Tuesday, 10 Mar 2015

Written Answers Nos. 345-362

Garda Data

Ceisteanna (345)

Catherine Murphy

Ceist:

345. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if her attention has been drawn to the fact that some considerable doubt has been cast over the accuracy of statistical crime data prepared by An Garda Síochána for the Central Statistics Office; if she has read the Garda Inspectorate's recent report, which uncovered evidence of actual crimes being reclassified as non-crimes; her views on the significant problems that inaccurate crime data will have for effective policing and deployment of resources; the steps she will take to address this serious matter; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10496/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice and Equality

I can assure the Deputy that I am familiar with the Garda Inspectorate Report's analysis of the issues she refers to and welcomed its examination of these matters on publication. As the Inspectorate report recognises, these issues have been reported in other police services and the Inspectorate's recommendations draw from measures introduced in those jurisdictions.

It is of course of great importance that police data is as accurate as can be and this is reflected in the steps taken by the Garda Commissioner to respond to the concerns identified in the Inspectorate report, including the establishment of a new Data Quality Team in the Garda Information Services Centre (GISC), as well as measures to strengthen PULSE governance arrangements. These measures form part of broader steps to take forward the Inspectorate’s recommendations, including plans to upgrade and improve the technology for recording of crime and policing activity.

In so far as the compilation and publication of crime statistics is concerned, this is a matter in the first instance for the Central Statistics Office, as the national statistical agency. The CSO is currently carrying out a detailed analysis of certain issues raised by the Inspectorate in relation to the recording, classification and reclassification of crime, to see whether and to what extent they may have implications for the crime statistics which that Office produces. I understand that substantial work has been carried out on this project since the report's publication, and that this work is ongoing.

In addition, the CSO has also agreed to chair an expert panel to examine the Inspectorate's recommendations on crime statistics. The expert panel will review the crime counting and detection rules, as recommended by the Inspectorate, with a view to introducing new national standards. I am advised that the expert panel will commence its work in the coming weeks.

Garda Recruitment

Ceisteanna (346)

Dara Calleary

Ceist:

346. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the reason a superintendent has not been appointed to Westport Garda station in County Mayo; when one will be appointed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10575/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice and Equality

As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of personnel, among the Garda Regions, Divisions, and Districts. Garda management keep this distribution under continuing review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the best possible use is made of these resources.

I have however been informed by the Garda Commissioner that the personnel strength of Mayo Garda Division on 31 January 2015, the latest date for which figures are readily available, was 297. There are four Superintendents and one Chief Superintendent attached to the Division. I have also been informed by the Garda Commissioner that currently there are three Superintendents on a promotion list. The vacancy at Superintendent Rank in the Westport District will be revisited when those appointments have been made.

Garda Investigations

Ceisteanna (347)

Clare Daly

Ceist:

347. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 7 of 30 April 2014, in respect of hacked material being sourced by News International from its Dublin offices, when the Minister stated that any information on these illegal actions should be thoroughly investigated; and if she will ensure, in view of the settlement by News International with a human rights lawyer (details supplied) regarding an e-mail and personal computer hacking, that an investigation will take place into the level of Garda special branch knowledge of this activity. [10579/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice and Equality

As the Deputy will be aware, I have previously indicated that An Garda Síochána advised that they had no record of any complaint or investigation arising from the matters referred to by the Deputy. I have, however, sought an up to date report from the Garda authorities in this regard and will contact the Deputy again when it is available.

Child Detention Centres

Ceisteanna (348)

Joe Carey

Ceist:

348. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the position regarding the development of the new national child detention school at Oberstown, County Dublin; when it is expected that all children will be removed from adult prison facilities and rehoused at this new facility; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10162/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

There is a commitment in the Programme for Government to end the practice of detaining children in adult prison facilities and significant progress has been made in this area. Responsibility for 16 year old boys was transferred from the adult prison system to the Oberstown campus in May 2012 and this commitment will be fully met when the extension of the Oberstown campus results in the transfer of responsibility for 17 year old boys from the adult prison system to the children detention schools.

The Oberstown capital 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 first 5 units of new residential accommodation have been handed over to the Oberstown campus. In order to ensure safe and secure custody of children in the new buildings, and to meet the appropriate health and safety standards, a period of testing of new equipment and fittings and staff training is required. This process is continuing and is due to be completed shortly.

In order to transfer responsibility for all 17 year old boys, there is a need to employ the required complement of new care staff to work in the expanded facilities, and to enact the necessary legislation to ensure that all legal issues are fully addressed. A campaign is ongoing to recruit over 60 new care staff for the operation of the expanded Oberstown campus and 38 staff have been recruited to date. My Department is also progressing the necessary legal changes required in order to transfer responsibility for 17 year old boys from adult prison facilities by amending the Children Act 2001. It is intended that the Bill to give effect to these amendments will be published as soon as possible and enacted without delay.

When these steps have been achieved the practice of detaining children in adult prison facilities will cease, as early as possible this year.

Early Childhood Care and Education

Ceisteanna (349)

Joe Carey

Ceist:

349. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the position regarding the provision of a second full free preschool year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10163/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

The Early Childhood Care and Education programme provides one free preschool year to all eligible children before commencing primary school. This programme represents an annual investment of €175 million in preschool services.

