Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)

The Deputy said he supports the legislation to put Children First on a statutory basis. As I stated before, doing so is not simply about reporting but about inter-agency working. Just this morning, I attended the meetings of the local children's services committees. We see at county level that we need those who are working with children to work together. Inter-agency work is required to give the best and most effective service to children and families.

Part of the legislation is about sharing information effectively. The research indicates agencies should work together but that they must do so in a particular way and well. They must know precisely what they are trying to achieve. It is not just about agencies working together but about them working well together to an effective formula. The legislation is about reporting, sharing information and inter-agency co-operation.

If one supports the legislation, one must ask when one would not want a case to be reported. The Deputy's answer would be that he would want a case reported. This leads to the question of resources, in respect of which I will put some facts before the House. There was a €16 million budget overrun in the HSE child and family service in 2010. The previous Government reduced the budget allocation, by at least €14 million, without saying where the cuts were meant to occur. There is, therefore, huge pressure on the system. I have said before I am shocked with some of that pressure. Social work, child protection and fostering services are under pressure.

In the current financial climate, we must examine how we can have more effective management. As a consequence, I have asked for an audit of what is happening regarding cases awaiting allocation. I have asked that we be able to compare areas. Not enough work has been done on data collection to date. There is a new system in place now so we can get a full picture and base our policy decisions on proper information.

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