Jillian van Turnhout (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is very welcome. I also welcome his officials. I particularly welcome Dr. Fergal Lynch in his new position as Secretary General.

I wholeheartedly endorse what Deputy McLellan said on the issue of direct provision. There is a need for independent oversight and a complaints mechanism. The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs should have a role in ensuring the Ombudsman for Children, or somebody more suitable, has such a remit in this area. I agree with Deputy McLellan that this would be an appropriate role for the Ombudsman for Children. I think the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs has a role too.

I totally agree with what the Minister said about Comhairle na nÓg and about the Teenagers and Children Talking in Care event. I am sure many others who were in the room at that event will agree that it was most moving to hear young people talking about normal things and the security they were looking for. That resonated with all of us who were there. It is good to see that this work is ongoing.

I endorse and support the Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014, which was discussed at the Select Sub-Committee on Health on Tuesday. It is a children's rights issue as well. We have rehearsed all the discussion on it. I want to express absolute solidarity with the work the Minister is doing on this issue.

I thank the Minister for not opposing the Adoption (Identity and Information) Bill in the Seanad. Clearly we have differences of opinion on some of the areas covered by the Bill. I will not rehearse them now. I thank the Minister for allowing it to go through. It has given some people hope. All of us need to work to find a conclusion that ensures people can have their right to identity.

I welcome the Minister's announcement that there will be no cuts in youth work funding. As an active volunteer with the Irish Girl Guides and as a former president of the Youth Council, this issue is very close to my heart.

National lottery funding provided last year amounted to €1 million but will not be available this year. What impact will that have on youth work? I welcome what the Minister is saying but there will still be issues. I would welcome any clarity from the Minister. I welcome the work the Minister is doing in the area of child care; it needs investment. I am concerned about the after-school programme that the Minister will make moves without putting in place any regulations, guidelines or systems. In after-school we do not want to have a catch-up situation as we have in child care. Let us start with the State. If it is providing money it should state the guidelines for same because I am fearful on that area.

Turning specifically to the questions I asked, question No. 30 was in regard to the Children First Bill, which I welcome. I hope that by the time we get to our next hearing it will be enacted and we do not have to return to this issue.

Question No. 29 is on social workers and the Child and Family Agency. I could go into much detail but I am conscious of the time element. We all know the pressures on social workers and the Child and Family Agency. One of the driving factors for the establishment of the agency was that we would be able to meet the needs. In the past 12 months the number of whole-time equivalents of social workers has increased by 30 whereas the number of referrals has grown by almost 20% in that period. I thank the Minister for outlining the number of unallocated cases. Some 34% of high priority cases are unallocated, the vast majority over three months. In his answer the Minister assured me that emergency cases are dealt with immediately - for example, in situations where the child has been abandoned or in immediate physical danger but we are still talking about high priority cases. I wonder about the 2,844 children or families who are on the high priority list. Is the Minister asking where is the high risk? I have no doubt he is working to address the issue. However, when I look at the increased funding, part of me says that will only cover the legacy legal costs - it should not have had to cover those costs. I am concerned that we are not giving the agency a chance to succeed. We know that children are at risk and I do not think we can stand over this.

I am very disappointed with the answer to question No. 28, which concerns the report of the special rapporteur on child protection, Dr. Geoffrey Shannon. We had an excellent session here on 29 January with the special rapporteur and looked at some of his recommendations in respect of the Child Care Act 1991. Some of the answers, while they are interesting, were basically saying various proposals were not going to be addressed. I read over the transcripts of the hearing we had with the special rapporteur. He said that the Child Care Act 1991 is over two decades old and it is time to review it. He also indicated that during the year he met with all key stakeholders, including members of the Judiciary and the President of the District Court. He also said he makes recommendations following extensive consultations on his report. Again, he said he consulted with members of the Judiciary on the cases coming before the courts not only in Dublin but also outside Dublin when he was told certain courses of action were not being taken. Did the Minister or his officials consult with the special rapporteur before he gave us this reply? Did the Minister ask him what were his concerns? Why do we have a special rapporteur on child protection who has gone to the trouble of consulting all these people and put forward recommendations only for the response to be negative?. The President of the District Court, the Judiciary, the practitioners tell us there are concerns. I would ask that the answer be withdrawn and reviewed.