Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator van Turnhout for raising this issue. I will convey her concerns to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. I am sorry that the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, is not here to reply.

The Reception and Integration Agency, RIA, is a functional unit of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, which is a division of the Department of Justice and Equality. The RIA is charged with providing accommodation and ancillary services to asylum seekers - adults and their children - under the direct provision system while their applications for asylum are being processed. Direct provision centres are monitored three times a year, twice by Department of Justice and Equality staff and once by an external company. Under the Children First national guidance for the protection and welfare of children, any concerns about the welfare, safety or well-being of a child should be reported to the HSE children and family services. The child protection and welfare policy of the RIA reflects this practice.

The HSE received approximately 31,000 reports last year. Reports regarding children residing in direct provision accommodation are included in this number. The RIA has advised that 171 referrals, regarding a range of child protection and welfare concerns involving family units in direct provision accommodation, were made to the HSE children and family services in 2011. These included a significant number of welfare concerns such as a parent being hospitalised, parental illness, a child being left unsupervised by an adult, and mental health concerns regarding the parent, etc. A smaller number of referrals related to child protection concerns. Such referrals can be made under the RIA's child protection policy by staff and other residents, but may also be made by GPs and teachers, etc. A specific unit within the RIA - the child and family services unit - is responsible for managing, delivering, co-ordinating, monitoring and planning all matters relating to child and family services for all asylum seekers residing in the direct provision system. This unit also links, where necessary, directly with the Garda.

As the Senator's question relates specifically to the application of the HIQA national standards for the protection and welfare of children, I wish to outline the position regarding these standards. In July 2010, the Government decided to prioritise the inspection of the HSE's child protection service by the Health Information and Quality Authority. The first of these inspections took place this month. The inspections are undertaken against standards developed by HIQA as provided for under the Health Act 2007. As part of the inspection process, HIQA inspects the HSE's child protection service at all levels, from national management to social work team level.

HIQA developed the national standards for the protection and welfare of children in consultation with a wide range of stakeholders. The national standards apply to the HSE children and family services and the performance by the HSE of the duties placed on the HSE under section 3 of the Child Care Act 1991. The standards set out the key features of an effective child protection service. They clearly put the needs of children at the heart of that service and promote the principles outlined in Children First, the national guidance for the protection and welfare of children. The standards are designed to follow a child's journey within the HSE child protection system to ensure his or her safety is being protected. They describe how the services should be provided and examine the use of resources, information and management of services. The national standards apply to the HSE children and family service in the context of its role in dealing with all referrals to the service, including referrals regarding children living in direct provision accommodation. It is essential to ensure children's safety is being protected while they are receiving a service within the HSE child protection system.

It is critical that services for children are of a high standard and it is important to set out clearly what a child and his or her family can expect from the HSE children and family services. We need good practice in child protection to be applied uniformly and these standards are a key part of that. They will be a critical aspect of the external quality assurance infrastructure and will support continuous improvements to children's services into the future.

HIQA currently inspects all residential services run by the HSE for children who are in the care of the State. HIQA does not inspect the accommodation provided under the direct provision system or other similar services such as homeless services or refuges for those experiencing domestic violence. Children living in the direct provision system are not in the care of the State. All live in a family context and their parents or guardians have primary responsibility for their care and welfare.