John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will provide a report on her December meeting with a delegation from the Council for Marriage and Family of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7344/13]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I met with a delegation from the Council for Marriage and Family of the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference, led by Bishop Christopher Jones, on 14th December last. I updated the delegation on progress relating to the establishment of the new Child and Family Support Agency and the range of services which it will encompass. From its establishment the Child and Family Support Agency will have service responsibility for a range of services including child welfare and protection services currently operated by the HSE, the functions of the Family Support Agency and the National Educational Welfare Board.

The delegation updated me on the ongoing work of the Bishops' Council for Marriage and Family and the range of social service provision with which the Church is engaged. This included services provided by Accord, the Catholic marriage care service, which is funded by my Department through the Family Support Agency. We agreed that support for parenting and families would continue to be a priority for the Council, my Department and the new Agency. The delegation expressed support for the strong focus on support for children and families which has followed the establishment of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. This will be further emphasised in the establishment of the Child and Family Support Agency. Finally, we also agreed to meet again to continue dialogue with regard to the provision of high quality and targeted services to support children and families.