Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 May 2018
47. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she is satisfied that each voluntary organisation in receipt of funding from her Department is meeting child protection requirements; her views on whether sufficient steps are being taken to ensure that this is the case; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18800/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Children First Act 2015 places a number of statutory obligations on organisations providing relevant services to children. These obligations include: a requirement to keep children safe from harm while they are availing of the service; a requirement to carry out a risk assessment, and, a requirement to prepare a child safeguarding statement which sets out the policies and procedures which are in place to mitigate these risks.
The obligations of all Government Departments, including my own, regarding the oversight of bodies which provide a relevant service and which are funded by Departments are set out in section 27 of the Children First Act.
Section 27 requires each Government Department to prepare and publish a Sectorial Implementation Plan that outlines the programme of measures to be taken to ensure that the Department, and any body that provides a relevant service and receives funding from that Department, complies with the provisions of the Act.
The Sectorial Implementation Plan for my Department, which was published in March 2018, is available on www.dcya.gov.ie.
Funding provided by my Department to any organisation is contingent on that organisation meeting with a range of governance requirements. This includes its commitment to, and compliance with, all legal requirements in the area of child protection as set out in the Children First Act 2015. In cases where I am not satisfied that governance requirements are being met, including those in relation to child protection, funding may be withdrawn.
