Results 17,181-17,200 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Departmental Programmes (15 May 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I was pleased the Government could give extra resources to my Department last year for child protection and to maintain the early years universal free pre-school year. An extra €19 million was provided so those services could be available to young children. That is a protective action for young people and we will continue it so that early years services can be protected.

Constitutional Amendment on Children (15 May 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: Officials in my Department and I are continuing a substantial engagement with the Attorney General and her officials to progress the Government's commitment to hold a referendum to amend the Constitution to ensure children's rights are strengthened along the lines recommended by the Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children. The immediate focus of this engagement is the...

Constitutional Amendment on Children (15 May 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I made a decision shortly after taking office when I examined the issues involved relating to the referendum that it would be in the public interest to publish the heads of the Bill, the legislation on adoption that would accompany the referendum, to give the public more information on the implications of the referendum. I agree with the Deputy that there is a need to consider carefully and...

Child Care Services (15 May 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: As part of the ongoing change agenda in child and family services, I am committed to developing the capacity of our child protection services to address appropriately and effectively the needs of children who present in emergencies outside of normal working hours. At present, the Health Service Executive provides out-of-hours emergency services for children at risk in the greater Dublin area...

Child Care Services (15 May 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I absolutely agree that Garda stations are not the place for young children in need of care. However, I wish to pay tribute to the work done by gardaí who are dealing with this issue. I have met their representatives who have expressed their concerns to me. That is why it is important we had two pilot projects last year. We had different models in Cork and Donegal, with a different...

Adoption Services (15 May 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Deputy has asked for information on records about persons who were told or believed they had been adopted and in respect of whom there are no adoption records. It must be understood the Adoption Authority of Ireland like its predecessor, the Adoption Board, has no statutory responsibility in the matter raised but has endeavoured to assist persons affected to the extent open to it. The...

Adoption Services (15 May 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I take the Deputy's point. I assure her it is intended that the Bill will provide for the Adoption Authority of Ireland to have access to records currently held by a wide range of information sources, give the authority an oversight role with regard to the maintenance of adoption records, and place the national contact preference register on a statutory basis. The Bill will also provide for...

Adoption Services (15 May 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: The adoption (tracing and information) Bill is part of the legislative programme for this year. Much work has been done on it and I hope and intend to bring it forward this year. There are no provisions regarding the retention and preservation of such records in current legislation. The Adoption Authority of Ireland has no remit in respect of such matters. We need the new legislation to...

Health Service Staff (15 May 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: The HSE compiles a monthly census of employment in the public health and social care sector. The latest data available are in respect of March, 2012. They show the total number of social workers employed in the HSE and in directly funded agencies was 2,397 whole-time equivalents, WTEs. The equivalent figure at the end of 2010 was 2,432 WTEs. It is important to note these figures apply to...

Health Service Staff (15 May 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: The trend in the recruitment of social workers is upward. Staff for the 60 posts I indicated would be filled last year have been recruited.

Health Service Staff (15 May 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: Yes, they are. The Deputy is misunderstanding the figures. It should be noted that there is a difference between recruitment and retention, as pointed out in a report published on Monday. A total of 220 social workers have been recruited, including those recommended in the Ryan report, but there is a range of issues affecting the overall allocation, including an ongoing process of...

Health Service Staff (15 May 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: They are in place. I am trying to explain what happens in a normal workforce of 1,000-----

Health Service Staff (15 May 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: In a normal workforce of 1,000 there will be significant movement in and out of the service. Women comprise some 87% of the social worker cohort we are discussing, most of them under 40 years of age. A number of them will inevitably go on maternity leave and there are also people who have left the service to go abroad, take up other employment and so on. In addition, there are some who...

Health Service Staff (15 May 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: Let us not argue about specific figures. It is important that we consider the broad range of issues that affect a workforce of 1,000. As part of the recruitment process under way, an additional 57 staff are being recruited. Most of these will work in child protection, the allocation for which has already increased by 14.

Health Service Staff (15 May 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I need the Deputy to understand clearly-----

Health Service Staff (15 May 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I do not accept that the Deputy does. The recruitment has been completed, but there have been 31 retirements. Mr. Jeyes can, at his discretion, replace those who have retired.

Foreign Adoptions (15 May 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: On 1 July 2011 the Adoption Authority of Ireland was notified by the Indian National Central Authority, known as CARA, that it would not be accepting dossiers from Irish applicants either until 30 September 2011 or until further notice. It has come to the attention of the Adoption Authority of Ireland that CARA proposes to introduce a new computerised e-access system of online dossier...

Foreign Adoptions (15 May 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I do not agree. I agree that adoption work and the international relationships among countries participating in inter-country adoption are very complex because we must take into account the law in Ireland and in the other countries, and most countries have very different systems for handling adoption. It is a complex issue which requires major attention to detail. As the Deputy said, the...

Foreign Adoptions (15 May 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I assure the Deputy the communication issues are being dealt with. Efforts are being made by all concerned to ensure the best possible communication with those who want to adopt. The representation of the board is laid down in legislation. It could well require legislative change if the nominee did not have the background described. I can examine this and I will correspond with the Deputy...

Children in Care (15 May 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 93 and 114 together. The HSE has advised me that four young people left high support or special care units in each of the past five years on reaching 18 years of age. Therefore, there are 20 young people in total. I can confirm that an aftercare plan was in place on leaving care in each case. This is in line with the policy that young people who leave care...