Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I said, the new agency will have approximately 4,000 staff. We have established a shadow agency - an agency within an agency, in effect - within the HSE. Mr. Jeyes has been managing that process over the last year. We have reduced the number of managers from 34 to 16. We have provided for more direct accountability to Mr. Jeyes as manager. Those on the front line are now in much closer contact with their managers. The 4,000 staff will include staff from the child care and residential sectors and the Family Support Agency. A great deal of work has been done in the HSE to identify those members of staff who will fall within the remit of the new agency. The Deputy will be aware that my Department is responsible for services like the Family Support Agency, the National Educational Welfare Board, youth services and adoption and fostering services. Ongoing work is being done to identify the point at which other services might make the transition to the new agency. As the Deputy knows, the task force made a wide series of recommendations in its report. The new agency will be established and will be dealing with its core services by January 2013. Certain other services will move into the agency in the medium to longer term. It will depend on the outcome of the analysis and the decisions to be made by the Government. Ms Joan Carmichael of the IMPACT trade union is working as an independent chair to help staff to make the change. I welcome the broad support I have received across the sector as I have overseen the transition to the new agency.

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