Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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Question 50: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will report on the details of any analysis she has carried out in relation to the resource implications of the introduction of a mandatory reporting policy for the reporting of child abuse; her plans to increase resources to deal with the introduction of mandatory reporting including any plans to increase the number of social workers employed by the Health Service Executive; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26126/11]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy McConalogue. In July 2011, I launched the revised Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children. The guidance deals with the recognition, reporting and management of child safety concerns.

The revised guidance replaces the original version of Children First which was first published in 1999. The HSE, as I said in reply to the question from Deputy Ó Caoláin, has a network of personnel to provide training and information on the implementation of Children First. It is currently implementing a programme of information and training on the new guidance across the country. That includes the handbook which I am sure the Deputy has seen. The handbook will facilitate implementation of the Children First guidance and should provide for what I said is needed, namely, consistency across the country. The increase in the number of social workers should make a difference to that.

The Ryan report implementation plan recommended that Children First should be put on a statutory basis and the strengthening of the HSE's child protection services through the recruitment of an additional 270 social workers. The introduction of 260 of the social workers by the end of this year and the detailed implementation process under way within the HSE and across the Government will provide a firm basis for full compliance with Children First on a consistent basis, in addition to the other work which I have said is being carried out by the director of child and family services within the HSE. The audit which is currently being carried out should help.

The Government has also committed, as a priority, to the introduction of legislation to underpin Children First. I intend that the legislation will reflect a broad-based approach to compliance with obligations extending beyond reporting to one of safeguarding children at risk. The objective will be to ensure the greater protection of children by underpinning the existing guidance for reporting and responding to suspected child abuse with legislation.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

The Government is committed to a significant programme of reform of our child protection services. This is intended to achieve national consistency with services across the country delivered according to national standards which will be externally evaluated. This reform will lead to a new child and family support agency which will provide the dedicated focus on child protection which has been sometimes lacking within the HSE. The implementation of these reforms will allow for the best possible services to be delivered within the resources available.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for her response to the question. It greatly concerns me that I have not been able to get a clear response on the exact number of additional social workers that have been appointed so far this year. We have been given generalities but there is no specific figure in terms of progress on the appointment of an additional 60 by the end of this year on which a commitment was given. That concerns me in terms of where we are with resources.

I fully embrace the approach of putting the Children First guidelines on a statutory basis. The objective behind it is to ensure that we provide the best possible services to protect children. However, in a couple of the Minister's replies today-----

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy should ask a question please.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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In a couple of the Minister's replies today she stated she will introduce the guidelines and she will see following that how best the resources can be allocated. She indicated that the audit which is currently ongoing will be a help and the fact that extra social workers are being employed, which is to address other weaknesses in the system, will be a help with mandatory reporting. That is most concerning, in particular when one takes into account what has been said by experts such as Geoffrey Shannon and the head of children's services, Gordon Jeyes, and others, who have indicated that what we need is a step-by-step approach and we should not run before we can walk. However, what we see is that the Minister is coming up with plans but with no assessment of the resources and how they will work.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to call the Minister now.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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That is not the way this should be done.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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It is quite the opposite. The Deputy's Government made no assessment of the situation and did no audit. In addition, it left the services in a state where it is unclear precisely what is happening around the country. The previous Government promised to introduce legislation by 2010 to put Children First on a statutory basis, but did not do so. Since coming into office, I have worked on the heads of a Bill that will shortly be available. We have put on the A-list legislation to underpin the Children First legislation. We have an audit going on so that we get consistent information. We have a changed work programme within the HSE which consists of a new child protection handbook and new guidance. The director, along with myself, are meeting all frontline staff throughout the country who are able to attend those meetings to discuss consistent implementation. That is what I would call taking action to address the child protection system in this country, which is badly in need of such action.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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It ill behoves the Minister to attack the previous Government when we should be addressing the current situation. If her assertion - that no preparation was done before the last Government left office - is her position, surely the onus is on her to assess the resource implications and what would be required before moving on. That would be in line with what many health service experts have requested. We have heard that an audit is now being undertaken but in fact no assessment was done in advance. That was ill judged so we need to take it into account and address it.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Clearly, the priority is to protect children and keep them safe. That is precisely what we are doing by working for consistency, looking at referrals around the country and ensuring there is an adequate response to them. In addition, we are putting in place legislation and an implementation plan, which is what the handbook is offering. That is how to keep children safe, by responding to cases that are currently coming to social work teams throughout the country, and having a consistent approach to managing those cases.