Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 107: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if the review being undertaken by the Office of the Minister for Children of compliance by State bodies and NGOs with the children first guidelines has been completed; when it will be published; and the action he will take as a consequence of the review undertaken. [22836/07]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The national review of compliance with the 'Children First' guidelines by State bodies and NGOs, to be carried out by the Office of the Minister for Children (OMC) in partnership with all relevant Government Departments, was part of the Government's response to the publication of the Ferns Report in October, 2005. The review to date has included the following elements:

An extensive consultation process seeking the views of all stakeholders which has resulted in a total of over 130 submissions being received. These have been analysed in a systematic and structured manner to identify the main issues arising.

All Departments have provided information regarding progress to date in relation to the implementation of Children First and child protection issues in their Departments and agencies under their remit.

Meetings have taken place with key stakeholders, including the HSE, the Departments of Health and Children and of Education and Science and an Garda Síochána in relation to child protection. The OMC has commissioned research on the experiences of users of child protection services.

The review is nearing completion and it is expected that it will be published by the end of the year. The OMC has had ongoing contact with the HSE, as the primary provider of child protection services, throughout the review process in order to link in with developments being made within the HSE in response to the Ferns report. The published review will include recommendations in relation to mechanisms to ensure the implementation of the findings of the review.