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

I will not go over the details here - the Deputy has heard me speak before about the precise services transferring at present. Deputy Ó Caoláin supports the principle, as does Deputy Troy, that the new agency should not just be a child protection agency but should be concerned with family support and early intervention. If that is to be the reality, a range of services must be available to families at an early stage. It was clear from the child death report that some families did not have that. That is where the question of psychology comes in.

There has been a meeting of the working group and I have just received its report. I will study it and discuss with my colleagues in the Department of Health the precise arrangements that will be put in place for psychologists. It is important that professionals are open to the establishment of a new agency and the vision it wants to deliver for children. I ask all professional groups to show flexibility on ensuring children have access to those services. I have met representatives of the psychologists and I understand their concerns. Equally, I understand that if the new agency is to be a success, we need a range of services, such as psychologists and public health nurses, to be available in the first instance from the agency. I ask for the Deputy's support on that because it is vital a broad range of services are available in the new agency.

Many of the public health nurses are very keen to work with the agency. During its initial development, we selected the groups that had already been identified and it was envisaged services currently delivered to families by public health nurses would be considered, just at a later stage. We must consider various ways in which those services can be provided through the agency but that is an medium-term objective for the arrangements we must make.

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