Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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534. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the services and assistance being provided in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin; and the steps being taken for children with such difficulties [11539/15]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will appreciate, it is not appropriate for me to comment on an individual case but I have requested a report from the Child and Family Agency in relation to this case and I will revert to the Deputy when this is to hand.

I can assure the Deputy that all steps are being taken to ensure that children's needs are met. As the Deputy is aware, the Child and Family Agency was established on 1 January, 2014 and brought together nearly 4,000 staff from three separate organisations, the Health Service Executive (HSE), the Family Support Agency and the National Educational Welfare Board. This represented one of the most ambitious and far reaching public sector reforms undertaken by the Government. The Agency places a strong emphasis on prevention, early intervention, family support, therapeutic and care interventions, all of which are key to the provision of integrated, multidisciplinary services for vulnerable children and families but it cannot do this alone and relies on other sectors including health and education. This is entirely appropriate as children's health needs will be met by the HSE and their educational needs by schools. For example, some children have specialist needs that need to be met by child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS - which remains part of the HSE) as referenced in the Deputy's question.

The Agency and the HSE have a Memorandum of Understanding and a Joint Protocol for inter-agency collaboration in place which underpins service provision for those children attending services provided by both agencies. The Memorandum of Understanding sets a partnership agreement between the HSE and the Agency whereby pre-establishment levels of service are maintained across both organisations. The objective of the Joint Protocol is to specify a pathway and associated responsibilities for children and families whose needs cross between the HSE and the Agency.

Both the Memorandum of Understanding and the Joint Protocol are subject to regular monitoring and review to ensure that they are working effectively in the best interests of children and families. Additionally, the Agency and the HSE are working to finalise a service level agreement to underpin the provision of psychological services by the HSE which will assist the Agency in fulfilling its statutory obligations. The service level agreement with the HSE will determine the quantum of service needed to meet the Agency's requirements and will be an interim arrangement pending the Agency providing the service directly.