Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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404. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of children on the waiting list for a special care placement; the average waiting time for such a placement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5540/16]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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405. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of applications for admission to special care which were considered by the national special care admission and discharge committee, the number of such applications which were approved and rejected, and the number of occasions when the committee met on an emergency basis to consider an application for admission of a child to special care, in 2015 and in 2016 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5541/16]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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406. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of appeals the national special care appeals panel considered, and the number of such appeals which were approved and which were rejected, in 2015 and in 2016 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5542/16]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 404 to 406, inclusive, together.

Special Care units differ from general residential care in a number of ways: the units are secure, the child is detained, they offer higher staff ratios, education is on-site and there is specialised input such as psychology services. The child is not detained as a result of criminal offences, but for their own safety and welfare.

Children are admitted to Special Care following a successful application to the Child and Family Agency's Special Care Referrals Committee and then to the High Court for a special care order, in line with the provisions of the Child Care Act 1991, as amended. The criteria for admission to a special care unit are the age of the child, the concerns and risk assessment of the child, and a risk management plan. The age range for admission is 11 to 17 years. There are currently 5 young people approved and awaiting a Special Care intervention. One new referral is currently being processed. The current average waiting time is approximately 4 weeks.

The Special Care Referrals Committee meets on a fortnightly basis. During 2015, the Committee convened 5 emergency meetings outside of regular meetings. To date, there have been no emergency meetings in 2016.

The referrals process for Special Care includes the provision for resubmissions of referrals where the social work department wishes the Referrals Committee to reconsider the referral. During 2015, there were 19 re-referrals made to the Special Care Referrals Committee, of these re-referrals 9 were deemed suitable, 9 were deemed not suitable and 1 was withdrawn. To date, in 2016, there has been one re-referral which the Committee deemed was suitable for Special Care.

The Child and Family Agency, Tusla, has provided me with the following information on the number of referrals made in 2015 and to the end of March 2016:

Special Care Services Referral Information 2015

Special Care Services Referral Information 2016 (Jan-March)