John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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Question 8: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs 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; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32471/11]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 11: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the organisations with whom she has held discussions since taking office on the subject of introducing mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32488/11]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Question 14: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs when the children first guidelines will be put on a statutory footing; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32528/11]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 8, 11 and 14 together.

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. It emphasises the need to safeguard and protect children and stresses that the safety and welfare of children is everyone's responsibility and children will have safer lives where everyone is attentive to their well being. People who work with children across a range of areas must be clear in understanding their responsibility for safe practice and the reporting of concerns. The guidance sets out specific protocols for HSE social workers, gardaí and other front line staff in dealing with suspected abuse. The scope of Children First extends beyond the reporting of suspected abuse. It emphasises the importance of multidisciplinary, inter-agency working in the management of such concerns. Key to this is the sharing of information between agencies and disciplines in the best interests of children and the need for full co-operation to ensure better outcomes.

There is an acknowledged need for greater consistency in the implementation of the Children First guidance across all sectors and organisations working with children. This was highlighted by the Ryan commission which recommended that Children First should be uniformly and consistently implemented throughout the State.

In recognition of this and following publication of the guidelines, an interdepartmental committee was established to oversee the implementation of Children First across all sectors. The committee is chaired by my Department and a meeting I attended recently included representatives from the various Departments involved in the provision of services to children.

It is important we have this cross-departmental group working so that those involved can ensure in each of their areas of responsibility that the agencies under their remit are carrying out the work envisaged in the child protection handbook and in Children First. For example, the Department with responsibility for sport can work with the Sports Council and with the various clubs, such as the GAA and others, who are doing an excellent job with regard to the implementation of Children First. Arrangements are also in place between the HSE and the Garda Síochána to monitor the implementation of Children First across the two statutory agencies which have specific responsibilities to assess and investigate child protection and welfare concerns.

We have also committed, as a priority, to the introduction of legislation to underpin Children First. I am in the process of developing detailed policy proposals in this regard which I will bring to Government. I expect to do this in the coming months. Consideration will be also given, in conjunction with the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children, to having the heads of the Bill considered at that committee. I look forward to the committee's response to that. It is my intention 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 strengthening the existing system for reporting and responding to suspected child abuse.

It must be emphasised in this context that Children First is already well established among those delivering services to children and there are already in place very significant resources to support the implementation of Children First, which was first introduced in 1999. In the case of the HSE and An Garda Síochána, the two statutory agencies with particular responsibilities for the assessment and investigation of child welfare and protection concerns, Children First forms an integral part of their existing operations and practices. I have been very impressed by the training being done by the Garda and within the HSE with regard to the roll-out of Children First. The new child welfare and protection practice handbook has been given to all staff and training has begun. I attended four regional meetings around the country where representatives of An Garda Síochána and the HSE participated and discussed the ongoing implementation of Children First.

We have already discussed here the additional resources being provided to the HSE, including an increase of 200 last year in the number of social workers in the child welfare and protection area. I already mentioned today the additional 60 social workers who will be in place by the end of this year. The recruitment of these additional social workers was included in the Ryan report implementation plan, as was the commitment to place the Children First guidelines on a statutory basis. This additional resource will be of particular assistance to the HSE in driving forward the implementation of Children First.

Since taking up office, I have had discussions right across the country with organisations and staff working in the child protection area and I have signalled the Government's intentions with regard to the safeguarding of children, including the introduction of legislation to underpin Children First. I visited each of the four HSE regions and met with frontline staff, the gardaí and representatives from other sectors and had the opportunity to hear at first hand the views of the key stakeholders. The response with regard to the Government's intentions was very positive and informative. I will continue to consult widely. We will have the opportunity to discuss the legislation in committee and I will work with the other Departments, the relevant professional regulatory bodies and other relevant agencies as the legislation is developed. The legislation will reflect what has been in the guidance over the past ten years. It is not simply about reporting, as happened in other countries, but it is also about working together, sharing information and inter-agency co-operation. This is essential if we intend to support and protect children and families.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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Fianna Fáil fully supports the Minister's efforts with regard to putting Children First on a statutory footing and ensuring that through mandatory reporting everything is reported so that child protection is our first priority and at the top of the agenda. Question No. 8 asked about the analysis done with regard to resource implications of the introduction of mandatory reporting. The Minister said the taskforce that has been established has been asked to assess how resources will be assigned. Was an advance assessment carried out by the Department with regard to the implications of a mandatory reporting system that would have penalties in place for not reporting? International experience has shown this increases the strain on the system. We know there is already massive strain on the system and this would lead to a real danger of problems falling through the cracks and children being endangered.

Comments made by Gordon Jeyes, the director of child and family services, and by Geoffrey Shannon following the Minister's announcement refer to the need to take this process step by step and suggest the Minister should not introduce policies that do not have the resource base to ensure reports we receive are acted upon and the resources are there to deal with them. When will the heads of the Bill come before the committee? The Minister indicated it would be in the spring. Is that when she expects it?

