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

We accept that on occasion we must send children abroad for highly specialised care in medically complex cases, for example to Great Ormond Street Hospital, because it and others are global centres of excellence. Other countries also send children there. We must accept that for children with highly complex and challenging behavioural difficulties sometimes their best possible care can be provided in overseas specialist centres. That is why we are using these services - we do not have them in this country at present. We will certainly have looked to see if such services were available any place on the island; that would have been taken into account. These services would have been chosen very carefully for the children involved. Given there is such a small number of children involved, I do not wish to say anything that would identify them but suffice it to say that there are very complex care and behavioural needs involved, including emotional and sexual difficulties, and these children need very specialised care.

That said, I have indicated previously in the House that I believe our special care facilities, high support units and detention services in this country represent an area that needs attention. We need more clarity in regard to how this care should develop in the future. I have met with the relevant people and have an examination under way at present of how we are organising those services because I am not satisfied with the organisation or national planning in their regard. I believe the people on the front line are doing a very good job, as well as they can do it, but in terms of policy direction and future development of those services the work has simply not been done and it needs to be done. We have to see the referral of those children in that context. We do not have the services for them in this country. Perhaps for some of them we will be able to provide those services in the future.

I assure the Deputy the costs are per week in the unit so this does not include the various observations he made in regard to other costs. I assure him also that the social workers are in contact with those children and the services are in constant contact with the providers. We have experience of children doing extremely well in these units, and returning back to Ireland and doing well, either independently or with their families.

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