Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Question 24: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the cross-departmental co-operation between his Department and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37262/05]

Gerard Murphy (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 29: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the cross-departmental co-operation between his Department and the Department of the Taoiseach; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37258/05]

Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)
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Question 37: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the cross-departmental co-operation between his Department and the Department of Finance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37260/05]

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 45: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the cross-departmental co-operation between his Department and the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37257/05]

Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)
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Question 55: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the cross-departmental co-operation between his Department and the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37261/05]

Gerard Murphy (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 57: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs he cross-departmental co-operation between his Department and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37259/05]

Gay Mitchell (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 68: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the cross-departmental co-operation between his Department and the Department of Health and Children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37255/05]

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 94: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the cross-departmental co-operation between his Department and the Department of Education and Science; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37256/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 24, 29, 37, 45, 55, 57, 68 and 94 together.

Effective cross-departmental co-operation is necessary for the achievement of many of the goals, objectives and strategies identified in my Department's Statement of Strategy 2005-2007, Security with Opportunity. In some cases, such as the national anti-poverty strategy or the REACH project, my Department has the central co-ordinating role. In other cases, my Department co-operates with other Departments to ensure that overall cross-departmental policies such as the employment action plan or the national children's strategy are delivered.

A comprehensive list of cross-departmental areas in which my Department is involved is contained in the Department's Statement of Strategy 2005-2007, which was circulated to Deputies in August 2005. Details of some of the key areas of involvement are as follows: National Anti Poverty Strategy: The Office for Social Inclusion, OSI, which is based in my Department, has overall responsibility for co-ordinating and driving implementation of the national action plan against poverty and social exclusion, NAP/inclusion. The plan details the Government's strategic approach to tackling poverty and exclusion and builds on the original national anti-poverty strategy, which was introduced in 1997. It includes a large number of targets and commitments across a range of areas of Government policies. The office, in its role of co-ordinating the NAP/inclusion process, maintains regular contact with relevant Departments in order to ensure an integrated 'joined up' approach to tackling poverty and exclusion. The office also monitors progress in relation to the targets contained in the plan and seeks to identify areas where further action is required. The work of the office is overseen by a management group of Assistant Secretaries drawn from relevant Departments. These Departments are also represented on the senior officials group on social inclusion which maintains a broad overview of social inclusion issues and prepares the agenda of the Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion, chaired by the Taoiseach. More regular contacts between the OSI and Departments are managed through a network of social inclusion liaison officers who are located in all relevant Departments. The office provides supports to these officers in monitoring implementation of the NAP/inclusion in their individual Departments.

My Department liaises with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in a number of areas and through various fora. These include Ireland's participation in the European employment strategy, which is co-ordinated by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Under this initiative, the national employment action plan, NEAP, is administered. This is my Department's principal intervention measure to support and encourage unemployed people to progress towards employment. Under this process, unemployment payment recipients are referred to FÁS for assessment as to the progression path most suited to their individual needs.

Review of obstacles to employment faced by lone parents: Addressing the obstacles to employment faced by lone parents is one of the key tasks in the Ending Child Poverty initiatives under Sustaining Progress. A subgroup of the senior officials group on social inclusion has been examining this issue. The subgroup is chaired by the Department of the Taoiseach and includes representatives from my Department. My Department also provides the secretariat for this group.

My Department also has regular liaison with the Department of Education and Science regarding the back to education allowance and with the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs in relation to the rural social scheme. At regional and local level, officials of my Department are involved in the RAPID programme and on county development boards.

My Department is represented on a number of interdepartmental working groups in relation to the implementation of new rental assistance arrangements agreed by Government in July 2004. These include a project steering group, comprising representatives of my Department, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Department of Finance and local authority managers, to lead the project and a national advisory group, including representatives of my Department, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the housing unit, local authorities, the social partners, including SIPTU and IMPACT, landlord and tenant bodies and voluntary-co-operative groups, to provide input to the steering group. A project implementation group is also in place, with overall responsibility for general implementation and co-ordination of activities countrywide. This group meets on a monthly basis. The group comprises of the local authority project managers and representatives from my Department and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

My Department also participates in the cross-departmental team on homelessness and the Housing Forum. Both of these are chaired by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

My Department is committed to work with the Department of Health and Children, via the National Children's Office, to develop the national longitudinal study of children in Ireland. This study is the most significant of its kind to be undertaken in Ireland. It is anticipated that 10,000 children from birth and 8,000 children aged nine will be recruited to participate in the study. The aim of the study is to examine the factors which contribute to, or undermine, the well-being of children in contemporary Irish families and, through this, contribute to the setting of effective and responsive policies relating to children and to the design of services for children and their families. My Department is co-funding this study with the Department of Health and Children and the project team, which will provide operational oversight of the project, includes officials from both Departments.

