Jillian van Turnhout (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Jeyes and his colleagues. I welcome that we, as a committee, have put in train the process of holding quarterly meetings.

It is good for all of us to understand the issues and carry out our oversight role.

The first area I wish to deal with is that of resources, which has been raised by my colleagues. I am sure every State agency would say it needs additional resources, but I would place a priority on the Child and Family Agency. Can Mr. Jeyes advise what would be the priority areas for the agency in obtaining additional resources so that we can understand the need for those resources?

In terms of the transfer of responsibilities, as was stated, we are 18 months into this operation. Many of our systems, such as IT and human resources, are shared with the HSE. I understand the human resources element is managed from Manorhamilton and that even a local transfer has to go to a national panel. I am trying to understand the steps involved. Also, with respect to the IT system, the transfer and the role the HSE was supposed to play, I wonder whether it comes back to the question: does Big Brother always win? One of the reasons we wanted the Child and Family Agency established was to ensure it was independent and stood on its own. What is the position with IT services?

I have made my opinion clear on the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, CAHMS; I believe it should have been transferred over. There is a clear legal responsibility for the agency to provide a psychological service. I cannot find evidence of a psychological service. Has the HSE co-operated with Mr. Jeyes on that? I would appreciate a response to that question. It is important, because there is a legal responsibility for the agency to provide such a service.

Taking account of the number of children in care, we can get into issues about thresholds and whether the threshold has or has not increased for a child going into care. I am not going to measure the agency on the number of children in care, but I would like to ensure, as we all would, that if a child needs care, care is there for the child and the agency has the necessary resources. For me, it is a difficult indicator.

As other colleagues have asked, is Mr. Jeyes confident that he has resources required to implement the Children First Bill? Does he have an overview of the plans in place for its implementation? We will be dealing with the Children First Bill in the Seanad next week and it will be very useful to know that. Has Mr. Jeyes engaged with other agencies regarding the implementation of the Children First legislation, including the HSE? I asked the HSE about this several months ago and I believe it has one staff member responsible for Children First, which appalled me, given the number of children it deals with in its services.

In regard to the out-of-hours service, will it be a 24-hour service or will it only cover certain hours? I wish to check that, as the figures for Childline show that the majority of its calls are made outside working hours.

With regard to homelessness and the housing crisis - I am not placing responsibility for addressing that issue on the agency - does Mr. Jeyes have a concern regarding child protection issues when children are placed in emergency accommodation? That issue has been raised with the committee by the Ombudsman for Children, and the ISPCC recently stated that the placement of children in emergency accommodation, particularly where communal areas may be shared outside the household, could present child protection issues. What are the concerns of Mr. Jeyes in that respect and is he taking action to address any concerns he may have?

With regard to the funding of organisations, I am not questioning that he makes decisions, as he has to make decisions, but I would question the backdating of cuts. I cannot stand over the announcement to organisations in May that their funding was to be cut from next January. I understand that Mr. Jeyes must examine the streamlining of services, but we need to examine the way in which people have been communicated with and engaged, as organisations need to plan.

Another issue is the impact of policy. The agency is trying to institute measures and make changes. For example, a section 3 disclosure of abuse or neglect, which concerns alleged perpetrators, can have an impact on clients in practice. There is the issue of the impact of that policy on staffing resources, and I appreciate the budget difficulties. I note from the monthly performance indicators that staff are delivering more, which is welcome, but there is a limit to how far that can be stretched. The elastic band is at full stretch. I am trying to work out the impact this will have on children and on child protection. I want to understand where those resources will go.

On the issue of guardians ad litemand the legal costs, I have mixed feelings. I agree that the system must be regulated but I have also seen the critical role that some guardians ad litemhave played in children's lives and how they have intervened when the State has not been acting appropriately. We often talk about the legal cost of providing a guardianad litem, but I have a question about choices made by the Child and Family Agency in the cases it chooses to bring to the court that are not mediated or dealt with at a lower level. What responsibility is the agency taking for examining its own actions in regard to legal affairs, not only the costs involving other people?

It is good to see the 2015 business plan for the agency. The five immediate priorities, which are part of the corporate plan, have been outlined and in respect of each of them a time period is indicated, such as "short term" or "one to three years," but in the open comment it is stated that this is the progress in quarter one and quarter two. Is everything listed there? Is it the progress in quarter one and quarter two or is it in the short term, one to three years? Mr. Jeyes knows these plans inside out, but I am trying to establish what I am reading here to understand its significance.