Written Answers Nos. 802-815
802. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the tribunals established under the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Acts 1921 to 2011, in tabular form; the number of days each tribunal sat; the gross cost of each tribunal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10771/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraSince my appointment as Minister, no tribunals of inquiry have been established in my Department under the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Acts 1921 to 2011.
803. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will contact all those persons that have contacted her Department regarding adoption and mother and baby homes in recent years to inform them of the existence of the commission of investigation into mother and baby homes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9611/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am on the record of this House as encouraging any person with information which may be relevant to the investigation to contact the Commission directly. All relevant information is on the Commission's website and can be accessed at www.mbhcoi.ie.
Following the public consultation process to inform the development of the Commission's terms of reference, my Department passed on the submissions and correspondence received from groups and individuals to the Commission.
The Deputy may wish to note that my Department has also made arrangements to inform these interested parties of significant events regarding the Commission.
804. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if her attention has been drawn to reports that over €20,000 was spent on carpets for the offices of the mother and baby homes commission; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9710/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation was established by Government in 2015 with office accommodation provided in 73 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2. The building had previously accommodated a public health body but was empty prior to the Commission's tenancy. I am advised that the floor coverings in the building were aged and in poor condition generally. Wear and tear to areas of carpet around the building were deemed to present a trip hazard and the Office of Public Works assisted the Commission in the procurement of new floor coverings.
805. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if any outreach or advertising was undetaken to make Irish citizens that were adopted and are now living abroad aware of the commission of investigation (details supplied). [9584/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAt the outset it is important to state that the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes (and certain related Matters) is independent in the conduct of its investigations. Therefore, the advertising strategy is a matter for the Commission to decide and I do not have any role or influence in this regard.
The Commission has written to a range of Irish groups in the UK and the USA inviting relevant people to come forward. The Confidential Committee has already visited the UK for hearings and proposes to do so again in the near future.
While I do not have a direct role the Commission's advertising strategies, I am on record of this House as encouraging any person with information which may be relevant to the Commission to contact them directly. All relevant information is on the Commission's website and can be accessed at www.mbhcoi.ie.
806. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will ensure that the national adoption contact preference register is put on a statutory footing in the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9657/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill was published on 25th November 2016. The Bill provides at Section 14 that Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, shall establish and maintain a register to be known as the Register of Adoption Contact Enquiries. The existing National Adoption Contact Preference Register (NACPR) will be discontinued. However, all information relating to the NACPR will be retained. Before the new Register is established, each person whose details are on the NACPR will be contacted advising them of the new Register that is being established by Tusla. They will be invited to apply to have their details entered on the new Register. However, where birth parents have already indicated a preference for no contact on the NACPR, details of this preference will be transferred to the new Register.
807. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will ensure that information sources holding records pertaining to illegal adoptions, particularly instances in which no adoption order exists, will be compelled under the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2016 to transfer their records to the Adoption Authority of Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9658/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAdoption records are currently held by the Adoption Authority of Ireland, Tusla and agencies accredited under the Adoption Act 2010. Under the proposed legislation, the Authority will have overall responsibility for the safeguarding of all adoption records, including information relating to informal adoptions and persons whose birth was incorrectly registered. All adoption records, which are currently held in a number of locations, are to be transferred to the custody of the Authority. The Bill provides that the records are to be indexed and a searchable electronic database of the records is to be created. The Authority is to ensure that all adoption records are to be kept in a suitable and secure location. The Bill also provides the the Authority with wide ranging powers to collect records including those related to incorrect birth registrations.
808. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans to address the issue of the more than 2,000 persons that were exported from Ireland to America for adoption from the 1940s to the 1970s; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9659/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill was published on 25 November 2016 and it provides a statutory basis for the provision of information related to both past and future adoptions. The 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. It provides clarity around the information that can be provided and the circumstances in which it can be provided to those affected by adoption. The definition of adopted person in the Bill was drafted so as to ensure service provision in all historic adoptions where a child was placed and brought up outside the State primarily in the USA.
There will be an information campaign for six months following commencement of the Act to publicise the provisions of the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill. Tusla will liaise with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to identify the methods of maximising contact with persons outside of the State affected by Irish adoptions through media outlets, social media and other appropriate methods.
809. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will reinstate the stakeholder adoption advisory groups established by her predecessor (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9662/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn 2003 the then Minister for Children, Brian Lenihan, TD, launched a consultation process in regard to adoption. As a result of this process, in January 2005 the Department of Health and Children published "adoption Legislation: 2003 Consultation and Proposals for Change". The Report has served to inform the legislative developments that have taken place since then in particular the Adoption Act 2010 and the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2016.
The Adoption Authority of Ireland has operational responsibility for adoption in Ireland. In this regard I am advised by the Authority that it is proactive in its consultation with stakeholders. The Authority continues to meet with various stakeholder groups on a regular basis. These include Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, the Departments of Health and Children and Youth Affairs, and the various Bodies accredited to provide adoption services and various country-specific adoption support groups (e.g. Viet South and the Irish Chinese Contact Group).
