Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this legislation and the opportunity to make a contribution on Second Stage. The appointment of Deputy Frances Fitzgerald as the first full Minister for Children and Youth Affairs signalled this Government's intention to prioritise children and young people. The new Department of Children and Youth Affairs consolidates a range of functions which were previously the responsibility of other Ministers in areas such as health, justice, education, community and rural and Gaeltacht affairs. The new Department has managed to bring together a number of key areas of policy and provisions for children and young people, including the NEWB, the child and family agency and, since January 2012, the detention schools operated by the Irish Youth Justice Service.

The programme for Government states the intention of the Government is to "fundamentally reform the delivery of child protection services by removing child welfare and protection from the HSE and creating a dedicated Child Welfare and Protection Agency, reforming the model of service delivery and improving accountability to the Dáil". That is exactly what this Bill does. It provides for the establishment of Ireland's first dedicated child and family agency, with a primary focus of delivering a single dedicated agency with its own dedicated management team and board reporting to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.

The Bill has rightly been described as a milestone in the effective development of child protection services. The new agency will bring together key services which play a role in the welfare of children and families, including children and family services currently operated by the HSE, the child and family agency and the NEWB. The creation of the agency is being viewed as one of the largest and most ambitious public sector reforms undertaken by the Government. It involves the bringing together of over 4,000 staff and brings with it a budget of over €500 million from three existing bodies. It is my understanding that significant work has already taken place at an operational and logistical level to prepare for the establishment of the agency, including the recruitment of a senior management team and the breaking up of budgets into constituent parts.

The Child and Family Agency Bill 2013 is a comprehensive piece of legislation which provides for the subsuming of functions from three separate agencies. The Bill reassigns, under law, the sensitive and complex legal responsibilities which arise in respect of the care and protection of children and the promotion of their welfare. This important legislation will provide for the delivery of a caring, effective and efficient service for children in a consistent manner with clear standards and accountability. The new agency will seek to work with families and communities to identify early where additional support is required in order to improve outcomes for children. Sadly, we have had decades of failure in the field of child protection. The development of this new agency represents a key element in changing that legacy in the interest of children.

It is a sad indictment that it has been 20 years since the Kilkenny incest case report of inquiry led by Mrs. Justice Catherine McGuinness recommended that those who have responsibility for the support and safeguarding of children be brought together under one roof. We have had a litany of failures right up to the report last year by Geoffrey Shannon and Norah Gibbons on the deaths of children in State care. The commitment in the programme for Government to establish the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the appointment of a full Cabinet Minister marked the first step towards real change in the area of children and their welfare, care and rights.

It is obvious that placing full responsibility with one Ministry is fundamental to any reform. For too long, the issue has been batted about between Departments where it was always regarded as at best, an add-on and at worst, something to immediately pass on. The children's rights constitutional referendum of last year was another important event as we seek to put children first.

The development of the child and family agency through this legislation marks a significant step forward in the complete restructuring of services for children and families and best represents what Mrs. Justice McGuinness outlined so long ago. It represents part of the essential response to recent reports on child protection failings. In my view there was a common theme in many of these distressing reports, namely fragmentation in service provision, which in turn led to inconsistency, abdication of responsibility and, worst of all, hurt and damaged children.

I must admit to having personal reservations about the State being regarded as the exclusive patron of child protection and welfare. The protection of children has to be viewed as a community or societal concern and not just that of social workers and the new child and family agency provided for in this legislation. All of us must think more about the part we can play in supporting and safeguarding children. I read with interest the reaction of agencies such as Barnardos and the Children's Rights Alliance to the legislation. They have been acutely involved in advocating for such legislation for many years. Their initial reactions were positive but they now outline what they see as weaknesses in sections 8 and 9, and I ask the Minister to have regard to their considered view as the legislation moves through the Houses of the Oireachtas. They have expressed specific concerns with regard to prevention and early intervention work and the definition of the role of parents and family. Their reasoning is sound and merits more attention on Committee Stage.

In the previous Dáil, I was Fine Gael spokesperson on juvenile justice and I am glad to note some of the functions of the Irish Youth Justice Service will come under the remit of the new agency. Something which always struck me about the excellent work being done quietly by the Youth Justice Service was the return which came from preventative and early intervention actions.

I welcome the legislation and look forward to the establishment of a single dedicated agency focused on the well-being of the children of the State.

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