Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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713. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if he will provide in tabular form the number of interventions under section 12 of the Child Care Act notified to Child and Family Agency every month to date in 2014; the number of individual children involved; the number of such interventions that resulted in the child being admitted to care; the number of such interventions that resulted in the child being returned immediately to their homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32972/14]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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Section 12 of the Child Care Act 1991 provides for the removal of a child to a place of safety by an Garda Síochana in situations where it is believed that there is immediate and serious risk to the health or welfare of the child and the risk is such that it would not be appropriate to wait for the Child and Family Agency to make an application for an emergency care order. The Act provides that An Garda Síochana must place the child in the custody of the Child and Family Agency as soon as possible.

Section 12 operates in conjunction with other duties and obligations of the Agency. Where a child is received into care in circumstances such as these, the Agency is required, following initial assessment, to either return the child to his/her parents, if it is safe to do so, or make an application to the District Court for an Emergency Care Order at the first available opportunity. A District Court may grant an Emergency Care Order if there is reasonable cause to believe that there is an immediate and serious risk to the child or that there is likely to be if they were to leave the care setting. Emergency Care Orders have a limited duration and a fuller hearing must be convened within prescribed timelines.

I have been advised by the Agency that data in relation 2014 is collated on an annual basis at the end of the year and validated data will not be available till early 2015.The Agency advised that a total of 767 interventions under Section 12 of the Child Care Act 1991 were notified by an Garda Siochana to the Agency for the two year period 2012 - 2013. The majority of these children were admitted to care ( 63%), while the remainder were returned home without further intervention or court order. The most common reason for Section 12 of the Child Care Act 1991 being invoked over the two year period 2012-2013 was categorised as neglect (44%) followed by welfare issues (15%).