James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for her contribution. She may have pre-empted what I was going to say. These are very serious issues.

The report's author notes that the cases in question represent a very heterogeneous group and the issues that bring them to the child care courts vary widely, so there is no single approach that could reduce the proportion of ethnic minority families at this juncture. For example, the category includes Irish Travellers, asylum seekers and other immigrants who may be highly educated and economically independent but, as the Deputy pointed out, have different cultural norms. Physical discipline emerged as an issue for children from some other immigrant communities. This raises issues of the need for early involvement of appropriately trained family support workers with immigrant families and community leaders, a point the Deputy also made very well.

The fact that such a high proportion of at-risk children come from ethnic minority communities highlights the need for cultural sensitivity, focused integration policies and cultural mediation services. The Child and Family Agency has advised that it brings cases to court solely on the basis of the evidence it has regarding the welfare and protection of children. The agency has introduced a training component on cultural competence for staff so that they may better understand the needs and diversity of the families concerned.

All of the variations in care applications and outcomes by regional, ethnic and family status that have been identified throughout the course of the project to date require further research to determine the reasons for the variations and to see how more targeted interventions can, where possible, ensure that the level of intervention is the most appropriate.

The Deputy's point on the social supports of the extended family is also well made.

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