Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 240: To ask the Minister for Health and Children her plans to implement the findings of a recent report funded by the Family Support Agency, which recommended that she set up 37 specialist centres to facilitate meetings between children and parents who face difficulties following relationship breakdown. [15488/10]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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As Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, I have responsibility for a broad range of policies and services which impact directly on children and young people's well being. In this context, I recently launched the research report by One Family on the Need for Child Contact Centres in Ireland. I understand that One Family was supported in carrying out this research with funding from the Family Support Agency.

Child and Family Contact Centres are intended to provide safe and reliable environments for parents and children to maintain family contact, often where difficult circumstances or family breakdown apply. I am strongly aware that the Ryan Report recommended that children in care should not, save in exceptional circumstances, be cut off from their families and priority should be given to supporting ongoing contact with family members for the benefit of the child.

In giving consideration to the best way to meet the recommendations, I think it is important that the potential role in this regard of Child and Family Contact Centres is looked at. For this reason, I have asked officials in my Office to bring forward a detailed proposal to establish a Child and Family Contact Centre on a pilot basis, with a view to considering the best model for future service provision on a wider scale.