The introduction of a second preschool year would require considerable additional funding, broadly in line with the cost of the current provision. This additional funding is not currently available due to the financial constraints under which the Government is operating. In addition, all of the available evidence indicates that the quality of the preschool provision, which is key to good outcomes for children, should be the priority. The Early Years Quality Agenda is being progressed by my Department. This involves a range of actions in key areas aimed at improving quality within early years services and enhancing the regulatory regime. These reforms are key building blocks for any further extension of universal childcare provision.

Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures, the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People 2014-2020, recognises the value of early childhood care and education in supporting children's early cognitive, social and emotional development. The Government is committed to the introduction of a second free preschool year within the lifetime of the Framework once the required quality standards are achieved and subject to the availability of resources.

Children in Care

Ceisteanna (350)

Clare Daly

Ceist:

350. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the criteria governing applications for secure special residential care; the number of applications for secure care that have been made by social work departments to the national admissions and discharge committee in the past 12 months; the number of secure care beds available at any one time within the jurisdiction; the number of children who meet the criteria for secure care by the national admissions and discharge committee but who, because of a lack of spaces, are not in secure care for vital therapeutic interventions. [10271/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

Special care is intended as a short term secure care placement in a therapeutic environment with the intention of returning the child to a community or family based setting as soon as possible. Special care is used to address the risk of harm that may be caused to a child's life, health, safety, development or welfare by their behaviour. Children are admitted to Special Care following a successful application to the Child and Family Agency's Special Care Admissions Committee and then to the High Court for a special care order, in line with the provisions of the Child Care Act 1991, as amended.

The criteria for admission to a special care unit are the age of the child, the concerns and risk assessment of the child, and a risk management plan. The age range for admission is 11 to 17 years. The concern and risk assessment must show evidence of the risk of harm that is posed by the child's behaviour. The risk management plan must show that the admission to special care will benefit the child and is being sought as other interventions or alternate placements are not able to meet the specific needs of the child. Documentation to support and provide evidence for the application are also considered and include a special care application form, views of the child and the parents/guardians, the history leading to the application, the child's social history and details of previous placements.

The current capacity of the three special care units is 17 places and as of 31 December 2014, 16 children were in special care placements. The Agency has informed me that for 2014, there were 67 referrals, 16 re-referrals which gives a total of 83 referrals for special care interventions in the year. I have been informed that currently there are seven young people who have been approved but are awaiting a special care intervention.

School Completion Programme

Ceisteanna (351, 352, 353)

Lucinda Creighton

Ceist:

351. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the way he envisages the role of the school completion programmes within Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, developing in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10405/15]

Lucinda Creighton

Ceist:

352. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the way the school completion programmes will be funded in the coming years; the reason funding for the programmes has been transferred, over the last few years, from the European Union to the Department of Education and Skills, and is now under the Tusla, the Child and Family Agency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10406/15]

Lucinda Creighton

Ceist:

353. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the way he will secure the future of the school completion programmes; and if he will oversee the development and roll-out of the programmes nationally. [10407/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

I propose to take Questions Nos. 351 to 353, inclusive, together.

The School Completion Programme aims to retain young people in the formal education system to completion of senior cycle and to generally improve the school attendance, participation and retention of young people who are risk of educational disadvantage. The Programme is a targeted intervention aimed at school communities identified through the Department of Education and Skills’ DEIS Action Plan for Educational Inclusion. It provides targeted supports annually to approximately 36,000 children annually.

I am advised that the School Completion Programme programme was funded on a multi-annual basis under the National Development Plan and up to 2007, with assistance from the European Social Fund. In 2006/2007, the School Completion Programme was subsumed into the School Support Programme, under DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) at the Department of Education and Skills.

In May 2009, the remit of the then National Educational Welfare Board was extended to include a co-ordinating role in relation to the School Completion Programme and the Home School Community Liaison Scheme alongside the Board's statutory Educational Welfare Service in order to develop an integrated and model of service to respond to children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage.

When my Department was established in 2011, it was given a remit to lead the development of harmonised policy and quality integrated service delivery for children and young people, to carry out specific functions in the social care field and co-ordinate actions across a range of sectors, including health, education, youth justice, sport, arts and culture in support of improved outcomes for children and young people.

On 1 January 2014, the Child and Family Agency was established as the dedicated State Agency for improving well-being and outcomes for children under the remit of my Department. Operational responsibility for the School Completion Programme, including the allocation of funds to local projects was assigned to the Agency from that date. In 2014, an allocation of €24.756 million was provided for the School Completion Programme. The Agency has approved local projects' school retention plans for the 2014/2015 academic year. The first two instalments of 2014/15 funding have been issued to local projects, with a third instalment planned for payment in May 2015.

The objective in incorporating the School Completion Programme into the Child and Family Agency responsibility is to ensure the provision of effective services for children who have difficulties participating in school; to better integrate the educational welfare services with other support services for children and their families and to bring about an increased emphasis on planning, evidence-based services and outcome measurement.

