Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not know what happened to the pigeon. All the board positions have been filled. The Deputy also raised the Roma situation and the ongoing independent inquiry by the children's ombudsman. All the terms of reference and reports have been given to the ombudsman. It is an independent office. I have no doubt she would be keen to get the report done as quickly as possible but we have not got a timeframe for it. The Roma situation is of considerable international interest given their movement and the very marginalised position of many Roma in this country and elsewhere. It will be very interesting to see precisely what the ombudsman has to say on the actions taken in Dublin and Athlone.

In a reply I supplied, it was stated the number of times section 12 has been invoked. Clearly, a section 12 is taken in an emergency situation. That is the intention. Section 12 was invoked 728 times in 2010, 751 in 2011, 764 in 2012 and 584 in 2013 to date. The ombudsman will be examining section 12. It is very important the Garda can react to situations. The force has been involved in some very difficult situations where emergency action was needed for children. I look forward to receiving the ombudsman's report. It is very important we examine precisely what happened and the interaction between the Garda and HSE.

The Deputy raised a number of questions on adoption information and training. I have given as much information as I have on the records. The Deputy raised a very relevant point on access. The HSE is dealing with this. Priority is being given to gathering all the records together, which is the first step. The service people can expect is the key question. The HSE is examining what allocation of social workers it can make. This is an extremely busy time for the child and family agency coming into being but I will get some extra information and find out how it intends to develop the service. It must take its place in a long list of priorities in this time of change.

It has not been satisfactory. I have heard some very unsatisfactory personal experiences from people trying to get information. We need to offer a professional service but there is quite an amount of work involved in bringing together tens of thousands of files that have been scattered throughout the country.

The new legislation will provide a statutory basis for this work, which has commenced. There are many files in varying states and there is huge archival work to be done to make them readily accessible. No doubt, as this is an issue critical to individuals, it is one to which we will return. I will try to ascertain what priority the HSE is giving to this process and how it sees it developing in the new year. I hope that will be helpful and that I have responded to all of Deputy Ó Caoláin's questions.

On Senator van Turnhout's questions, I have clarified the issue in relation to the budget. The Senator made the point that €100 million is allocated from the child and family agency to voluntary organisations. We have seen in recent weeks the degree to which the State funds voluntary organisations. A huge amount of taxpayers' money is given to many NGOs and voluntary organisations. Very often, while a percentage of funding is provided by the public, the majority of it is provided by the State. This may not have been as fully understood in the past as it is now following the recent discussions by the Committee of Public Accounts and elsewhere. The same applies in the area covered by the child and family agency in terms of the €100 million allocation.

Senator van Turnhout's point about the bringing together of the priorities of Government and an agency in terms of allocations is important. The establishment of an agency such as the child and family agency provides an opportunity for joined-up thinking in terms of allocation of funding. I agree with the Senator that it should not be the case that just because historically funding has been given to certain services, they should continue to get it. There is always a resistance to change, not least from colleagues in the House when we make funding changes. Agencies often believe they should continue to receive funding, even if they are not working on priority issues. It is a key issue in the context of the resources available. There are many parenting courses but the questions that arise are how many we can fund and where this issue fits in terms of priorities. There is a need for closer alignment between Government funding. It is important we move in the direction suggested by the Senator. There must be a commissioning of work that needs to be done and aligns with the key priorities being presented to us. If there are 40,000 referrals to the child and family agency and we are funding it, I want to ensure it is working with those children and families who are in crisis and need services. This requires alignment. Equally, we must accept the independence and creativity of voluntary organisations and new initiatives. As Deputy Ó Caoláin said, the agency must be given time to settle in and establish itself. It must also be given an opportunity to work out the alignments and priorities.

I note the Senator's point in relation to special care, in respect of which we are developing additional places. However, this will not happen overnight. One wonders why these residential and special care placements were not developed during the Celtic tiger years and why we are still using facilities abroad. However, that is the reality. We cannot magically produce places but a plan is in place to create additional places. For the first time ever we are approaching this from a national point of view. A person in charge of special care has been appointed. A more co-ordinated approach than ever before is being taken to the needs of special care. Also for the first time ever, funding has been provided for a new service which will provide treatment for and work with young people who are coming into special care and high support.

Engagement between the Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Health is ongoing. I meet the Minister for Education and Skills at least twice a year and our officials are in constant contact. Both Departments are engaged in a particular piece of work and there a number of other cross-departmental committees doing key work in this area. As the agency develops and we see where further co-operation is needed, we can develop the necessary mechanisms to ensure this happens effectively.

Deputy McLellan has raised with me a number of times her concern in relation to youth services. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that because of the additional money allocated by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, to youth services, the reductions in this area will be closer to 3.5% and 4%. The agencies have informed me that, generally speaking, they will be in a position to deliver services. The previously proposed 10% and 5% cuts would have been very harsh given what is happening in the area of youth services. The additional €1 million provided has enabled considerable cutting back on what was originally intended. I am pleased with this and would like to see it continued next year. I believe youth services provide extremely good work.

The Deputy also asked about expansion of the area-based childhood, ABC, initiative. As I said earlier, 12 additional areas will receive mentoring. This means that if funding is available, they should be in a position to deliver the type of services being developed by the area-based childhood initiative. This is evidence-based. Results from the three pilot projects were very good. I have succeeded in getting €14 million from Atlantic Philanthropies, for which I thank it. I made a presentation to its board earlier in the year and it agreed to provide funding of €14 million, which the Government matched with another €14 million. This is funding for the area-based childhood initiative, which is in areas of high need throughout the country. Fifty applications were received, which is indicative of the scale of need. The projects selected will be up and running in January providing services in local areas to parents and children in need of the types of supports which we know work and will ensure they are able to avail of opportunities in preschools and primary schools.