Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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211. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if he will extend statutory remit and responsibilities over service provision of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency; and the discussions he has had with other Departments in this regard. [3469/16]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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Tusla - the Child and Family Agency was established on 1 January, 2014 in accordance with the Child and Family Agency Act, 2013 and has service responsibility for:

- Child welfare and protection services formerly operated by the Health Service Executive (HSE), including family support and alternative care services;

- Child and family-related services for which the HSE formerly had responsibility, including pre-school inspections and domestic, sexual and gender-based violence services;

- Certain services relating to the psychological welfare of children and their families currently provided by the HSE; and

- Services provided by the Family Support Agency and the National Educational Welfare Board which formerly operated as separate bodies under the aegis of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, and which were merged into the new Agency.

The Task Force on the Child and Family Support Agency made recommendations on a range of other services relevant to children and families, including:

- public health nursing;

- speech and language therapy;

- child and adolescent mental health; and

- children’s detention.

The practical implications of the scale of the ongoing organisational change are such as to require the consideration of the Task Force on the Child and Family Support Agency’s wider recommendations and, should it be considered appropriate, their implementation take place according to a less immediate timescale. This will allow for more careful review and consideration in conjunction with relevant Departments, principally the Department of Health, in due course.

The Child and Family Agency, in conjunction with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, is adopting a cross-Government approach to ensure delivery of a comprehensive and integrated service to vulnerable children and families. This will require the support and input of various Departments and agencies. It will also support transition to new arrangements in any future expansion of the Agency's services.

Under its statutory functions, the Agency is currently engaged in rolling out its Strategy of Prevention, Partnership and Family Support. This approach will aim to bring together, and give single coherent direction to, all of the strands of service for families most in need, including prevention and early intervention programmes, both universal and targeted. This strategy represents a significant ongoing change in service orientation.