Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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824. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs his priorities for the remainder of his term in office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32771/14]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that I have just recently been appointed to this role. However, I can assure the Deputy that I will be giving full consideration, in conjunction with senior officials in my Department, to identifying my priorities for the remainder of my term of office. There is much work to be done and it is not without its challenges. Obviously, to deliver in full on our commitments in the Programme for Governments is of key importance and, in that context, the following will form part of my key priorities.

I intend to enact the Children First Bill which is currently awaiting Committee Stage. I also hope to pass legislation to amend the Child Care Act 1991 in respect of aftercare.

I will continue to support the work of the recently-established Child and Family Agency, known as Tusla. This is a huge undertaking which will require continued commitment and dedication and detailed engagement with the Tusla board and management team.

I also hope to see the development of the National Children Detention Facilities completed. Funding for the new facilities was secured and work is well advanced. We will meet our Programme for Government commitment to end the practice of detaining children in prison facilities. Later in the year I intend to present a Bill to the Oireachtas to amend certain provisions of the Children Act 2001. This will provide for the merging of the three existing Children Detention Schools into a single legal entity, and will also address a number of legal and policy issues associated with managing all children under the age of 18 on that site.

I intend to launch Ireland’s first ever Early Years Strategy and policy on ‘Family Support and Parenting’, creating an innovative and dynamic blueprint for the future development of Ireland’s early years sector. I intend to continue quality improvements in early years and childcare services and to review existing targeted childcare supports. It is crucial that we deliver high standards and transparency in this area, and that all parents have confidence in our early years sector. Maintaining the free pre-school year is an on-going challenge but one I intend to meet.

In relation to adoption services, work is continuing on the Heads of Bill for the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill and I hope to be in a position to seek Government approval to publish the Heads of Bill as soon as possible. Once approved by Government, the Heads of Bill will be sent to the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children for its detailed consideration.

The establishment of a Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and related matters is a recent Government priority, and one I expect that will require a significant level of participation by my Department.

The National Policy Framework for Children and Young People was launched in April 2014. This is an innovative whole-of-Government approach to policies for children and young people. My Department has a diverse range of lead and co-ordination functions and I will do whatever I can at a political level to assist in the roll-out of the Framework.

The new Area Based Childhood programme was a key commitment of this Government aimed at tackling child poverty, building on and continuing the work of the Prevention and Early Intervention Programme. Over the coming months I expect to see a number of the approved projects become operational.