Jillian van Turnhout (Independent)
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While I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, to the House, I would have loved an opportunity to congratulate the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Fitzgerald, on the successful passage of the children's rights referendum. We have not seen her in this House since the referendum, unfortunately. I am raising the issue of direct provision on the Adjournment tonight. Much of the public awareness and outcry about the abuse and mistreatment of children in State-run institutions followed the publication of a series of damning reports, including the Ferns, Ryan, Murphy and Cloyne reports and most recently the child death review report that was drawn up by Dr. Geoffrey Shannon and Ms Norah Gibbons. In response to the latter report, I expressed my profound sadness and a sense of the responsibility and shame I bear as a member of a society that has systematically failed to protect our most vulnerable children. As the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, remarked last year at the launch of an Amnesty International report, In Plain Sight: Responding to the Ferns, Ryan, Murphy and Cloyne Reports:

At every turn, Irish people kept their mouths shut out of deference to state, system, church and community. When they should have been unified in fury and outrage they were instead silenced, afraid to even whisper a criticism against the powerful.

This is not an easy area to pursue. At this juncture, I am focusing solely on the situation for children in direct provision. I am finding it difficult to establish which ministerial remit covers which scenario. I have previously raised the applicability of standard 3.4 of the HIQA national standards for the protection and welfare of children with the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, on the Adjournment. The standard in question stipulates that "child protection and welfare services provided on behalf of statutory service providers are monitored for compliance with legislation, regulations, national child protection and welfare policy and standards". In my opinion, the HIQA national standards for the protection and welfare of children clearly apply to children in direct provision. They apply because the children in question are residing in accommodation facilities under the remit of the Department of Justice and Equality. They apply irrespective of the children's country of origin or the status of their parents. They apply regardless of whether they are in the care of the State or cared for by the State. They apply because contrary to what the Minister, Deputy Shatter, has suggested, it is simply not true that all children living in direct provision "live in a family context and their parents or guardians have primary responsibility for their care and welfare".

I would like to refer the House to a report drawn up by the Irish Refugee Council, State Sanctioned Child Poverty and Exclusion: The Case of Children in State Accommodation for Asylum Seekers, which was published in September of this year. I would also like to mention the 2011 report of the special rapporteur, Dr. Geoffrey Shannon, in which he highlights "the specific vulnerability of children accommodated in the system of Direct Provision and the potential or actual harm which is being created by the particular circumstances of their residence including the inability of parents to properly care for and protect their children". The HIQA national standards apply because the State has an obligation to ensure the health, safety and welfare of these children. The Minister, Deputy Shatter, has conceded that the HIQA standards "apply to the HSE children and family services in the context of its role in dealing with children living in the direct provision system who are referred to it". I assure the House that such referrals are capable of being made under the Reception and Integration Agency's child protection policy or by GPs and teachers, etc. According to the HSE, these scenarios fall under the remit of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. I am seeking clarification on the number of referrals the HSE has received about children in direct provision accommodation centres. I want to know whether the Minister shares my position that any centre from which a child welfare and protection referral is made should be subject to immediate inspection in accordance with the HIQA national standards.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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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.

Jillian van Turnhout (Independent)
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While I appreciate the Minister of State may not be able to answer this question, I have a huge difficulty in differentiating between "in the care of the State" and "cared for by the State". These children are being directly cared for by the State. If one visits any of these direct provision centres, children are not necessarily in a normal family context and there may be two or three families in one room. I have a difficulty with this and I will continue to pursue this question. I feel the response is a fudge.

On the question I asked about standards, are we basically saying the HIQA standards do not apply and that no child protection standards apply? Must we wait for requests from the very people whose applications are being decided on by the Department of Justice and Equality and who do not want to upset that Department? It would be the equivalent of asking Irish families who are receiving social welfare payments to get the Department of Social Protection to investigate itself. These matters are separate for a reason. It should be independent. We should have learned from the past.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I can see the Senator is very concerned about this. I will convey those concerns directly to the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, and I will ask her to contact the Senator directly with regard to her supplementary question.