Léim ar aghaidh chuig an bpríomhábhar
Gnáthamharc

Child Protection

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 May 2018

Tuesday, 1 May 2018

Ceisteanna (378)

Eoin Ó Broin

Ceist:

378. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she has sought clarification as to whether all family hubs funded by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government have child protection policies in place (details supplied); and if all staff are Garda vetted. [18687/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

As the Deputy will be aware, all Private Emergency Accommodation service providers are required to have child protection policies in place. Furthermore, the DRHE requires that, in relation to service providers for emergency accommodation, all owners, managers and staff, contract or otherwise must undergo Garda vetting in advance of commencing employment. The service provider has responsibility for obtaining Garda vetting and the DRHE provide assistance to the service provider in this regard.

I met with Inner City Helping Homeless in March and agreed, on foot of that meeting, to raise a number of concerns voiced on the day with the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE). The DRHE replied to my letter of March 14 on March 23. This response has recently been forwarded to Inner City Helping Homeless and I apologise for the delay in so doing.

I understand that in the latter half of 2017, the DRHE developed a guideline document for Private Emergency Accommodation service providers, outlining the requirements that operators must meet as part of their contractual arrangements with the DRHE. In line with this document, the DRHE developed a training programme for all staff employed by private emergency operators which covers areas such as child protection, dealing with challenging behaviour, staff conduct and boundary setting. This programme of training is offered to all providers of private emergency accommodation and continues to be rolled out through 2018.

In relation to the component of training referring to child protection, a full of training takes place covering child protection matters - delivered by an expert in the area of child welfare and protection.

Finally, the DRHE have informed me that they carry out regular inspections, both announced and unannounced, on all service providers. The inspection results are made known to the service providers who are then required to carry out any corrective action necessary.

Barr
Roinn