Written Answers Nos. 261-275
262. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of children in State care at present; the extent to which this is sufficient; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37002/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Child Care Act 1991 (‘the Act’) is the statutory framework for child welfare and protection in Ireland. The legislation places a statutory duty on Tusla to promote the welfare of children who are not receiving adequate care and protection. It sets the legislative provisions in relation to taking children into care, and the responsibilities of the Sate in that regard, which aim to improve outcomes for looked after children.
There are a number of ways in which a child may come into the care of Tusla. Section 4 of the Act allows for a child to be taken into the care of Tusla on a voluntary basis for a determined period of time without the need for a care order, subject to the agreement and wishes of the parent.
Alternatively, the Act provides Tusla with the legislative basis to remove a child from his or her family environment, following a successful application for a care order to a Court. The Act specifies the different types of care order, which will determine the type and duration of the subsequent alternative care placement. These include Emergency Care Orders, Interim Care Orders, Care Orders and Special Care Orders.
The conditions required for a court to make a Care Order in respect of a child are specified in Part IV of the Act.
There are three types of alternative care operating in Ireland: foster care, residential care, and special care. These arrangements are in place in order to meet the differing needs and circumstances of children in the care of the State. Tusla has advised that at the end of April 2022 there were 5,869 children in the care of the State.
Further, the United Nations Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, 2009, specified foster care as the most desirable form of alternative care for children. As such it is noteworthy that the vast majority of looked after children in Ireland reside in foster care. Tusla has advised that approximately 90% of children in care, reside in foster care.
263. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the total number of children currently in fosterage; the duration of fosterage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37003/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraTusla has stated that at the end of April 2022, there were 5,869 children in care and of these 5,246 (89%) were in foster care. Of the 5,246 children in foster care, 3,737 (71%) were in general foster care and 1,509 (29%) were in relative foster care.
Tusla has advised that data is not collated on the length of time these children were in foster care.
Tusla has further advised that at the end of December 2021, there were 5,863 children in care and of these 11.5% (672) were in care for under 1 year; 37.1% (2,177) were in care for between 1-5 years and 51.4% (3,014) were in care for a period greater than 5 years.
264. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the total number of residential places currently available for children at risk; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37004/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraChildren are placed in the care of Tusla when their care needs cannot be met in the home setting, for a variety of reasons. Tusla has stated that when a young person needs to come into the care of Tusla an individual assessment of need, care plan and pre-placement risk assessment is carried out and put in place to ensure that the child’s needs are best met in the most appropriate placement.
Children are placed in residential care to provide a safe, nurturing environment for them when they cannot live at home or in an alternative family environment such as foster care.
Residential centres are community based and are supported by the same range of health and social care services available to the rest of the population. Where Children’s Residential Centres differ however, is that Centres are staffed on a 24-hour basis by Social Care Workers, Social Care Leaders and Managers.
Tusla has advised that they do not collate data specific to “children at risk”. Data collated relates to the number of children in Tusla care.
Tusla has advised that at the end of April 2022 there were 5,869 children in care and of these 439 were in residential care. Of the 439 children in residential care, 424 were in general residential care and 15 were in special care. This data refers to children in centres registered as residential centres under the Child Care Act 1991. There were an additional 49 children in “other” residential centres, which includes, for example disability centres and drug/alcohol rehabilitation centres.
265. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the total number of children now deemed to be at risk; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37005/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra266. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the extent to which adequate support continues to be available to ensure the protection of all children at risk; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37006/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra267. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the extent to which ongoing backup services continue to be fully available to children deemed to be at risk; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37007/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 265 to 267, inclusive, together.
I wish to advise the Deputy that statutory and operational responsibility for the delivery of child protection and welfare services is a matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency.
I can confirm that the matter has been referred to Tusla, for direct reply to the Deputy.
268. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he has identified any deficiencies in the extent to which children's interests are kept to the fore in cases before the courts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37008/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe issue that the Deputy has raised is one which is relevant to both my Department and the Department of Justice. My Department has policy responsibility for public law child care proceedings and the Department of Justice has responsibility for private family law proceedings, which include proceedings relating to separation, divorce and child custody cases.
In terms of public law child care proceedings, my Department is currently progressing the Child Care (Amendment) Bill through the Oireachtas. The purpose of this Bill is to regulate and extend the system of guardian ad litem appointments. The role of the guardian ad litem is to ascertain the views of the child, communicate these to the court and to make recommendations as to what is in the best interests of the child.
The Bill also contains amendments to the Child Care Act 1991, which are intended to reflect the intent of the 31st Amendment to the Constitution (the Children’s Referendum). The Bill specifically provides that in any proceedings before a court in relation to the care and protection of a child, under the Child Care Act, the court is obliged to regard the best interests of the child as the paramount consideration.
The Bill further provides that where a child is capable of forming their own views in any child care proceedings, the court must determine how to facilitate the child in expressing their views. The court must then give any views that the child wishes to express due weight, having regard to the age and maturity of the child.
As regards private family law, as the Deputy will be aware, there is no specialist family court structure in Ireland at present. The Department of Justice published the General Scheme of the Family Court Bill in September 2020 which aims to establish a Family Court Division within the existing court structures. My Department is contributing to this process by participating in the Family Justice Oversight Group. The aim of this Group is to identify ways to modernise and improve family justice and people’s experience of the system.
269. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the extent to which the guardian ad litem rules sufficiently protect the interests of children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37009/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraCurrently, guardians ad litem, or GALs, are appointed by the court for children who are the subject of child care proceedings under the Child Care Act 1991. The GAL has an important role in that they are required to ascertain the views of the child and communicate these to the court. They are also required to make recommendations to the court as to what is in the best interests of the child.
