Written answers

Wednesday, 21 October 2015

Department of Children and Youth Affairs

Direct Provision System

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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106. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which his Department monitors the needs of children in direct provision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36777/15]

Photo of James ReillyJames Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, Direct Provision is under the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality. Children living in Direct Provision are in the care of their parent(s). However, any concerns about the welfare, safety or well-being of a child in Direct Provision are reported to Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, in line with Children First guidelines.

The needs of children in Direct Provision include education, child care such as preschool, medical and health issues. Tusla provides a range of services that offer advice and support to families. This includes family support workers, social workers, youth workers, family resource centres, support groups and counselling services. Preschools under Tusla have monitoring and inspection systems in place, according to national regulation and standards.

The Child and Family Services Unit within RIA that monitors the child and family services for asylum seekers is headed up by a seconded member of Tusla and links, where necessary directly with An Garda Síochána. RIA and other State providers, particularly the HSE and Tusla, link with Direct Provision centres to provide on-site monitoring of children and families through services including those provided by Public Health Nurses and GPs.

The Report of the Working Group on the Protection Process including Direct Provision and supports to asylum seekers, which was published in June 2015, includes a range of findings and recommendations concerning the development, welfare, protection and education of children. One of the recommendations states that, ‘Tusla and HSE should identify a named social worker on their respective child protection, mental health and primary care teams to be the identified lead social worker for a Direct Provision centre in their area.' I am happy to say that Tusla has agreed to implement this recommendation to support an improved co-ordinated approach to concerns about the welfare and safety of children living in Direct Provision.

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