Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour)
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139. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if he will provide an update as to the budget for information technology services within Túsla – Child and Family Agency, and further to the health and children committee comments (details supplied) that information technology services are being shared with the Health Service Executive, if he will confirm that there is a plan and a budget to upgrade information technology across Túsla – Child and Family Agency so that the best programmes and software are available to staff to allow them to update files and maintain records in a way that complies with international best practice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18822/15]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The total funding provision for the Child and Family Agency is €643.401m, an increase of 5.6% over the 2014 allocation. The funding provided for capital expenditure increased by 81% from €6.841m to €12.386m.

The Agency has also recently submitted to me its Estates and ICT Capital Plan for the period 2015 - 2017. The Plan is designed to support and build ICT capacity in line with business needs and ensure that total resources available to families are applied to improving outcomes for children and families in the most effective, efficient, equitable, proportionate and sustainable way. The objectives for the lifetime of the plan are to optimise performance and cost to support the Agency's business goals with a defines 3-step approach. This includes establishing the baseline position, developing a roadmap to ensure that ICT systems are adequate to support business requirements and the development of ICT strategic options. The plan also provides for the development of an ICT Strategy and centralised procurement and project management.. Central to the plan is the continued rollout of the National Child Care Information system (NCCIS).

My Department will be engaging with the Agency on the contents of its plan in the near future and will continue to monitor progress of its implementation.