Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Question 50: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the steps she has taken to remove child welfare and protection from the Health Service Executive; if she will provide details on the proposal to establish a new child welfare and protection agency; the time line involved; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19834/11]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Government is committed to fundamental reform and transformation of the delivery of our children and family services. A number of significant structural and legislative changes are key to effecting such reform. This includes the establishment of a new agency with dedicated responsibility for the delivery of child welfare and protection services, separate from the HSE and reporting directly to my Department through its Chief Executive.

Preliminary work on the establishment of the new agency has been undertaken and this will now be accelerated. I recently had a very positive meeting with the National Director and senior management representatives from the HSE at which the establishment of the new agency was discussed. It is my intention to develop an inclusive and collaborative approach in establishing the new agency and I intend to consult as widely as possible on its formation.

Among the key issues which are being progressed are the legislative and governance arrangements necessary to underpin the establishment and operation of the agency. My Department is also working closely with the National Director for Children and Families Service within the HSE on associated matters, including the need to disaggregate the existing resource base for children and family services from the HSE in advance of the establishment of the agency. I am very appreciative of the co-operation from the HSE to date in progressing this significant change project, one which will, in my view, create the basis for delivering better outcomes for children and families nationally.