Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 38: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her response to the 2010 annual report of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church which highlighted a lack of co-operation by some Catholic dioceses with the internal review of child protection practices; and the action she will take to ensure that there is full co-operation with the work of this board. [19835/11]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I was concerned by the reported lack of co-operation with the work of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (NBSCCC), as indicated in the Board's 2010 Report. I was particularly concerned by reports of data protection difficulties which were giving rise to a delay in progressing the national review of safeguarding practices in the Church being undertaken by the NBSCCC.

In this context I wrote to the Data Protection Commissioner, seeking his advices as to whether any ongoing data protection concerns existed which might delay the progress of the work of the Board. The Data Protection Commissioner has advised me that his Office met on a number of occasions with representatives of the NBSCCC and the Church bodies and that mechanisms were identified by which the NBSCCC could access data held by dioceses and religious communities. The Commissioner was of the view that these engagements had addressed concerns that the NBSCCC's work could proceed in a manner that did not breach the rights of individuals under Data Protection legislation.

I have written to the NBSCCC outlining the response of the Commissioner and I would hope that there are no outstanding issues which will inhibit the flow of information to the Board. The Health Service Executive, which has statutory responsibility for child welfare and protection matters, has separately been conducting a national audit of all Catholic dioceses and expects to furnish a report to me in the Autumn.

It is the responsibility of all organisations who work with children to implement appropriate child protection policies and procedures. There can be no exceptions to this requirement and every organisation must satisfy itself and the public that its policies are in conformity with Children First and are consistently implemented in all cases.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 39: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will provide detail on the level of emergency care available outside of normal working hours; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19898/11]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Health Service Executive (HSE) provides out-of-hours emergency services for children at risk. The service is provided in the greater Dublin area through the Crisis Intervention Service (CIS) and outside the greater Dublin area through the Emergency Place of Safety Service (EPSS). The CIS provides an out-of-hours emergency social work service to young people aged under 18 years who are in crisis. The service operates across the greater Dublin area (Counties Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow). Referrals are made by service providers outside of normal working hours i.e. Gardaí, hospital and ambulance service personnel.

Outside the greater Dublin area, the HSE operates an EPSS whereby Gardaí can access an emergency placement for children found to be at risk out of hours. This service involves the out of hours placement of a child in a family setting until the next working day when the local social work service assumes responsibility for the case. As part of this service Gardaí have access to advice and information from a non-HSE social work off-site resource which is provided on a contract basis.

The HSE National Service Plan for 2011 includes a commitment to pilot and evaluate an out-of-hours social work component to supplement the EPSS. Two pilot projects are being undertaken, one in Cork and the other in Donegal. The projects involve the provision by local HSE staff of on-site social work support out of hours where deemed necessary by Gardaí. A decision on progression to a national roll out will be made following evaluation of the two pilot projects and other relevant data. An assessment of the cost of developing the service nationally will also be informed by the pilot process.