Máire Hoctor (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Barry Andrews, for agreeing to share his speaking time with me this evening. I also echo his remarks regarding the shock we all feel about the case heard before Roscommon Circuit Court last week. The issues this case raises are truly harrowing and should serve as a warning to everyone that the utmost vigilance is required from all if we are to face up to issues surrounding the protection of vulnerable children.

The Minister of State highlighted a number of recent and ongoing service reform issues. In this regard I would also highlight some other worthwhile initiatives of recent times. The first of these is the innovative prevention and early intervention programme which was announced by the then Minister of State with responsibility for children in 2006. This programme examines innovative methods for improving outcomes for children in an integrated way and is scheduled to run for a five year period. Funding amounting to €36 million in total has been provided by Government and Atlantic Philanthropies for the programme, which is being managed by the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, OMCYA. To date, service level agreements have been agreed between the OMCYA and projects based in Tallaght, Ballymun and the northside communities of Darndale, Belcamp and Moatview.

The model underpinning this programme is based on evidence of need in the community and an evidence based approach to what works. This approach is gained from professional and personal experience, research literature from successful models tested elsewhere as well as needs assessment on the ground. It is outcome oriented in that it is driven by the benefits or changes for individuals or populations during or after participating in the programme activities. A key element is the ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the outcomes of the activities undertaken and learning from the individual sites. This evaluation is intended to promote a process of continuous improvement and helps to assess what interventions work best and how and where they can be best employed in improving delivery of services or the development of new policy. It should also guide the reorientation of current services where the evidence indicates that this should happen.

The second innovation I want to highlight this evening, and another significant step forward in the harmonisation of service provision in the area of child welfare and protection service provision, has been the establishment of children's services committees. The Towards 2016 national partnership agreement made provision for the establishment of a high-level group chaired by the OMCYA, now known as the National Children's Strategy Implementation Group. The group was established in November 2006 and its membership is drawn from the relevant Departments, the HSE, representatives of local authorities, the education sector and other key agencies.

The key priority of the group is to ensure implementation of the many strategic plans and policy documents, which have already been drawn up and published, on children's services in Ireland. It must ensure integration of service delivery, cross-sectoral working and the joint implementation of children policies and initiatives.

As part of the process of achieving this goal, the group approved the establishment of four multi-agency children's services committees, CSCs. The sites chosen for the initial roll-out of the committees were in Dublin city, south Dublin, Donegal and Limerick city. These committees have now been established and a framework for advancing their work has been agreed. The aim of this initiative is to test models of best practice which promote integrated, locally led, strategic planning for children's services. The National Children's Strategy Implementation Group is working to provide guidance and practical assistance to each of the committees.

It is hoped to set up at least four new children's services committees in 2009 and proposals have been requested from interested parties and the OMCYA is continuing to work closely with potential sites for phase III.

The policy initiatives and actions I have been referring to are important for child welfare and protection because they promise action to intervene to prevent issues developing to the point where they become child protection problems. The solution these initiatives offer include better service integration and co-ordination, improved communication and a better understanding built up among all service providers of each other's roles and skills based on shared goals and outcomes.

On 30 July last, my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Barry Andrews, launched the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs's national review of compliance with the Children First guidelines. This review was part of the Government's response to the publication of the Ferns report and was carried out by the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs in partnership with all relevant Departments. In the course of the review, many areas of good practice were identified, and much positive feedback was received. However, in some areas slower progress was identified, including, in particular, around the principles of integrating family support with the child protection service, and integrating the voice of the child into the service.

The findings suggested that while the guidelines themselves presented a good framework for the protection of children, there were a number of areas that needed to be reviewed. Key difficulties were identified arising from a lack of consistency, an absence of a comprehensive local, regional or national structure to plan, monitor and evaluate the child protection services and from a lack of availability of key services and supports.

The key finding of the review was that, in general, difficulties and variations in implementation of the guidelines arose as a result of local variation and infrastructural issues, rather than from fundamental difficulties with the guidelines themselves. Accordingly, it has been decided not to revise fundamentally or replace the guidelines, but to give priority to issues of consistency in implementation and the development of standards. While there is a stated intention to reissue the guidelines, the substance and principles will remain unchanged.

The purpose of the guidelines when they were first published in 1999 was to protect children. Responsibility for protecting children must be shared among everyone, including the statutory and non-statutory sectors, teachers, parents and neighbours. It is the responsibility of the Minister of State with responsibility for children and youth affairs to ensure that national policy for the protection and welfare of children is articulated as robustly as possible in the national guidelines and is implemented effectively and consistently across all sectors of society. This is a responsibility that the Minister of State, Deputy Barry Andrews, along with everyone in Government, takes seriously.

There have been a number of recent developments in respect of child protection, most notably the publication of the reports relating to the Cloyne diocese and the recent tragic child abuse court case in County Roscommon. Further significant reports are expected to be published, including the Monageer report, the report of the Dublin diocese commission and the Department of Education and Science report from the child abuse inquiry. Everyone would agree that it makes sense that the implications of these reports for our national guidelines on the protection and welfare of children should be fully considered and, therefore, it is intended to hold off on the re-issue of the guidelines until the necessary information is available and what is learned from these reports can be integrated into the guidelines.

I understand that, as part of the HSE publicity campaign on child protection issues undertaken to implement one of the recommendations of the Ferns inquiry, the HSE is due to publish a booklet shortly that will assist the public in dealing with child welfare and protection concerns in line with Children First.

I echo the remark of the Minister of State to the effect that, while the State does not absolve itself of responsibility, child protection is everyone's concern. Issues must be reported and followed up, an outcome that everyone in society can help to achieve within the service providers, which must be responsive and act expeditiously to calm people's concerns and address problems before they become crises.

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