Written Answers Nos. 331-344
331. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if he will provide a list of items of expenditure for the €3 million in the Vote of his Department relating to the cost of holding the constitutional referendum on children’s rights; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36816/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe provision of €3 million in the Vote of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs for 2012 relating to the holding of a Constitutional Referendum on Children's Rights was utilised as follows:
Some €1.9 million was allocated to the Referendum Commission for the performance of its statutory functions. The details of the use of that allocation were set out in the post-referendum report published by the Commission in May 2013. There was an unspent balance of €193,477.72 which was refunded to my Department in 2013 and surrendered to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform as an Extra Exchequer Receipt.
The balance of €1.1 million was available to fund my Department's public information activities. The breakdown of that expenditure is as follows.
|
Area of Expenditure |
Cost |
|
Development and maintenance of the website |
11,040.11 |
|
Design and printing of the information booklet |
235,759.37 |
|
Delivery of information booklets |
225,027.01 |
|
Behaviour & Attitudes research |
103,011.98 |
|
MKC Communications consultants |
32,349.65 |
|
Broadcast media production & advertising (KD Nine) |
164,725.29 |
|
Print media advertising (Brindley Advertising) |
247,515.95 |
|
Dr Geoffrey Shannon (advice on adoption) |
8,237.19 |
|
Press Office costs (e.g. transcripts) |
7,410.67 |
|
Sundries |
1,056.88 |
|
Total Expenditure |
1,036,134.10 |
332. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs in view of the information contained in the first interim report of the Child Care Law Reporting Project if his Department collects data or has information on children who have been taken into the care of the Health Service Executive as a result of their parent being transferred directly from a direct provision centre to a psychiatric unit. [44025/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is an operational matter, I have asked the Child and Family Agency to respond directly to the Deputy with the most up-to-date information.
333. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of children adopted from Russia and Ethiopia who have been placed in the care of the Health Service Executive since 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44026/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have requested the information from the Child and Family Agency and I will revert to the Deputy when this information is to hand.
334. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of adoptions that have taken place here where the child originated from Hague-compliant states; if he will provide a list of the countries involved; and the number of adoptions per each of these countries that have taken place since the Adoption Act came into force in 2010. [44027/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Adoption Authority of Ireland has provided the following figures from the Register of Intercountry Adoptions.
|
Bulgaria |
5 |
|
China |
11 |
|
Colombia |
1 |
|
El Salvador |
1 |
|
England |
2 |
|
India |
23 |
|
Mexico |
13 |
|
Philippines |
1 |
|
Romania |
1 |
|
South Africa |
1 |
|
Thailand |
14 |
|
USA |
36 |
|
Vietnam |
1 |
335. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of children adopted into Ireland from the United States of America since November 2010; and if he will provide a breakdown of the figures to show the number of children who were adopted from each of the federal states. [44028/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Adoption Authority advises that 36 adoptions from the USA have been recorded in the Register of Intercountry Adoptions since the enactment of the Adoption Act 2010.
As the USA is considered to be one entity under the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-Operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption, the Authority does not maintain statistics in respect of individual US states.
336. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 568 of 4 November 2014, his views on the response where it states that 320 inter-country adoptions involving non-Hague signatories have taken place here since the Adoption Act of 2010 was enacted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44029/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Adoption Act, 2010 was commenced on 1 November 2010. The commencement of the Act coincided with Ireland's ratification of the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption. The legislation, which incorporates the provisions of the Hague Convention, is designed to provide a framework to ensure that appropriate procedures are followed.
The Adoption Act, 2010, contained a transitional provision to enable prospective adoptive parents to proceed with an adoption from a non-Hague or non-bilateral country, if prior to the establishment date they had been issued with a Declaration of Eligibility and Suitability to adopt. The provision required that the Adoption Authority would be satisfied that the particular adoption met the standards of the Hague Convention.
337. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the planned opening date of the Oberstown-Trinity House complex for under-18 year olds. [44030/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe commitment in the Programme for Government to end the practice of detaining children in adult prison facilities will be met when the extension of the Oberstown campus results in the transfer of responsibility for 17 year old boys from the Irish Prison Service to the children detention schools. The Oberstown development project, which commenced on site in September 2013, will enable the extension of the child care model of detention to all under 18 year olds ordered to be detained by the courts on criminal justice charges.
The current information available to me is that the first 3 units of residential accommodation, which will prioritise the transfer of responsibility for 17 year old boys from adult prison facilities, are expected to be formally handed over to the Oberstown campus before the end of this month following the required inspection of works and technical approval of the Office of Public Works, managing the project on behalf of my Department. I am advised that there will be a need for a further period of 6 weeks for staff training and orientation in the new facilities and for the fitting out of the new units with required furniture and equipment. This is necessary to ensure safe and secure custody of children in the new buildings and that the appropriate health and safety standards are met.
The operational date for the new children detention facilities is also subject to the recruitment of the required complement of new care staff to work in the expanded facilities, and the passage of necessary legislation to ensure that all legal issues relating to the detention of children up to the age of 18 are fully addressed. The recruitment programme is already well underway with some new staff already in place in the children detention schools. An additional recruitment process for a further phase of recruitment is currently being advanced and it is intended that the required staff complement will be reached in the first quarter of 2015 for the operation of all of the new residential units. My Department is also progressing the necessary legal changes required in order to transfer responsibility for 17 year old boys from adult prison facilities. Heads of a Bill to amend the Children Act 2001 were approved by Government in September and it is intended that the Bill will be published next month and enacted as soon as possible thereafter.
My Department is reviewing these matters on an ongoing basis and it is my intention that the operation of the first 3 residential units will be achieved as early as possible in the new year.
338. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No.747 of 17 September 2014, when the regulations referred to will be published; if the regulations will ensure that all staff working with preschool children in a child care facility will be trained in paediatric first aid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44098/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe revised Child Care Regulations which are required under the new amendments to Part VII of the Child Care Act 1991 are currently being developed in association with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel. The drafting of the new regulations has required a root and branch re-examination of the existing regulations including a restructuring of regulations and guidance content in line with the latest drafting practices. This has proved more time consuming than originally envisaged but is close to finalisation.
The final draft will include a requirement that early years services have a person trained in first aid for children available at all times. However, it is not envisaged that there will be a requirement to have all staff working with preschool children in a childcare facility trained in paediatric first aid.
339. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of staff members who are drawing down retirement pensions from the public sector or Civil Service and who have been brought back on contract work or temporary contracts to work in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44111/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI can confirm to the Deputy that there are no retired civil service or public sector workers on contract work or on temporary employment contracts in my Department at present.
340. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the status of negotiations regarding the establishment of a bilateral agreement with Russia for the purposes of inter-country adoption; if he will provide a detailed timeframe on getting this agreement formalised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44149/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra344. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 197 of 11 July 2012, if he will provide an update on the ongoing negotiations taking place with Russian officials on reaching a bilateral agreement in order that families here may proceed with adoptions of Russian children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44293/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 340 and 344 together.
Efforts are ongoing in my Department in relation to a bilateral agreement on intercountry adoption between Ireland and the Russian Federation. Following a meeting with a delegation of Russian officials in October 2013 my Department prepared revised draft wording on a number of specific points. This was forwarded to the Russian Authorities in February 2014. In transmitting these revisions it was suggested that should these revisions be acceptable to the Russian Federation, it would be useful for both sides to meet again for further discussions.
In April the Ministry of Education and Science advised the Irish Embassy in Moscow that all proposed adoption agreements were on hold while the Russian Government considered proposals in relation to how they deal with adoption agreements in general.
