Written Answers Nos. 908-923
908. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation her proposals to establish an independent ombudsman office in respect of retail regulation, due to concerns over the unfair treatment of farmers and suppliers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22894/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI presume the Deputy’s question refers to the implementation of the grocery goods regulations which came into force on 30 April of this year.
There are no plans to establish a separate Ombudsman to implement the regulations.
As the Deputy is aware, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) was charged by the Oireachtas, under the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014, to be the independent body assigned responsibility for overseeing and enforcing these regulations. The CCPC has been given the powers to enforce the regulations and will build on the considerable enforcement and investigative powers that its two predecessors (the Competition Authority and the National Consumer Agency) have built up rather than start afresh with a new body. Contravention of the regulations will be an offence as will failure to comply with any contravention notice issued by the CCPC. That body also has the power to publicly list all undertakings that have contravened either the regulations or failed to comply with the contravention notices: this will inform consumers on which undertakings are not abiding by the regulations. It may also act on its own initiative or on the basis of information supplied to it.
However, it must be pointed out that in enforcing any regulations, the basic tenets of fair procedure and natural and constitutional justice must be upheld. Of course, if there are no suspect practices being carried out, there will be no issue for any contracting party to such relationships.
909. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation when she will initiate a debate on the agreed text of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement; if Dáil Éireann will be given the opportunity to vote on the issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22908/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI very much welcome the opportunity to discuss the benefits of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with Canada. Over the past few months I have answered a number of parliamentary questions on the matter, which shows the interest of the House in exploring many of the issues that had to be addressed during negotiations to ensure the best agreement for our businesses, employees, farmers and consumers.
It will be a matter for the Council and the European Parliament to decide on the conclusion, signature and provisional application of CETA. Following a decision by the Council with the consent of the Parliament, it will be possible to provisionally apply CETA. Its full entering into force will be subject to the conclusion by the EU, through a Council decision with the consent of the Parliament, and by all Member States through the relevant national ratification procedures. This means that the Oireachtas will be part of the final decision to ratify the agreement.
910. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the steps she will take to regulate the au pair and domestic workers sector to protect vulnerable women from exploitation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22909/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere is no separate legal definition of the term “au pair” in Irish legislation, and individuals described as “au pairs”, “nannies” or “child-minders” are not exempted or treated as separate categories of workers under Irish employment law. Ireland’s body of employment rights legislation protects all employees who are legally employed on an employer-employee basis, regardless of what title is given to them. Therefore, once it is clear that a person is working under a contract of employment (written or verbal), on a full-time or part-time basis, that person has the same protection under employment law as other employees, including entitlement to the national minimum wage.
All employers, including those in private homes, carry the same obligations in relation to compliance with employment law. Where the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), which is responsible for securing compliance with employment legislation, receives a complaint involving somebody described as an au pair, the WRC will investigate with a view to establishing whether a person has statutory entitlements under employment law. Complaints involving au pairs are considered on a case-by-case basis, in the light of the facts of each case.
The recent WRC decision regarding an individual working as an Au Pair does not constitute any change to existing employment law and any persons working under a contract of employment must continue to have the full protection of employment law. I have no plans to review the status of au pairs with a view to deeming persons determined to be employees to be outside the scope of employment law. My Department’s remit in this area is primarily concerned with ensuring that those people found to be employees can enforce their rights, as provided for under employment rights legislation.
Finally, under the National Minimum Wage Act 2000, certain reckonable components may be taken into account for all workers to determine an employee’s average hourly rate. In this context, if an employer provides an employee with full board and lodgings, or lodgings only or full board only, a monetary allowance can be included as reckonable pay (The term ‘full board’ means an entitlement to meals during the day), as follows:
- €54.13 for board and lodgings per week, or €7.73 per day;
- €32.14 for board only per week, or €4.60 per day;
- €21.85 for lodgings only per week, or €3.14 per day.
The inclusion of this provision in the National Minimum Wage legislation was recommended by the Inter-Departmental Group on Implementation of a National Minimum Wage. It was the view of the Inter-Departmental Group that the monetary value of the allowances for the purpose of the National Minimum Wage would not be set at market value but rather would be similar to the amount provided for in Employment Regulation Orders.
The National Minimum Wage Act 2000 (National Minimum Hourly Rate of Pay) Order 2000 (SI No. 95/2000) provided for the amounts specified.
As I indicated during the debate on the Au Pair Placement Bill 2016 during Private Members' Business last week, I am very conscious of the passage of time since the board and lodgings rates were set. It is my intention therefore to ask the Low Pay Commission to review these rates as part of their next Work Programme.
911. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 787 to 790, inclusive, of 12 July 2016, the exact amount of pay received by individual members of the Low Pay Commission for 2015 from a total of €155,500, and the same for the first six months of this year, for the €244,000 allocated to the commission for pay in 2016 in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22910/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraNot all Commission members are in receipt of fees; a number of members have waived their entitlement to fees and expenses. Others are ineligible to claim fees under the ‘one person, one salary’ principle.
The amounts paid to the individual commission members who are in receipt of fees are set out in the following table. Payments for 2016 represent payments made for Quarter 1 only.
|
Name |
2015 |
Q1 2016 |
|
Donal De Buitléir |
€16,923.08 |
€5,570.00 |
|
Tom Noonan |
€10,128.46 |
€2,992.50 |
|
Vincent Jennings |
€10,128.46 |
€2,992.50 |
|
Caroline McEnery |
€10,128.46 |
€2,992.50 |
|
Edel McGinley |
€10,128.46 |
€2,992.50 |
|
Mary Mosse |
€3,968.14 |
€2,992.50 |
912. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation her plans to tackle commercial vacancy rates, particularly in the north west where they are the highest in the country. [22535/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraSupporting enterprise development in all regions of the country in order to support job creation is a key objective of the Government, with initiatives such as the Regional Action Plans for Jobs seeking to build on the capabilities and strengths of each region to maximise enterprise growth and job creation.
Since the start of the Action Plan for Jobs process in 2012, employment has increased by 135,800 across the economy as a whole and has exceeded the initial target set by the Government for 2016. Over 20,000 jobs have been created in the North East/North West Region since 2012.
The North East/North West Action Plan aims to deliver 28,000 extra jobs in the counties of Cavan, Monaghan, Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal and Louth by 2020. Key targets in service of this overall goal are to achieve an increase of at least 25% in the number of start-ups in the region; a 25% improvement in the survival rate of new businesses; an increase in the number of IDA investments in the region by 30-40% up to 2019; and an increase of 300 to 500 in the numbers of Údarás na Gaeltachta supported jobs in the North West.
Sectors targeted as part of the plan include traditionally strong sectors for the region like agrifood, manufacturing/engineering and tourism, including active promotion of the tourism potential of the Lakelands Region, which includes Cavan and Monaghan.
Areas targeted for future growth include digital payments, cleantech and creative services.
One of the expected outcomes of these targeted initiatives in the North East/North West will be a reduction in the commercial vacancy rates. Many Local Authorities provide specific incentives to encourage businesses to establish a presence in vacant commercial premises. Responsibility for Local Authorities comes under the remit of my colleague, Mr. Simon Coveney, Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, so perhaps his Department would be in a position to provide further details.
913. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of staff who entered the public service after 1 January 2011 in her Department and by year of entry to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23499/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is staffed by civil servants principally recruited through the Public Appointments Service (PAS). I understand that the information on the number of staff who entered the civil service is being replied to by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.
914. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the cost of implementing a pay increase for all those employed under the remit of her Department after 1 January 2011 of 2%, 4% and 5%; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23509/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn 2nd December 2010 the Government approved the reduction by 10% of the salary scale for new entrants to traditional recruitment grades in the public service, with effect from 1st January, 2011. Insofar as my Department is concerned, the estimated cost of implementing a pay increase for those recruited in these traditional recruitment grades, post 1 January, 2011 is as follows.
A pay increase of 2%, inclusive of employers PRSI is estimated at €24,531. A pay increase of 4%, inclusive of employers PRSI is estimated at €49,061. Finally, a pay increase of 5%, inclusive of employers PRSI is estimated at €61,327. The total pay bill for my Department is €49 million approximately.
This costing specifically relates to recruits encompassed by the 10% reduction in entry grades to the public service which came into effect on 1st January, 2011.
915. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the State funding provided by her Department and agencies under its remit, including Tusla, to non-profit organisations, including voluntary hospitals and non-governmental organisations for each year from 2008 to 2015. [22044/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Children and Youth Affairs provides funding directly to a wide range of community, voluntary and other organisations that are engaged in the provision of specific services to children and young people. The most significant share of the funding, which amounted to €249 million in 2011, €262 million in 2012, €250 million in 2013, €247m in 2014 and €248m in 2015, is targeted at implementing three major childcare programmes that include the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) programme, the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme, and the Community Education and Training (CETS) programme.
