Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will publish the independent external assessment of the two out-of-hours pilot projects providing emergency social care services in counties Donegal and Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40715/12]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As part of the ongoing ‘change agenda’ in Child and Family services I am committed to developing the capacity of our child protection services to appropriately and effectively address the needs of children who present in emergency situations outside of normal working hours.

Two out-of-hours pilot projects, one in Donegal and the other in Cork, were commenced by the HSE in 2011. The Donegal project started mid-year and the Cork project started in the third quarter. Both projects were internally evaluated by the HSE, which then commissioned an independent external assessment, undertaken by Trinity College Dublin. This external assessment has been completed and examined by the HSE which is now developing a national out of hours service model. It was never intended that the assessment of the pilot projects was to be published. Rather, the purpose of the assessment was internally focussed with a view to informing the development of a proposal for a national model of service delivery outside normal hours.

What is important is that children in crisis, no matter where they are, have access to 24 hour social work assistance, and this is what the HSE's National Director for Children and Family Services and I are working towards. Clearly whatever model emerges will need to address the challenges of varying demographic demands in both rural and urban settings. I have discussed this issue with Gordon Jeyes, National Director for Children and Family Services in the HSE and I expect the HSE to bring forward an implementation plan for the roll out of a national service model, later this year, for implementation by the new Child and Family Support Agency.

It should be noted that at present the Health Service Executive provides out-of-hours emergency services for children at risk in the greater Dublin area through the Crisis Intervention Service, and outside the greater Dublin area through the Emergency Place of Safety Service.