuable data on all aspects of children’s development, including their psychological development. One of the aims of the study is to provide evidence for the creation of effective and responsive policies and services for children and families.
Since 2006, Growing Up in Ireland has been following the development of almost 20,000 children in Ireland across two cohorts: an infant cohort recruited at nine-months; and a child cohort recruited at nine years. The infant cohort children (with their families) have been interviewed at 9 months, 3 years of age and further interviews are planned in 2013 when these children make the critical transition to primary schooling (at 5 years of age). The child cohort children (also with their families) have been interviewed at 9 and 13 years of age.
It is generally accepted that many causes of poor psychological outcomes in both adolescence and adulthood can be traced back to early childhood. By capturing data on these children in early childhood and following their development over time, we will have a better understanding how, why and when these children experience and/or overcome psychological difficulties.
A series of Growing Up in Ireland reports have already been published, one of which focuses specifically on children’s psychological development. This report shows that the majority of nine-year-olds in Ireland are developing well without any significant problems in this area of their lives. It also found that however, one in five nine-year-olds have been classified as showing significant levels of emotional or behavioural difficulties and that certain characteristics of the child (e.g. the presence of a chronic illness) and other factors (e.g. economic deprivation, maternal depression, neglectful parenting style and conflict in the home) make children more vulnerable than others. Clearly these data have the potential to inform policy and practice regarding children and their families thus ensuring that policies, services and interventions are targeted, practical and effective.
169. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she can initiate specific steps for children or their parents where there is a fear of or evidence of internet-grooming; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40888/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraIf any person has a concern about a child, this should be reported to the HSE Children and Family Service local Social Work duty service. If a child is in danger outside of office hours, the Gardaí should be contacted. This information, and the relevant contact details, are available on both my Department's website, www.dcya.gov.ie and the HSE website at www.hse.ie.
The Deputy will be aware that the Office for Internet Safety, which is an Executive Office of the Department of Justice and Equality, was established to take a lead responsibility for internet safety in Ireland, particularly as it relates to children. The Office for Internet Safety provides information on internet safety to parents and to children.
170. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her priorities for the future development of her Department in the aftermath of the forthcoming referendum on children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40889/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government established the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to drive the delivery of key commitments in relation to children and young people. The Department was set up in June 2011 with a mandate to put in place a unified framework of policy, legislation and provision across Government in respect of children and young people.
The Programme for Government commitments include:
- The holding of a Referendum in relation to the rights of children under the Constitution.
- The establishment of a Child and Family Support Agency on a statutory basis in order to fundamentally reform the delivery of child protection services and remove responsibility for these from the Health Service Executive (HSE).
- Implementing the recommendations of the Ryan Report, including putting the Children First: National Guidance on a statutory footing and legislating for the use of ‘soft information’.
- Maintaining the free pre-school year and improving its quality as resources allow.
- Enacting legislation to consolidate and reform the law on adoption.
- Investing in a targeted early childhood education programme for disadvantaged children, building on existing targeted pre-school supports for families most in need of assistance, such as the ‘young Ballymun’ project.
- Ending the practice of sending children to St. Patrick’s Institution.
In this context, the high-level objectives of my Department for the period to 2014, as set out in the Department’s Statement of Strategy are:
1. Develop, strengthen and align policies, legislation and resources in order to achieve better outcomes for children and young people and provide support for parents and families.
2. Monitor and evaluate performance through strong governance and accountability systems in respect of the responsibilities of the Department and its agencies.
3. Support the Department and key stakeholders in accessing better evidence and facilitating the active participation of children and young people in decisions that affect their individual and collective lives.
4. Improve systems for supporting families, safeguarding and protecting children, providing alternative care and assisting those young people whose behaviour poses a risk to themselves or others.
5. Support children and young people so that they can fully engage in active learning, including through the provision of high-quality early childhood care and education, youth services and addressing issues of school attendance and participation.
6. Collaborate with stakeholders, including across Government, in monitoring and promoting the physical, emotional and economic well-being of children and young people and reducing inequalities.
7. Be recognised as an organisation where, on an ongoing basis, high performance is achieved and personal development is supported.
In this context the Deputy will wish to be aware that a new Children and Young People’s Policy Framework is being developed in a holistic way to comprehend the continuum of the lifecourse from infancy, through early and middle childhood, to adolescence through to early adulthood, in keeping with my Department’s responsibilities for children and young people. It will be the overarching Framework under which policy and services for children and young people will be developed and implemented in the State.
171. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Health when legislation to provide for free GP care will be published. [40763/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Programme for Government commits to reforming the current public health system by introducing Universal Health Insurance with equal access to care for all. As part of this, the Government is committed to introducing, on a phased basis, GP care without fees within its first term of office. Primary legislation is required to give effect to Government commitment to introduce a universal GP service without fees.
Legislation to allow the Minister for Health to make regulations to extend access to GP services without fees to persons with prescribed illnesses is currently being drafted by this Department and the Office of the Attorney General and will be published shortly. Implementation dates and application details will be announced in due course.
172. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Health if capital funding will be provided to build Corduff Health Centre, Dublin; and if he will provide a detailed update on the matter. [40764/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe management and delivery of the health capital programme is a service matter. Therefore your question has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply.
