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

I move amendment No. 7:

In page 13, line 15, after “shall” to insert “facilitate and”.

It was suggested that the insertion of "facilitate" into subsection (8) would bring clarity to the role of the agency. I said on Committee Stage that I felt the word "promote" adequately dealt with this issue and that it would include facilitating, but I have reflected on it further and I am proposing to insert "facilitate" into subsection (8). The effect of the proposed amendment is to bring absolute clarity to the precise role of the agency in respect of inter-agency co-operation. This is a serious obligation, which derives from my view - shared by most of those working in the field - that it is only with the co-operation of other agencies that real change and improvements can come about. There have been significant problems with inter-agency work, sharing of information and co-operation, and it is an implementation challenge for everybody involved in the sector.

Under section 8(8), it will be a requirement of the agency to facilitate and promote enhanced inter-agency co-operation to ensure that services for children and families are co-ordinated, and to provide an integrated response to the needs of children and families. The agency will also be obliged, under section 8(6), to co-operate with any person or body that the agency considers appropriate in any matter connected with the agency's functions, which are outlined in section 8.

I believe these provisions in the Bill will give a good basis for ensuring that the services of the various agencies and Departments working with child and family supports operate in a single, unified fashion. We have seen from a number of reports, especially the child death report and the most recent report published two weeks ago on this issue by Dr. Helen Buckley, that this an ongoing issue. There are often quite a number of organisations and professionals working with families, and we want to ensure that there is proper assessment, proper intervention and really good-quality inter-agency work, that people are not working in silos and that they share information and make the best decisions for children. I believe these provisions will support that, because they make the system work in a singular, unified fashion in the interests of children.

My Department is leading an initiative to develop a planning model for local inter-agency activities to improve outcomes for children.

The purpose of this initiative is to work towards better developmental outcomes for children through more effective integration of our policies and services, particularly through the children's services committees at local level. The local children's services are operating in 16 parts of the country and we can see this is the model we should use.

The children's services committees bring together a diverse group of agencies in local county areas to engage in joint planning of services for children. This includes representatives of all the local relevant organisations we have, such as Barnardos, the local HSE - now the child and family agency, local authorities, the Garda Síochána, the VEC and local schools. This ensures there is coherent, inter-agency work which brings together resources in a local area so that everybody knows what the other organisation is doing, which was far from the case before. This is a very good model to ensure the provision in the legislation is implemented at local level.

Amendment No. 8 proposes to insert a reference to "intra-agency", and is concerned with the development of processes between the formerly separate agencies to respond to weakness. Subsection 8(a) shows that no one agency can do this alone. As Deputy Ó Caoláin suggests, the introduction of the word "intra-agency" introduces a different concept - that we need a specific provision for effective operation of the agencies that are being brought together under the roof of the child and family agency. That intra-agency work is integral to the work of the agency because the agency must use the resources available to it in the most beneficial, effective and efficient manner. The rationale for bringing together the family support agency, the education welfare service and child protection is to ensure that we get that intra-agency co-operation in the new agency. That concept is well covered in the establishment, governance and performance aspects of this Bill. The bringing together under the roof of the agency of these three services is to ensure that integration of services occurs. It does not need to be spelled out in the way the Deputy's amendment suggests.

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