Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)

Detailed work is being done on the heads of the Bill currently and it is a priority for me to have the legislation as soon as possible. I expect it will go to the committee in the next session and I hope to be in a position to bring a memo to Government before December on the legislation. It is a priority for my Department. The legislation is complex. I have met with many groups to discuss it and have had contact with or will meet the various organisations involved, such as the Teaching Council, the Medical Council, the Health and Social Care Professionals Council and others. I already have been in contact with them and asked them for their views.

On the question of an analysis of resources, as Gordon Jeyes has often said, Children First is effectively mandatory at this time. While it is not underpinned by legislation, it is mandatory. If professionals working with children think a child is being abused or have reason to be concerned, in good faith they must report that. The best analysis in terms of resources is what we are doing currently. We are examining the current state of child protection in the country. I asked for an audit in August when there were reports of various social work teams under pressure and I am very concerned by some of the information I have received from that audit. I have gone back and asked for further analysis to be done by the HSE because what has emerged - I have mentioned this on a number of occasions - is that the quality of the data is extremely problematic. It does not allow for analysis or comparison between areas and different meanings are being taken by different social work teams with regard to a number of cases awaiting allocation or allocated.

I am surprised this work has not been done in the past and it is essential it is done now. This came up already in my discussion with Deputy Ó Caoláin with regard to after care services and statistics. The information I am getting with regard to child and family services in the HSE illustrates in many ways the problems of this service being part of a big organisation like the HSE as opposed to being part of dedicated agency where the issues would be dealt with and where there would be proper management, governance and budgeting. These are serious issues. The best I can do for children is to ensure that when we have this legislation on a statutory basis, social workers will be able to meet the needs that come to their teams. I can best do this by analysing the current situation, ensuring there is an appropriate budget and being clear on what we are talking about when talking about child protection across the country.

See this speech in context