My Department is also working closely with the Department of Health and Children in the area of long-term care. I have mentioned in the House before that a long-term care working group, chaired by the Department of the Taoiseach and comprising senior officials from the Departments of Finance, Health and Children and my Department, is due to report to the Tánaiste and to me shortly. The objective of this group is to identify the policy options for a financially sustainable system of long-term care, taking account of the Mercer report, the views of the consultation that was undertaken on that report and the Review of the Nursing Home Subvention Scheme.

A cross-departmental agency under the aegis of my Department was established by the Government in 1999 to build or procure the public services broker, a single multi-channel gateway to Government, and to develop a framework for the integration of public services.

My Department is also taking a lead role on the interdepartmental steering group for the development of the Standard Authentication Framework Environment, SAFE. This programme of work will further build on public services identity services to provide the basis for a consistent set of registration and authentication services for customer interaction with public services. The output of this programme will, inter alia, form the basis for the delivery of on-line services by the forthcoming public service broker being developed by the Reach agency.

On a day-to-day level, there is considerable co-operation regarding the use of the PPS number. For example, my Department receives all life event data automatically from the General Register Office in the Department of Health and Children, and co-operates with a number of Departments in relation to the validation of PPS numbers.

My Department is involved in a number of cross-departmental initiatives related to people with disabilities. Prior to the enactment of the Disability Act 2005, a senior officials group, chaired by the Department of the Taoiseach, was convened. This oversaw the preparation of the national disability strategy and reported to the Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion, CCSI. This group has been reconvened to monitor progress on implementation of the strategy, the Disability Act and Comhairle (Amendment) Bill and accordingly reports to the CCSI. My Department is represented on the group which also includes representation from the Departments of the Taoiseach, Education and Science, Enterprise Trade and Employment, Health and Children, the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Transport, Communications, Marine and Natural Resources and Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

My Department also participates in the inter-departmental working group on the feasibility of costs of disability payment and in an interdepartmental committee which is examining the issues arising on the future delivery of training, work and employment services for people with disabilities. Both of these are chaired by the Department of Health and Children. Treatment Benefits: A management review group involving my Department, the Department of Health and Children, the Department of Finance, health services management including principal dental surgeons, the Primary Care Reimbursement Services, GMS, and the HSEA also exists. The group is facilitating conjoint probity work between the two Departments.

My Department is also represented on the national framework committee for work-life balance policies. Chaired by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, this group, established under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness and continued under Sustaining Progress, is charged with supporting and facilitating the development of work-life balance policies at the level of the enterprise through the development of a package of practical measures.

My Department is represented on a High Level Group on Travellers which is chaired by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The group's remit is to ensure that the relevant statutory agencies involved in providing the full range of services to travellers focus on the integrated practical delivery of such services. The Department is also involved in a number of local initiatives concerning services for Travellers.

My Department has also participated in the examination by Justice, Equality and Law Reform of the draft UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

My Department works closely with the Department of Finance in progressing a range of reviews under the expenditure review initiative, ERI. The ERI was launched in 1997 to provide a systematic analysis of what is being achieved by expenditure in each programme, a basis on which informed decisions can be made on priorities within and between expenditure programmes and a systematic and evidence based approach to policy making. My Department is currently engaged in a review of the supplementary welfare allowance, SWA, scheme and in the review of the application of the conditions of the unemployment benefit and unemployment assistance schemes, UB-UA, to workers who are not employed on a full-time basis. In addition to representatives from the relevant areas within my own Department and from the Department of Finance, the Health Service Executive and the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government are represented on the review of the SWA scheme and the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment is represented on the UB-UA review.

The Department operates within the wider, unified Civil Service environment and has ongoing contact with the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Finance in relation to a range of issues. These include, inter alia, the administrative budget, Estimates and budget processes, staffing numbers, and industrial relations and the modernisation agenda.