My Department also provides annual funding to seven National Voluntary Childcare Organisations to enable them to provide a support service to their members in the context of these programmes. The individual amounts paid to the organisations in each instance over the last five years are set out in the following table:
|
Organisation |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
Barnardos |
€0.582m |
€0.582m |
€0.553m |
€0.553m |
€0.553m |
|
Border Counties Childcare Network |
€0.253m |
€0.253m |
€0.252m |
€0.240m |
€0.240m |
|
Childminding Ireland |
€0.358m |
€0.358m |
€0.340m |
€0.340m |
€0.340m |
|
Forbairt Naionraí Teo |
€0.254m |
€0.254m |
€0.241m |
€0.241m |
€0.120m |
|
Irish Steiner Kindergarten Association |
€0.053m |
€0.053m |
€0.050m |
€0.050m |
€0.050m |
|
St Nicholas Montessori |
€0.073m |
€0.073m |
€0.069m |
€0.069m |
€0.069m |
|
Early Childhood Ireland |
- |
€1.273m |
€1.205m |
€1.190m |
€1.190m |
|
Irish Pre-School Playgroup Association* |
€0.808m |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
National Children's Nursery Association* |
€0.537m |
- |
- |
- |
- |
*merged as Early Childhood Ireland in 2012
My Department also provides funds to support organisations through a number of other programmes that include the following:
- Funding for the support of voluntary youth work is made available on an annual basis to 32 national and major regional voluntary youth organisations through the Youth Service Grant Scheme which is intended to ensure the emergence, promotion, growth and development of youth organisations with distinctive philosophies and programmes aimed at the social education of young people. €52.683 million was paid to the organisations under the Scheme over the years 2011 to 2015 as follows:
|
Year |
Allocation |
|
2011 |
€11,444,367 |
|
2012 |
€11,051,303 |
|
2013 |
€10,336,522 |
|
2014 |
€9,948,904 |
|
2015 |
€9,901,444 |
- Support for Barnardos and Early Childhood Ireland who act in the role of authorised signatory in accordance with the Child Care (Pre-School Services) (No. 2) Regulations for the vetting of childcare providers. The Department of Children and Youth Affairs has facilitated these organisations in this regard through the provision of funding which amounted as follows for each of the years:
|
Organisation |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
Barnardos |
€0.133m |
€0.133m |
€0.121m |
€0.133m |
€0.133m |
|
Early Childhood Ireland |
- |
€0.100m |
€0.100m |
€0.100m |
€0.100m |
|
Irish Pre-School Playgroup Association* |
€0.050m |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
National Children's Nursery Association* |
€0.050m |
- |
- |
- |
- |
*merged as Early Childhood Ireland in 2012
- The provision of €88,467 in 2015, €85,447 in 2014, €87,631 in 2013 and €50,240 in 2012 to the ISPCC towards the running costs associated with the operation of the Missing Children Hotline. The funding provided in this instance is in respect of the provision of a service. The organisation also received €150,000 in 2015, and €150,000 in 2014, towards costs relating to data harvesting from ISPCC reporting systems and towards ISPCC cooperation in the development of child-friendly contact points and in the development of Children First reporting mechanisms.
- Funding was also provided for contractual services for a range of children and young people’s participation initiatives that include supporting Comhairle na nÓg, Dáil na nÓg and consultation with children and young people on behalf of my Department and other Government Departments and agencies. The monies provided for these services for each year since 2011 are as follows:
|
Organisation |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
National Youth Council of Ireland |
€44,828 |
€50,199 |
- |
- |
- |
|
Foróige |
- |
€131,235 |
€308,607 |
€311,064 |
€317,927 |
Funding has also been provided to support the following non-profit organisations to support the participation of children and young people or promote children’s culture and play, through their activities:
|
Organisation |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
Young Social Innovators |
€50,000 |
€35,000 |
€35,000 |
€35,000 |
€35,000 |
|
Children’s Books Ireland |
- |
- |
- |
€2,500 |
€2,500 |
|
The Wheel |
- |
- |
- |
- |
€400 |
- Funding of €23,629 was provided to the Children’s Rights Alliance in 2015 for two civil society reports to be made by it to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child in preparation for the Committee’s examination in January 2016 of the State’s implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- Grants were also made available to groups and organisations involved in the provision of services to children and young people through the provision of funds from the application based National Lottery Funding Scheme. The provision of lottery funding was essentially once off and details of the organisations that were allocated funds over the period 2011 to 2014 are published on my Department's website - www.dcya.gov.ie.
I have requested the agencies under the remit of my Department to compile the relevant information relating to their operational areas and to forward their responses directly to the Deputy.
916. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the State funding provided by her Department and agencies under its remit, including Tusla, to Anew and its predecessor organisations, Anchora and Life Pregnancy Care, for each year from 2008 to 2015; and her views on the role of that organisation in providing crisis pregnancy counselling to homeless women, given the statement in its constitution recognising the uniqueness of every human life from the moment of conception. [22045/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI can confirm that my Department does not provide any core funding to Anew. A funding proposal from Anew has recently been received in my Department and is currently under consideration.
Tusla, the Child and Family Agency who come under the remit of my Department, has confirmed that it does not provide core funding to this organisation. However, it did make a once off payment of €7,500 in relation to an individual case in 2015.
I invited this organisation to participate in the Homeless Summit in my Department on the 7th of July along with other frontline organisations. During the course of our meeting, they outlined the work they are doing currently with pregnant women at risk of homelessness and those who are homeless.
917. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she has had discussions with representatives of child care providers regarding the grant funding agreement for the early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme that has been forwarded to them for signing; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22381/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraAny scheme funded by Government must have a strong governance regime in place to ensure taxpayers' money is spent appropriately. From the inception of the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme, services who chose to provide ECCE were required to sign a contract, or ‘Grant Funding Agreement’.
The review of the DCYA Childcare Programme ECCE Grant Funding Agreement for the 2016/17 academic year was conducted by the Early Years Unit of my Department. This was within the context of the significant expansion of the Programme, which is designed to make high quality and affordable childcare available to more children and families.
To assist the Department during this review process and in order to gain important input from the childcare sector, officials from my Department met with representatives from Early Childhood Ireland (ECI) in June 2016. These representatives included childcare providers from rural and urban settings. At this meeting, ECI representatives were presented with a list of potential amendments to the ECCE Grant Funding Agreement, for discussion and feedback. Officials from my Department also met with delegates from County Childcare Ireland (CCI), the representative body for the City/County Childcare Committees (CCCs), in June 2016. Again, these delegates were presented with a list of potential amendments to the ECCE Grant Funding Agreement, along with an invitation for feedback.
The finalised ECCE Grant Funding Agreement for 2016/17 was published on the DCYA website on the 4th of July 2016. Notification of publication was communicated to all City/County Childcare Committees on the same day, for forwarding on to childcare providers. Childcare providers had been notified that the contracting process for the 2016/17 ECCE Programme would be conducted online, on the Programmes Implementation Platform (PIP), and therefore the ECCE Grant Funding Agreement document was for information purposes only.
The DCYA has issued regular notifications in relation to this year’s online contracting process. In this regard, childcare providers will, from the 29th of July 2016, be able to submit electronic or ‘online’ acceptance of the ECCE 2016/17 Grant Funding Agreement so as to provide the new and expanded ECCE programme.
918. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of politically appointed staff working in her Department, including the names, roles and salaries of each staff member; in the case of special advisers, their qualifications and experience relevant to their roles; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22727/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are five Ministerial appointees working in my Department. Details of their roles and current salaries are set out in tabular format below. All of my Ministerial staff appointments have been made in accordance with Instructions for Ministerial Appointments as published by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in June 2016.
|
Name |
Position Held |
Current Salary |
|
Patricia Ryan |
Special Adviser |
€79,401 |
|
Jerry O'Connor |
Special Adviser |
€79,401 |
|
Magdelene Hayden |
Personal Assistant |
€41,092* |
|
Eugene O'Sullivan |
Civilian Driver |
€631.75 p.w. |
|
Patrick Sheehan |
Civilian Driver |
€631.75 p.w. |
* While Magdelene Hayden has been appointed as my Personal Assistant, in accordance with revised arrangements put in place for the 32nd Dáil, she is paid under the Scheme for Secretarial Assistance by the Houses of the Oireachtas.
The terms of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 and the Standards in Public Office Act 2001 apply to all Ministerial staff appointments, including Special Advisers. In accordance with these Acts a copy of the Special Advisers' contracts of employment together with details of their qualifications will be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas.
I am satisfied that all of the persons appointed by me are appropriately qualified to carry out their official functions.
919. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the way her Department estimated the annual running costs of the proposed au pair council to be €500,000, as she mentioned in her contribution on Second Stage of the Au Pair Placement Bill 2016; the source of the figure she mentioned that less than 1% of child care is undertaken by au pairs; and the total number of households using au pairs to which this equates. [22828/16]
Amharc ar fhreagra920. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to substantiate the claim made in her contribution on Second Stage of the Au Pair Placement Bill 2016 that 98% of au pairs are women aged in their 30s and half of these are from South America; and the research undertaken by Pobal and the Department of Justice and Equality to which she refers. [22829/16]
Amharc ar fhreagra921. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to which Workplace Relations Commission ruling she was referring when she stated in her contribution on Second Stage of the Au Pair Placement Bill 2016 that the proposal to exempt au pairs from employment law runs contrary to the ruling of the Workplace Relations Commission. [22830/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 919 to 921, inclusive, together.
