Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy for raising this question. I have said all along that reporting is just one aspect of this area. The Children First guidelines, which have been in place for ten years, and the proposed legislation are about working effectively with other agencies, having good quality interagency work and sharing information. That is the kind of culture to which we need to move to provide the best services for children at risk.

Professor Eileen Munro has done interesting work in the UK. I have worked in this area in the UK but it is a different situation to here. I accept the work in this area is very stressful as was highlighted in the report published yesterday. However, what has been missing to some degree in the management of social work services in this country is a clear national policy, the gathering of consistent information and an ability to compare what is happening in one part of the country with another because the data is not consistent or standardised. A significant amount of reform of management has to be done. That is one of the reasons we decided to take child and family services from the HSE and have a separate child and family support agency to deal with this difficult area.

We are also examining how we provide services for children and families. We sometimes forget the large amount of funding the State gives to a variety of agencies which work with children and families. We want to arrive at a position where those working in the HSE on child protection are also being supported by and work with those providing family support.

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