This is an important role which gives a voice to vulnerable children during care proceedings; however the current system of GAL appointments is unregulated and ad hoc. The existing legislative provisions do not set out the qualifications and experience necessary to work as a GAL. The role and functions are not defined, and there is no requirement on the court to appoint a GAL. These factors have led to inconsistencies in service provision across the country, which is a matter of concern to me.
To address these issues, I have brought forward the Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2022. This Bill is intended to regulate and expand the provision of the GAL service in a consistent manner across the country. The provisions of the Bill will enhance the rights of children and will ensure that high quality assistance is available to the courts. The Bill has completed its passage through the Dáil and is shortly due before the Seanad.
270. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if sufficient powers are available to his Department to protect the interests of children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37010/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to advise the Deputy that statutory and operational responsibility for the delivery of child protection and welfare services is a matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. There is an obligation by law that Tusla is independent in its work.
The Deputy is seeking information in relation to an operational matter for Tusla. Consequently, I have referred the matter to Tusla, and requested that a direct response be provided to the Deputy.
271. Deputy Richard O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he has examined the CAO system in conjunction with the skills shortage in Ireland; and if he has examined opening up further places in universities and colleges in order to meet industry demands in the health sector. [36969/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe CAO is a not-for-profit company created by the Irish Higher Education Institutions to process applications on their behalf. Decisions on admissions are made by the Higher Education Institutions who then instruct the CAO to make offers to successful candidates. Neither I nor my Department have a role in the operation of the CAO.
Ensuring an appropriate pipeline of suitably qualified healthcare professionals is a key priority for my Department. The Programme for Government commits the Department of Health to working with the education sectors, regulators, and professional bodies to improve the availability of health professionals and reform their training to support integrated care across the entire health service.
My Department has been engaging with the Department of Health on the number of places available in areas where the HSE has identified significant skills shortages. The areas identified include, but are not limited to, places in health disciplines such as medicine, nursing, health and social care professionals including Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language therapists, Psychologists, Physiotherapists, Social Workers, Medical Scientists and Dieticians.
On 28th June I announced 1,056 extra college places for September 2022, which includes places on welfare and nursing programmes. In the coming weeks, the Minister for Health and I will bring a memo to Government to outline a five-year plan to secure extra places in medicine.
I will ensure that there is continued engagement with all stakeholders to safeguard the delivery graduates with the skills necessary to support our healthcare system and support the strategic workforce planning by the health sector.
272. Deputy Richard O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will extend post-graduate programmes in for example, nursing in order that they could provide therapeutic roles to alleviate the huge backlog in the CAMHS area in which there are currently 3,914 children on waiting lists (details supplied). [36970/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is strongly committed to supporting the well-being of the population through the provision of graduates with the key competencies and skills to be effective in the health and education workforce, and support a range of public services, including nursing.
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are governed by the Universities Act 1997, the Institutes of Technologies Acts 1992 to 2006 and the Technological Universities Act 2018. Within the meaning of these Acts, Higher Education Institutions are autonomous including in relation to the design and structure of the programmes they offer. This is an important safeguard of quality. The programmes put in place and delivered by higher education institutions must also conform to regulatory standards required for professional accreditation of their graduate output.
I understand the Deputy has an interest in whether the Innovate for Ireland proposal has any relevance to this matter. The Taoiseach and I recently launched Innovate for Ireland, this is a new partnership between industry and the Government to recruit and retain research talent to Ireland. As such, it would not be a vehicle through which service needs could be met in the manner set out in the question.
My Department and I will continue to engage to ensure that we can continue to deliver graduates with the skills necessary to support our healthcare system and support the strategic workforce planning by the health sector including in relation to managing backlogs.
273. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if the future growth of the University of Limerick is limited by lack of road access from the Clare side of the campus. [36579/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe question raised by the Deputy relates to University of Limerick (UL) campus planning and is a matter directly for UL as an independent corporate entity established under statute.
The Deputy will be aware that UL, in conjunction with Clare County Council, has advanced an application for the designation of lands on the County Clare side of its campus as an Economic Strategic Development Zone (SDZ).
274. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the status of the FET College of the Future of Major Projects Fund investment for Cavan College; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36092/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra275. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the status of the proposal for the delivery of a new college in County Cavan; the timeline for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36094/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 274 and 275 together.
Following a call for proposals under the FET College of the Future Major Projects Fund, I understand that a Strategic Assessment Report in relation to the Cavan Institute proposal has now been submitted by Cavan Monaghan ETB to SOLAS. The Deputy will be aware that it was agreed that the Cavan Institute project, previously part of the Department of Education school building programme, would be advanced as part of the new FET capital funding programme.
As the Deputy is aware, I have already committed that funding will be made available to deliver this project, subject to compliance with Public Spending Code requirements. The Strategic Assessment Report is currently undergoing evaluation by the SOLAS-led assessment team, together with other proposals from the sector.
I have also granted approval for the purchase of a new modular unit for CMETB.
This is a strategic opportunity to address short and medium term accommodation needs for FET services in Cavan Town. The modular unit, c 1,700 sq.m., will be located at the FET campus at the former Dún Uí Neill Army barracks and will be operational by September. This modular accommodation is to address immediate accommodation needs. This development will enable the delivery of a range of PLC programmes, including but not limited to: music production, science, beauty, sports, animal care, sports therapy and general skills programmes. It will also provide canteen and sports facilities and office space. Works are well advanced on the delivery of this project for the new academic year.