The Au Pair Placement Bill 2016 proposed the establishment of an “Au Pair Accreditation Council” to undertake the accreditation and other regulatory functions assigned to it under the Bill. As the Deputy will be aware, the establishment of such an Agency would result in additional costs to the Exchequer. In relation to an estimated annual running cost of €500,000 of such an Au Pair Agency, this figure was based on a comparison with the Low Pay Commission model and information provided by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.
The report of the Interdepartmental Group (IDG) on Future Investment in Childcare, 2015, set out a range of evidence based policy options for the delivery of accessible, affordable, high quality childcare. The Report found that au pairs or nannies comprise a small percentage of childcare arrangements. The 'Growing Up in Ireland' longitudinal study (2010 and 2013) indicated that one per-cent of nine-month-olds, and one per-cent of three-year-olds were cared for by Au Pairs/Nannies. Further analysis showed that 0.6 per-cent of 9 year olds had their main care provided by an Au-pair/Nanny. It would be very difficult to estimate the total number of households using Au Pairs from this data.
I referred to a survey conducted by the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland in 2015 on trends and working conditions for Au Pairs in Ireland. That survey of 554 Au Pairs found that 48% of those who participated were Brazilian and 98% were women aged between 31 and 35 years.
Other research conducted by the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland on ‘Childcare in the Domestic Work Sector' (May 2015) to which I referred was co-financed by the European Commission under the European Integration Fund and was supported by the Office for the promotion of Migrant Integration in the Department of Justice and Equality and Pobal.
The ruling of the Workplace Relations Commission to which I referred in my Second Stage speech related to a case of a Spanish woman working as an Au Pair who won a landmark case against an Irish host family to be treated as an employee in March of this year. The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, took a case to the Workplace Relations Commission on a number of employment grounds.
The Workplace Relations Commission Adjudicator determined the person working as an Au Pair to be an employee and entitled to the National Minimum Wage and to the protections of the Organisation of Working Time Act (which sets out statutory rights for employees in respect of rest, maximum working time and holidays).
The Workplace Relations Commission ordered that the woman be compensated for money owed for work, rest, annual leave and public holidays which amounted to a sum of €9,229. The ruling of the Workplace Relations Commission is consistent with rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union in relation to Au Pairs having the status of employees.
922. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the date for the next meeting with her counterpart in the Northern Ireland Executive in sectorial format, as provided for in the North-South Ministerial Council; the issues to be discussed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22856/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI participate in the child protection agenda of the Health and Food Safety Sectorial of the North South Ministerial Council. I can confirm that there is no date scheduled as yet for the next sectorial meeting. The Child Protection agenda to date has focussed on the following five agreed workstreams:
|
Agreed Workstream |
|
|
Workstream 1 |
Knowledge Exchange Forum |
|
Workstream 2 |
Quality and Effectiveness |
|
Workstream 3 |
Deaths of Children in Care |
|
Workstream 4 |
Cultural Competence in Safeguarding |
|
Workstream 5 |
Specialist Services |
Although we do not have an exact date for the next meeting, meetings generally take place at intervals of approximately six months. Prior to meetings, the agenda with issues to be discussed are agreed by both sides. It is expected that the child protection focus of the next meeting will be on progress in relation to the workstreams, and will also address the review of the child protection work programme.
My Department also participates in Education sectorial meetings. I understand that the next Education sectorial meeting will take place on 21 September 2016.
A discussion was held at the 4 July Plenary meeting of the North South Ministerial Council on the potential impact of the UK referendum result to leave the EU. In order to optimise joint planning and engagement on key issues arising following the UK referendum result, the NSMC agreed that a full audit will be undertaken in all sectors to identify the possible impacts, risks, opportunities and contingencies arising in the phases preceding and following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. It also agreed that this work will in turn be submitted to ministerial sectorial meetings for consideration as to the strategic and cross-cutting issues arising and that final priorities will be agreed by the next NSMC Plenary for both pre-negotiation and negotiation phases.
923. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the status of the adoption (information and tracing) Bill; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22901/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government approved drafting of the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill in December 2015. This Bill is intended to facilitate access to adoption information and operates on the basis of a presumption in favour of disclosing information in so far as is legally and constitutionally possible for both domestic and inter-country adoptions. Drafting of the Adoption (Information and Tracing Bill) is underway and my Department is working closely with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel to progress the Bill. This Bill is one of my priorities and I am committed to publish it as soon as possible this year.