The estimate for the Child and Family Agency for 2015 is €631 million, a 4.3% increase on its 2014 allocation. My Department has recently issued a Performance Statement to the Agency under Section 45 of the Child and Family Agency Act, 2013. This includes my priorities for consideration in the development of the Agency's 2015 Business Plan.

The Business Plan will set out the Agency's proposed activities, programmes and priorities for 2015, including provision for the School Completion Programme, in light of the monies available.

A review of the School Completion Programme by the ESRI is almost complete. The review will assist in identifying the reforms necessary to consolidate the programme on a sustainable footing for the future and to ensure that it is line with the aims of Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures: the national policy framework for children and young people (2014-2020).

The aim is to ensure that available funds are targeted to those services that provide the greatest contribution to good educational outcomes for children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage. The Review has an important contribution to make to these aims and the future development of the school completion programme. It is envisaged that the review will be completed shortly.

Child Care Services Regulation

Ceisteanna (354)

Michael Moynihan

Ceist:

354. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs his views regarding the increased levels of administration work imposed on child care centres, in particular, resulting from the programme implementation platform, which has significantly increased the paperwork and time spent on administration for child care providers; if he will provide funding to assist with this administration work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10497/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

My Department implements a number of child care funding programmes that assist parents in accessing affordable and quality child care services. These include the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme, which provides for a free preschool year; the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) programme to support low income and disadvantaged families, and three Training and Employment Childcare programmes - Childcare Education and Training programme (CETS), Community Employment Childcare (CEC) programme and After-school Childcare (ASCC) programme - which provide childcare supports to eligible parents returning to work or to education.

The Programmes Implementation Platform (PIP) initiative was recently introduced by my Department with the objective of reducing paperwork and duplication of effort and to simplify the administration process of all of the programmes. This new development provides a more comprehensive, integrated set of management processes, more efficient work practices, greater visibility and control of funds and commitments and substantially improves the capacity of the stakeholders to dynamically manage service by service and case by case approvals and changes in each of the programmes.

The introduction of any new technical infrastructure does create some difficulties which are often resolved when users become more familiar with the operational processes. I can assure the Deputy that my Department and Pobal are working to further streamline the processes and I am confident that when all users become fully familiar with the system, it will prove to be extremely beneficial and efficient and will significantly improve the situation for service providers.

Speech and Language Therapy Provision

Ceisteanna (355)

Dara Calleary

Ceist:

355. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that an early intervention speech and language class at a school (details supplied) in County Mayo has been cut owing to a maternity leave situation; his views on whether this is an acceptable situation; his plans to rectify the situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10052/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister of State at the Department of Health

The particular issue raised by the Deputy is a service matter for the Health Service Executive. Accordingly I have arranged for the question to be referred to the HSE for direct reply to the Deputy. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.

Magdalen Laundries

Ceisteanna (356, 357, 358, 359, 360, 361, 362)

Clare Daly

Ceist:

356. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health if the Magdalen survivors who have enhanced medical cards will have the same entitlements to dental, ophthalmic and aural treatment and appliances, as Health Amendment Act card holders, save where those treatments and services relate specifically to hepatitis C and the Magdalen survivor does not suffer from hepatitis C. [10074/15]

Clare Daly

Ceist:

357. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health if the Magdalen survivors who have enhanced medical cards will have the same entitlements to drugs, medicines and appliances as Health Amendment Act card holders, save where those drugs, medicines and appliances relate specifically to hepatitis C and the Magdalen survivor does not suffer from hepatitis C. [10075/15]

Clare Daly

Ceist:

358. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health if the immediate relatives of Magdalen survivors who have enhanced medical cards will have the same entitlement to counselling and psychotherapy as the immediate relatives of Health Amendment Act card holders, except that the counselling for the immediate relatives of Magdalen survivors will relate to their connection to Magdalen laundries rather than hepatitis C. [10076/15]

Clare Daly

Ceist:

359. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health when the Magdalen survivors will receive their enhanced medical cards; when they will receive a guide to their enhanced medical card; the number of liaison officers who will be employed and when; if there will be an application process and, if so, what this will entail; and whether a complaints and appeals process has been put in place. [10078/15]

Clare Daly

Ceist:

360. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health if his Department will contact all general practitioners, public hospitals, private hospitals and other relevant health service providers to inform them of Magdalen survivors’ entitlements under the enhanced medical card; and the measures being taken to ensure that Magdalen survivors do not have to resolve any difficulties with the scheme or explain their entitlements to health care professionals. [10079/15]

Clare Daly

Ceist:

361. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health in the event that healthcare services do not have the facility to record enhanced medical cards, if cardholders will be reimbursed in the same manner as Health Amendment Act card holders. [10080/15]

Clare Daly

Ceist:

362. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health the progress that has been made on the administrative arrangements for Magdalen survivors living overseas. [10084/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

I propose to take Questions Nos. 356 to 362, inclusive, together.

When the Redress for Women Who Were Resident in Certain Institutions Bill has completed its passage in the Oireachtas, the final provisions will be determined.

The HSE is currently considering the practical arrangements to be put in place for access to health services for participants living in the State and abroad when the legislation is in place.