Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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87. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the status of the recommendations put forward by the independent child death review group. [16935/15]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The Report of the Independent Child Death Review Group (ICDRG) was published in 2012. The recommendations of the Review Group fall under three headings, namely the establishment of a child death review unit, the operation of the in camerarule and the reform of the child protection system in general. The status in relation to each is set out below.

The National Review Panel (NRP) for the investigation of serious incidents including the deaths of children in care and known to the child protection system was set up in 2010 as part of the Implementation Plan associated with the Report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse(2009) (Ryan Report). The NRP reviews serious incidents involving children known to child welfare and protection services of the Child and Family Agency including the deaths of children in care. The overarching objective of the NRP is to promote learning and best practice from its review of cases with a view to assisting the child welfare and protection system in improving its services and minimising the possibility of similar deaths and/or serious incidents to children and young people using their services. It is considered that this mechanism fulfils the recommendation in relation to child death review units in the ICDRG report. Following the report, it was considered that strengthening the NRP and conducting reviews in accordance with HIQA agreed guidance was the most appropriate way to copperfasten the structures for future reviews. For information, the guidance for the NRP was revised and published last year.

In response to the recommendation regarding the in camera rule, the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous provisions) Act 2013 amended Section 29 of the Child Care Act 1991 in relation to the in camerarule. In addition, the Child Care Law Reporting Project (CCLRP) was established under the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2007, in accordance with the 2012 Regulations made under that Act. The aims and objectives of the project are to:

- Provide information to the public on child care proceedings in the courts;

- Conduct research on these proceedings in order to promote debate and inform policy-makers;

- Make recommendations to address any short-comings in the child care system identified by the research;

- Assist in the implementation of these recommendations;

- Promote confidence in the child care system.

To date the project has published 9 volumes of case reports - 4 volumes each year in 2013 and 2014 and another volume of case reports was published on 1 April 2015. It has also published two interim reports, in November 2013 and October 2014. Both interim reports contain a number of (interim) observations and suggestions, but no recommendations. A final report, with recommendations, will be published in October 2015.

Significant reform of the child protection system is ongoing. The Programme for Government commitment to establish the Child and Family Agency reflected significant concern over recent years regarding the protection of children and the response of relevant services, and a determination to align key services into a single, comprehensive, integrated and accountable service delivery system.

Significant service and organisational improvements have been achieved including:

- Reformation of the management structure;

- More equitable distribution of resources;

- Consistent implementation of Children First;

- Expanded counselling services;

- Specialist clinical services for children in special care and detention;

- The mainstreaming of care placements for separated children seeking asylum;

- Improved care planning for children in care;

- A national emergency out of hours placement service;

- Improved aftercare services;

- Improved supervision and staff retention strategies.