Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will outline the measures in place to ensure the safety and welfare of children in direct provision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54503/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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There are currently 4,839 persons seeking international protection residing in 35 Direct Provision accommodation centres across 17 counties under contract to the Reception & Integration Agency (RIA), an operational unit of the Irish Naturalisation & Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department. Of these residents, approximately a third are children under the age of 18.

RIA takes its child protection role seriously. This role is critical notwithstanding that children living in the Direct Provision system are not in the care of the State. All children live in a family context and their parents/guardians have primary responsibility for their care and welfare. It should also be noted that RIA does not accommodate unaccompanied minors: they are in the care of the HSE.

In the Direct Provision system, children are protected in a number of ways - primarily through RIA's Child Protection policy; its House Rules; its requirement that all centre staff are Garda vetted; and through the coordination role of a dedicated unit in RIA.

RIA's Child Protection Policy is based on the HSE's "Children First - National Guidelines for the protection and welfare of children". This policy requires, inter alia, that children must be supervised by their parents/guardians at all times and that children are not permitted to be left alone overnight. It also provides that each centre has a designated Child Protection liaison officer who is responsible for following a referral procedure should he or she suspect that a child welfare incident has occurred. Management of accommodation centres are obliged to ensure that all staff working in the centre are aware of, and adhere to, RIA's Child Protection Policy. The HSE has provided 'Keeping Safe' child protection training to each centre's designated officers and other staff members.

The RIA House Rules set out information for residents and staff in respect of child protection and the responsibilities of all parties. A copy of these Rules, as well as its Child Protection Policy, is available on RIA's website - www.ria.gov.ie

Staff of centres under contract to RIA are Garda vetted. This is in furtherance of RIA's policy which has as its principal aim the minimisation of risk to children and vulnerable adults residing in its centres.

There is a specific unit in RIA called the Child and Family Services Unit, which is fully staffed and whose role is to manage, deliver, coordinate, monitor and plan all matters relating to child and family services for all asylum seekers residing in the direct provision system. It also acts as a conduit between RIA and the HSE, the latter having statutory functions in this area.

It should be acknowledged that the system of Direct Provision allows for a level of non-intrusive supervision of residents which would not be found in other living arrangements in the community. Other residents, centre staff, designated liaison officers, Public Health Nurses, General Practitioners, Community and Ethnic Liaison Gardaí etc. are alert to child welfare issues in centres.

RIA acknowledges that child protection is on ongoing and evolving responsibility and that it must constantly adapt to legislative and policy changes. In this respect, RIA is liaising with the HSE to update its Child Protection Policy in line with the recent revisions to the HSE's “Children First” published in 2011. This will involve the re-training of the designated Child Protection liaison officers across all its centres. RIA is also pro-actively engaging, internally and externally, in relation to, for example, putting Children First on a legislative basis as well as other associated child protection measures.