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Detailed work is being done on the heads of the Bill currently and it is a priority for me to have the legislation as soon as possible. I expect it will go to the committee in the next session and I hope to be in a position to bring a memo to Government before December on the legislation. It is a priority for my Department. The legislation is complex. I have met with many groups to discuss it and have had contact with or will meet the various organisations involved, such as the Teaching Council, the Medical Council, the Health and Social Care Professionals Council and others. I already have been in contact with them and asked them for their views.

On the question of an analysis of resources, as Gordon Jeyes has often said, Children First is effectively mandatory at this time. While it is not underpinned by legislation, it is mandatory. If professionals working with children think a child is being abused or have reason to be concerned, in good faith they must report that. The best analysis in terms of resources is what we are doing currently. We are examining the current state of child protection in the country. I asked for an audit in August when there were reports of various social work teams under pressure and I am very concerned by some of the information I have received from that audit. I have gone back and asked for further analysis to be done by the HSE because what has emerged - I have mentioned this on a number of occasions - is that the quality of the data is extremely problematic. It does not allow for analysis or comparison between areas and different meanings are being taken by different social work teams with regard to a number of cases awaiting allocation or allocated.

I am surprised this work has not been done in the past and it is essential it is done now. This came up already in my discussion with Deputy Ó Caoláin with regard to after care services and statistics. The information I am getting with regard to child and family services in the HSE illustrates in many ways the problems of this service being part of a big organisation like the HSE as opposed to being part of dedicated agency where the issues would be dealt with and where there would be proper management, governance and budgeting. These are serious issues. The best I can do for children is to ensure that when we have this legislation on a statutory basis, social workers will be able to meet the needs that come to their teams. I can best do this by analysing the current situation, ensuring there is an appropriate budget and being clear on what we are talking about when talking about child protection across the country.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The Children First guidelines were first published in 1999, 12 years ago, yet they are still not on a statutory footing. That understandably leads people to be anxious about the commitment of the Government to put them on a statutory footing. Notwithstanding the commitments the Minister is making about them being effectively implemented in many areas, the whole point of putting them on a statutory footing is that the State and its agencies are held legally accountable for ensuring that children are put first. In that context, the delay is worrying.

The State has failed abused children. We have a very high level of child poverty, as recent figures have indicated. Faced with an austerity budget in December which may impact on precisely the resources and supports that exist for children, is the delay in introducing the Children First guidelines after the budget due to the Government's intention to make cuts which will impact on our ability to put children first? Is the Minister going to be child proofing the budget? Will this be part of the budgetary process? The implementation of the Children First guidelines will be a key criterion and parameter over which the Government's budgetary constraints and need for austerity will not be allowed to pass. Will this be a red line? Will any cuts that impact negatively on children be offside?

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I note the Deputy's commitment in this area. People have talked for years about putting this legislation on a statutory basis. The Ryan implementation report, which was published in 2009, called for it. I brought a memo to the Government and got agreement that this legislation would be on a statutory basis. I am the first Minister who has done that. I have started working on the legislation. The work is advancing but it is complex.

I got agreement from the Government so that Children First would be put on a statutory basis. It is on the A list for legislation this term. I intend to have the heads of the Bill before the end of the year and to send it to committee in January. It is not being delayed for any other reason. The work is progressing and this legislation is being developed.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister will have noted the commentary in a number of publications by people who are not opposed to the idea of putting Children First on a statutory footing and introducing mandatory reporting. Nevertheless, they are profits of doom and gloom about this in respect of resourcing and the competency of the system to cope in a new situation. Is the Minister using the little time left to exercise herself on the Department's interest and the importance of highlighting to her Cabinet colleagues the critical funding that will be necessary to support the resourcing of the implementation of these measures? We need to give an answer to some of those voices. Some of the commentary is very foreboding and is unhelpful to the Minister's intent, which we support.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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All I can say is that there is an extraordinarily difficult financial situation, which impacts on all Departments. People working with children and family support services are clearly aware of this, as is the director working with the front-line social workers. A serious analysis on the pressures of the system is being carried out at the moment. Work is being done to ensure we understand the system comprehensively across the country. It is not helped by the fact that the budget last year was left €16 million short, if not a lot more. One area alone in the HSE had a €27 million overrun last year in respect of children's services, which was effectively absorbed in the HSE overall budget. Separating the child and family services budget from the HSE budget for next year is a very challenging task, and we must ensure that we have the type of budget that can meet the demands.

There is no doubt that prioritisation will be necessary, because the demand on the services is such that it will be necessary for social work teams to prioritise the kind of work they are doing and the work they cannot cope with. They will have to assess risk and in most cases where they cannot provide a service that is deemed less a priority, they will have to ensure that other services are brought in to work with those families. That work is underway.