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

I welcome all the young people in the Visitors Gallery who have joined us. In 2015, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, provided funding of €5.8 million to voluntary organisations offering a range of counselling and support services to children and families, including marriage and relationship counselling, child counselling and bereavement counselling. The funding provided by Tusla focuses on the development of support services within the community to assist children and families in dealing with difficult periods in their lives and to enhance family stability.

Children who are not in the care of their parents or guardians and present as out of home to emergency services have their needs assessed and, if appropriate, are received into care under the Child Care Act 1991. Tusla compiles and publishes an annual report, the Review of Adequacy, which reviews the adequacy of the child and family services provided as required under the Child Care Act 1991. According to figures from the 2014 report, there were 1,018 children aged 16 and 17 in care on 31 December 2014. On the same date, 16 children aged 16 and 17 years old were accommodated under section 5 of the Act.

Tusla provides a range of services aimed at addressing emergency situations in the area of child welfare and protection. In the main, these emergency situations arise out of hours. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that Tusla commenced the new emergency out-of-hours social work service last November. This service allows An Garda Síochána to contact a national emergency social work out-of-hours phone service for general advice or consultation.

Tusla child and family services are very much demand led and the services requested vary depending on levels of need and support required. My Department receives monthly and quarterly performance reports from Tusla which are available on its website.

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