I am also advised that during 2016, the CEO and/or members of the Authority's Senior Managemnet Team met with the Adoption Rights Alliance, irish Foster Care Association, Children's Rights Alliance and Treoir. The Authority also resumed meetings "on circuit" which allowed it to meet locally based groups, e.g. 'Know My Own' (Cork), the Sligo Family Resource Centre and Danu. The Authority intends to meet with local adoption groups in Galway and Waterford later this year. Furthermore the Authority has held a variety of seminars involving all stakeholders.
I have no plans to establish the stakeholder adoption advisory groups but I have asked the Adoption Authority to keep me advised of any issues which arises in their consultation.
810. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the legal fees incurred on FOI requests received by her Department; the staff hours involved in the processing of FOI requests for the past three years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9673/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere have been no legal fees incurred on Freedom of Information requests received, my Department does not collate the number of staff hours involved in the processing of Freedom of Information requests.
811. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the date on which officials in her Department were first informed of the existence of a Tusla file regarding a person (details supplied); if her Department was informed of this file’s existence by either Tusla or by another entity; the action taken on foot of receipt of this information; the other Departments or State agencies that were informed regarding the existence of this file; and the date on which such information was provided to same. [9765/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs I outlined in this House on 14 February 2017, I heard first hand of the file referred to by the Deputy from the persons concerned on 25 January 2017. This meeting was arranged with the person referred to by the Deputy after they had contacted my Department on 18 January 2017. At my meeting on 25 January I received a number of queries from the family and responded as quickly and as accurately as possible. The Government has included the actions of Tusla in respect of the person referred to by the Deputy in the terms of reference of the Tribunal of Inquiry.
Separately, I am requesting the Health Information and Quality Authority to undertake a Statutory Investigation under the Health Act 2007, as amended. The terms of reference for this Investigation will not overlap with those of the Tribunal of Inquiry. The matters raised in this question are some of the issues I would expect to be examined in the Tribunal of Inquiry.
812. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if Tusla will contact a person (details supplied) in relation to an ongoing issue. [9815/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have forwarded the information provided by the Deputy to Tusla, the Child and Family Agency for immediate attention.
813. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of children that availed of child care places under the special provision of the community child care subvention scheme for homeless children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9866/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraTo date 67 childcare services have joined the special provision of the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) programme for homeless children. The number of homeless children who have registered under the programme is 14. This is only a small portion of those who are eligible.
While uptake of new schemes can be low in the early stages, I am keen to ensure that a lack of awareness is not a cause of the low uptake.
An advisory group has been set up and met for the first time on Tuesday 14th February, to discuss how to promote more wide-spread uptake of the programme to the targeted audience. On foot of this, my Department has initiated an awareness campaign targeting homeless families through Focus Ireland and other community and voluntary groups which come into contact with families on a regular basis; and targeting childcare providers to encourage uptake through Pobal and through the Dublin based City and County Childcare Committees.
My Department has recently developed information literature in the form of leaflets in order to raise awareness of the programme among the public. These leaflets are presently being distributed by Focus Ireland and the four Dublin Childcare Committees.
Focus Ireland have supported and provided the appropriate forms to 42 children to enable them access the programme. My Department is also currently in consultation with local authorities to roll out the programme nationwide.
I am confident that this programme will meet its objectives with regard to supporting homeless families and I am hopeful that through the measures my Department has taken to increase awareness that we will see increased uptake in the coming weeks and months.
814. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she is satisfied that the present CEO of Tusla is the most suitable candidate (details supplied) to lead the reform of the agency; if her attention has been drawn to the fact that as the head of child protection in Dundee, Scotland, this person was severely criticised by the UK Government inspectors which after examining 18 key performance areas in Dundee ruled that nine were weak or unsatisfactory; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9968/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Board of the Child and Family Agency appointed the current Chief Executive Officer in February 2016, in accordance with Section 28(1) of the Child and Family Agency Act, 2013.
The appointment followed a competitive selection process run by the Public Appointments Service on behalf of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency and in accordance with the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act, 2004.
The Chief Executive Officer is responsible to the Board for the performance of his functions and the implementation of the Tusla’s corporate plan as per section 29(1) of the Child and Family Agency Act, 2013.
The Board is accountable to me for the performance of its functions including the delegation of functions to the CEO in accordance with Section 21 of the Child and Family Agency Act, 2013.
Tusla is engaged in an extensive programme of reform of our child welfare and protection services. Together with my officials, I engage on a regular basis with the Board and members of the senior management team within Tusla to review the progress being made, in this regard, in line with commitments as set out on an annual basis by Tusla in its Business Plan.
I have noted the information provided by the Deputy which has been in the public domain for some time.
815. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if her Department will seek from Tusla an explanation regarding the alleged lack of response by it in June 2016 when the mother of a child (details supplied) provided it with evidence of social media correspondence indicating that the child's biological father had been supplying them with drugs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9972/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI thank the Deputy for the information provided and have referred it to Tusla for attention. I asked them to contact the family directly in order to avoid disclosing identifying personal information in this forum. I would advise the Deputy that the family in question should contact the Gardai in relation to this matter referred to in the question.
