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

There is at least a 30 year legacy concerning Ireland not dealing as effectively as it should have with vulnerable children. My Department's goal is to ensure that children do not fall through the cracks. That is why we are changing the way these services are being delivered. We are developing a focused management team and national leadership which was not there before. I would point out that during the previous ten years, as Deputy Naughten rightly observed, these children were being dealt with like this during the so-called Celtic tiger period. We must now focus on ensuring that these children and their families get the kind of services they have not received previously.

The development of the new child and family agency, together with a more structured approach with national standards and greater risk assessment at an earlier stage, will ensure that children will receive a much better service. The recruitment of social workers is an important part of that. The 270 social worker posts, which were recommended by the Ryan report to bring social work teams to an appropriate level, have been recruited. We do have high levels of maternity leave and some sick leave, but recruitment is going on as we speak. Some 84 social workers have been recruited which has to make a difference to the quality of work that is being done.

Major efforts are being made by front-line staff. Training has already started and there is a new awareness of neglect as a result of this report. The work that is being done in each area will make a difference to standards. Each area will commence a review and audit of all child neglect cases. This phase will be implemented in line with the recommendations of the Roscommon report. It will also use the methodology applied to complete the national audit of child neglect cases, which will commence in August 2013.

A lot of work has already been done by the HSE as a result of this report. It complements the work the HSE is doing nationally to ensure that we have services that are fit for purpose and which will meet children's needs. As the report outlined, their needs were clearly not met hitherto.

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