Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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Question 43: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans to address the numerous breaches of Children First regarding the Health Service Executive and Garda liaison in domestic violence situations as set out in the Baby G report. [32522/11]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Review undertaken in respect of the death of a child known to the child protection system as Baby G was finalised on the 13th May, 2011 and concluded that, while there was no connection between any actions or inaction on the part of the HSE with baby G's death, compliance with Children First National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children 1999 was patchy and that the protocol on joint working between the HSE and An Garda Síochána does not appear to have been followed.

This conclusion is in line with reviews in relation to Children First National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children 1999 conducted by the former OMCYA and the Office of the Ombudsman for Children. Both these reviews found that while the Guidelines themselves were fundamentally sound, a number of implementation difficulties with the Guidelines, including in the area of inter-agency working.

In July, 2011, I launched the revised Children First National Guidance for the protection and welfare of children. The Guidance deals with the recognition, reporting and management of child safety concerns. It emphasises the need to safeguard and protect children, that the safety and welfare of children is everyone's responsibility and that children will have safer lives where everyone is attentive to their well being. People who work with children across a range of areas must be clear in understanding their responsibility for safe practice and the reporting of concerns.

There is an acknowledged need for greater consistency in the implementation of the Children First Guidance across all sectors and organisations working with children. This was highlighted by the Ryan Commission which recommended that Children First should be uniformly and consistently implemented throughout the State. In recognition of this the Government has committed, as a priority, to the introduction of legislation to underpin Children First. It is my intention that the legislation will reflect a broad based approach to compliance with obligations extending beyond reporting to one of safeguarding children at risk. The objective will be to ensure the greater protection of children by strengthening the existing system for reporting and responding to suspected child abuse.

I also recently launched the HSE's accompanying 'Child Welfare and Protection Practice Handbook' for use by all social workers and other relevant practitioners. The Handbook complements the Children First Guidance and sets specific protocols for HSE social workers, Gardaí and other front line staff in dealing with suspected abuse and neglect. The objective is to ensure that safe and effective child protection practices are operated across all organisations and sectors that work with children.

Children First will also be supported by an assurance framework which will include strong emphasis on inspection and the need to provide demonstrable evidence of implementation. In the case of the health sector, the remit of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) is being expanded to include oversight of the HSE's Child Protection services, including the operation of Children First. HIQA is currently developing standards to allow for inspection of the HSE's child protection services. In addition my Department is chairing an inter-departmental group aimed at promoting consistent implementation of the Guidance across sectors. The importance of effective inter-agency working is relevant in this regard. My Department is also convening a regular forum with representation from the HSE and An Garda Síochána, as the two bodies with particular statutory responsibilities in this area, to consider implementation issues, particularly inter-agency working between the two organisations.