Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and his officials to the meeting. I will commence by analysing his presentation. The Supreme Court's decision to uphold the result of the referendum on children's rights is welcome. I am someone who actively participated in the campaign and actively campaigned. Now that the decision is final, I want to know who will take responsibility, or be held accountable, for the fact that material was published, at a cost of €1 million, which did not concur with the McKenna principles and, as a result, has delayed implementation of the result from the vote that was held in November 2012. Someone must pay the consequences for the publication of that material. When we have the decision, I want to know where the legislation is to give effect to, for example, the new adoption regime for children in foster care long-term. These children have lost two years because of a decision taken by someone, whether it was the Minister's predecessor or a senior official in the Department, to publish the document in advance of the referendum.

The adoption (information and tracing) Bill has been ongoing for a long time. In October 2013, the committee held a quarterly meeting with the Minister's predecessor, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald. On that occasion it was stated that the legislation would be published shortly and the heads of the Bill would be sent to the committee. Unfortunately, we have never received the heads of the Bill. Today the Minister used the phrase "as soon as possible" when discussing the Bill. Can he guarantee that the legislation will be published before the term of this Government ends? Can he guarantee that the legislation will deal with both prospective and retrospective adoptees? Can he guarantee that all adult adoptees will have access to their birth records?

The draft child care (preschool) regulations were promised in the aftermath of the television programme "Breach of Trust" being broadcast in July 2013. It is almost two years since the programme was broadcast and almost two years since the Minister's predecessor, Deputy Fitzgerald, issued her eight-point plan. Unfortunately, we are still awaiting the publication of the regulations and the enactment of the new registration process. Why? Will the Minister give a definitive update on when this work will be done?

The Minister said: "The committee will be aware that for some time I have been very concerned about the number of cases awaiting a dedicated social work service." In fact, when I highlighted this matter over the past 12 months, and since the Minister assumed his portfolio, he and his predecessors said there was no issue with the number of social workers and claimed we have a full complement of social workers. I welcome that he has belatedly come around to the fact we do not have a sufficient number of social workers. An RTE programme that was broadcast in February 2015 identified the fast rate at which people were leaving the service. The Minister indicated that a pilot 12-month contract was being introduced to deal with people in the service on maternity leave. I ask him for an update on how the pilot scheme is going. I also want to know the following, which is something I have sought in written parliamentary questions and it is very difficult to get a confirmed answer. What target figure does the Minister have in mind for the number of social workers?

The next issue that the Minister mentioned was special educational needs. Another group has been set up despite that a report entitled A Framework for Action on the Inclusion of Children with Special Educational Needs was commissioned by the Department of Education and Skills in 2012. The report has not been implemented. We have another group looking at a problem we already know exists. It is amazing and bamboozling to hear the Minister say that the Secretary General of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, along with the Departments of Health and Education and Skills, will seek to gain agreement. Have the Departments kicked responsibility for this issue from one Department to another? I thought the formation of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs would mean responsibility for piloting and spearheading issues related to children, specifically early childhood care and education, would belong to the Department. At this stage it is not good enough for the Minister to say he will seek to gain agreement.

I will revert back to the quality agenda. Two years ago it was announced that by September 2015 all staff working with children in early years services should have a minimum level 5 qualification, and team leaders in the free preschool year should have a level 6 qualification. I asked a parliamentary question two weeks ago in reply to which the Minister said that of the staff working in the early years sector, 87% were qualified to level 5 and 50% were qualified to level 6. If that is the case, why have we decided to kick the increased requirement under the quality agenda out by a further 12 months? It is wrong that we have decided to do so. There was sufficient time for this measure to be introduced. Again, it is another stream of the eight-point plan that has yet to be implemented. If we want quality then we should adhere to the goals and timelines, not set down by me, but by the Minister and his Department. He has failed to adhere to the guidelines.

The next issue is child protection. Unfortunately, the legislation to put a proper structure in place, despite the Government being four and half years in office, has yet to be enacted. The national vetting legislation has yet to be commenced. The Children First legislation has yet to go through all Stages in the Oireachtas. Can the Minister give a guarantee that the Children First legislation will have gone through by the summer recess? When will the national vetting legislation be commenced?

The Minister mentioned the campaign called Let's Go Mental. Last week Dr. Muldoon was here and he described mental health as being disjointed, having a lack of co-ordination or being unco-ordinated with calmness. Will the Minister give an update on his opinion of the subject?

He also said that the reduction in staff in his office was inhibiting the work he does in ensuring children's concerns are met. Will the Minister give an update on this?