Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald. I am pleased to have the opportunity to update the Seanad on work relating to the new child and family support agency.

In the programme for Government we made a commitment to fundamentally reform the delivery of child protection services by removing responsibility for child welfare and protection from the HSE and creating a dedicated child welfare and protection agency, reforming a model of service delivery and improving accountability to the Dáil. Accordingly, the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, established a task force on the child and family support agency in September 2011 under the chairmanship of Ms Maureen Lynott. The task force will advise the Department in regard to the necessary transition programme to establish a child and family support agency and will base its work on best practice in child welfare, family support and public administration, consistent with the Government's public sector reform agenda.

In regard to the agency, it has been asked to propose a vision and principles to guide operations; advise on the appropriate service responsibilities and the delivery of same; review existing financial staffing and corporate resources and propose a methodology for resource allocation; propose an organisational design and operating child welfare and protection service model; prepare a detailed implementation plan; identify the main priorities and co-relationships required; and oversee the implementation and monitor progress, pending establishment of the agency. As I have already outlined, the task force will advise on the appropriate service responsibilities for the agency during the course of its work from among those within the HSE that relate to children and family services or from within the relevant operational responsibilities of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs or its agencies.

In addition, the Senator will be aware of last week's Government statement on the public service reform plan. It confirmed that the family support agency will merge into the child and family support agency by 2013. The Government also stated that the role of the National Education Welfare Board will be reviewed by June 2012 in the context of the establishment of this new agency. No other decisions have been made in regard to other services for the new agency, either universal or targeted for children and families, including public health nursing services. It is clear that public health nurses have an important role to play in a range of child and family services.

I understand that a new public health strategy is currently being developed and it is the intention that the Department of Children and Youth Affairs will liaise with the Department of Health and the HSE with regard to any new developments in the context of the establishment of the new agency. A review of public health nursing is under way in the HSE, which includes community nursing in the context of the role to meet primary health care services, which will include children services. It is anticipated that a summary report will be finalised in January 2012 and it will specifically consider the role public health nurses can plan in supporting children's health care in the community.

The Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, looks forward to receiving the report of the work of the task force, which will inform preparations for the new agency, including the drafting of legislation. It is her intention, working with her colleague the Minister for Health, to establish a dedicated child and family programme within the HSE in 2012. This will provide for a dedicated management structure and a budget for children and family services. Management of these services will be led by the national director, Mr. Gordon Jeyes, who already has a very close working relationship with the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, and her Department. A considerable change programme has already been implemented by the HSE's national director of child and family services, aimed at strengthening organisational capacity, business processes and systems. These developments are an integral part of preparations for the new stand-alone agency.

The Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, is anxious to advance the full establishment of the agency at an early date subject to the work of the task force and the necessary legislative provision. It is envisaged that legislation will be tabled before the House next year to provide for the agency's establishment in 2013.