Results 2,901-2,920 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Health Service Staff (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I have asked for the information with regard to the residential care settings and the information to date is that one person who is not on the care side is leaving that sector. That is the information to date. If this changes in the coming weeks, I will communicate directly with the Deputy on it. Based on the current figures, only one person is retiring. I believe this is largely...

Health Service Staff (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: Yes.

Health Service Staff (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: Deputy McConalogue seems almost disappointed that funding has been put in place for the 60 social workers who have been recruited and are ready to start. I do not understand the Deputy's point.

Health Service Staff (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: The 262 people have been recruited, with the vast majority of them in place. A number of them are due to begin work in the next couple of weeks. I will provide the child and family social work numbers for Deputy Boyd Barrett. It is important to maintain numbers in the current climate, as the Deputy will appreciate. In 2010 there were 1,183 workers and in 2011 there were 1,220 - an...

Health Service Staff (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: That is a management decision locally. It relates to how to best use the resources that are there. I agree that community social worker and social workers in primary care are very important as well. At a time of huge demands in the child protection area, it is clear that we have to make decisions. Local managers are making decisions about the best use of the social workers who are in...

Health Service Staff (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I think the point I was making was clear. I was saying that 45 people were not leaving from a particular part of the service. It was in that context that I used the word in question. The local managers in each area will deal proportionately with the numbers that have left from that area and will come up with the necessary plans to deal with the situation.

Health Service Staff (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: Where it is a priority for them to be replaced, that decision will be made by the local and regional management. Ultimately, it will be a matter for the director, Gordon Jeyes. It will depend on the resources that are available.

Garda Investigations (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I can confirm that I have received a copy of the report referred to in the Deputy's question. The report was prepared by the Garda Inspectorate. It was submitted to my colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality, who published it. I wish to make it clear that there is no "turf war" between the HSE and the Garda Síochána on the issue of sexual offences against children, nor is such a...

Garda Investigations (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I do not have information on the reason the previous Government did not publish the report. I understand the points Deputy Ó Caoláin makes as it is extremely important that cases are acted upon with the greatest possible urgency and priority. It is also important to recognise the changes that have taken place. In recent years, the Garda has attached a high priority to work in this area....

Garda Investigations (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: That action has been taken. It is reasonable that Deputy Ó Caoláin would request a response to the various recommendations that were in the report and I would be happy to get the response and give him the information on the action that has been taken on the main recommendations of the report.

Children in Care (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: Appointment of a guardian ad litem, GAL, is provided under section 26 of the Child Care Act 1991. Under this provision, the court may appoint a guardian ad litem to a child who is the subject of care proceedings, if it is satisfied that it is necessary in the interests of the child and in the interests of justice to do so. They are always appointed where a child is subject to special care...

Children in Care (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I share the Deputy's concern about this vulnerable group of young people. I wrote a report on unaccompanied asylum seekers and young people in this country. I was appalled at what I found and made a number of recommendations at the time, which was a number of years ago, including that these young people should be treated the same as Irish young people in care and that the same procedures,...

Children in Care (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I agree and it is important these young people get the very best care. They are very vulnerable and the situation I have outlined to Deputy McConalogue is a huge improvement. ComReg recently made a decision on the missing children hotline and it will be available later in the year. It is a small but important element. Regarding the number of missing children, sometimes children leave...

Homeless Persons (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 63 and 68 together. The national youth homelessness strategy was developed in 2001. It is therefore appropriate that, some ten years later, we review progress and set new targets. A review of progress in 2008 by the HSE in conjunction with other agencies found that significant progress had been made, especially in interagency co-operation, early prevention...

Homeless Persons (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: We examined one of the ways of reviewing the homelessness strategy. There was a meeting with all of the stakeholders and it was felt the time was right and that it was essential to review the strategy and see how we could re-prioritise this area. The Deputy is correct; important data needs to be collected. It is remarkable that in the ten years since the adoption of the 2001 youth...

Homeless Persons (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: The data work has begun. The Centre for Effective Services has started its review of the strategy. I met with Focus Point and will meet other groups. Consultation with stakeholders will take place and accelerate once we have the information from the centre. I acknowledge what the Deputy said about the vulnerability of some children in regard to homelessness, despite the fact the headcount...

Departmental Reports (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: My Department is developing a new strategy for children and young people. It will build on Our Children - Their Lives, Ireland's first children's strategy which was published in 2000. It will cover the period 2012-17. It is being developed in a holistic way to comprehend the continuum from early infancy, through early and middle childhood, to adolescence and early adulthood, in keeping...

Departmental Reports (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I intend the strategy to be available towards the end of this year. It is important we consult with young people as well. I launched a consultation last year and I am pleased to say 67,000 children took part. I also thank the teachers and national schools that participated in that, giving us a rich body of data from young people about what they like about living in Ireland and what they...

Departmental Reports (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: This area needs particular focus because when it comes to poverty, children are vulnerable. There is no doubt the best way out of poverty for a family is to have a job. The creation of jobs and the managing of the economy are the best supports we can give families. The support services we are offering throughout the country, the money that is going to the voluntary sector to support these...

Health Service Staff (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: The HSE compiles a monthly census of employment in the public health and social care sector. The latest data available is in respect of December 2011. This shows that the total number of social workers employed in the HSE and in directly funded agencies at that time was 2,442 whole time equivalents. The HSE made provision for the recruitment of an additional 62 social workers in 2011 and...