A reply from the Russian authorities to my Department's revised wording was recently received and is being reviewed in my Department. The Irish side has suggested a meeting in Moscow and I expect that these discussions will take place as soon as a suitable date is agreed.
341. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 319 of 30 September 2014, if the report which he undertook to supply is now to hand. [44252/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have requested the information from the Child and Family Agency and I will revert to the Deputy when this information is to hand.
342. Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the progress that has been made in establishing the commission of investigation into mother and baby homes led by Judge Yvonne Murphy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44274/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government has undertaken to establish a statutory Commission of Investigation into matters relating to Mother and Baby Homes in accordance with the Motion passed by this House on 11 June. Considerable progress has been achieved since this date, including the publication of the Inter-Departmental Group’s Report, the announcement that Judge Yvonne Murphy will chair the Commission and an inclusive consultation process with stakeholders.
My priority remains to establish a Commission which can deliver on public expectations in a realistic manner by establishing a full account of what happened in these Homes. To do otherwise would not be in the best interests of the mothers and children who were in these institutions or serve the wider public interest.
Following discussions with colleagues across Government the work of developing the terms of reference is now well advanced. In addition, my Department is working with Judge Murphy to advance the operational arrangements and to determine the resources required to support the Commission’s work. The establishment of any statutory investigation is a significant undertaking and it is important that the State’s experience of previous statutory inquiries, and the lessons learned, inform decisions on the establishment of this Commission.
In parallel with this work I am consulting with a number of key stakeholders in order to update them on the emerging issues and to seek their further views. As I advised the Joint Oireachtas Committee last week, at least some of the issues being raised extend beyond the central focus on Mother and Baby Homes as debated in this House. However, I am confident that this inclusive approach will greatly assist to establish an effective inquiry which has the support of those most centrally involved.
Following the finalisation of the terms of reference in the coming weeks it is my intention to bring the matter to Government as soon as possible thereafter.
343. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs following the announcement of education-focused inspections in services participating in the free preschool year programme, the way this additional layer of compliance complements the existing Tusla inspection process in order to avoid increased administrative pressures on the sector; in view of the fact that education-focused inspections will only be carried out in services participating in the free preschool year programme, the plans in place to extend this to services catering for children aged from zero to three years to avoid the creation of a care and education divide in the sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44281/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe new education-focused inspections will examine the quality of educational provision in early childhood settings participating in the Free Pre-school Year programme. These inspections will have a developmental focus looking in particular at the quality of children’s learning experiences and achievements and how this is supported in settings by management and leadership, curricular provision, the learning environment, adult-child interactions and the use of play based approaches. Practitioners in the Early Childhood settings will also have opportunity to engage in professional dialogue with inspectors who have expertise in the area of early childhood education. This professional dialogue together with the publication of reports will provide valuable advice to practitioners on how to improve the quality of learning experiences for the children.
The education-focussed inspections will be a separate programme of inspections but they will complement fully the regulatory, care-focussed inspections by the Tusla Early Years’ Inspectorate. Having separate care-focussed inspections and education-focussed inspections conducted by cooperating inspectorates is reflective of practice in other jurisdictions and there is strong evidence that this approach works very well.
Both the DES and Tusla Inspectorates are committed to working closely to ensure that the inspection processes complement each other, to minimise disruption to the work of early years’ settings and to avoid unnecessary administrative burdens on leaders and practitioners in early years’ centres. In this regard, appropriate systems will be put in place to facilitate the sharing of inspection information between both Inspectorates. This will build on the collaboration between both Inspectorates during the joint pilot inspections conduced in 2011/2012 which established a shared understanding of respective roles and inspection processes, and an awareness of the demands on pre-school settings. The Inspectorate of the DES will consult with stakeholders in the sector in advance of commencing the programme of education-focussed inspections.
The learning from carrying out education focused inspections in the Pre-School Year will contribute to long term planning for the regulation of the early years sector, including the assessment of learning and development outcomes for children aged between 0 and 3.
