Written answers

Wednesday, 8 June 2016

Department of Children and Youth Affairs

Cross-Border Health Services Provision

Photo of Peadar TóibínPeadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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668. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the State bodies under her remit which have developed memorandums of understanding with her counterpart in Northern Ireland with regard to the efficient delivery of services on the island of Ireland; if she has carried out a cost-benefit analysis of the development of further memorandums of understanding; the details of the cost-benefit analysis; and the new memorandums of understanding she will be creating between State bodies under their remits through the lifetime of this Government. [14277/16]

Photo of Katherine ZapponeKatherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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The ongoing North South work of my Department takes place under the auspices of the North South Ministerial Council. The North South Ministerial Council meets in Sectorial Format to oversee co-operation in agreed areas/sectors. At these Sectorial meetings the Irish Government is represented by the Minister or the Minister of State responsible for that Sector, and the Northern Ireland Executive is represented by two Ministers nominated by the First Minister and deputy First Minister on a cross-community basis.

I am responsible for the following Agencies - the Adoption Authority of Ireland, Children Detention Schools and Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. I have certain responsibilities with regard to the Ombudsman for Children's Office and Gaisce (The President's Award). There are no Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) between the Oberstown Children Detention Campus and its counterpart in Northern Ireland, the Woodlands Juvenile Justice Centre. However, there is extensive contact between both centres on matters of common interest and the sharing of best practice in relation to the detention of children. This co-operation is on an on-going basis and also includes exchange visits by staff of both centres at periodic intervals.

With regard to the Adoption Authority of Ireland and Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, there are no MOU's in place between these bodies and their counterparts in Northern Ireland. Tusla's National Manager for Information, Data Protection and Research, is a member of the North South Ministerial Council Officials Group.

I have requested the Ombudsman for Children's Office to respond to you directly as it is an independent statutory body established under the Ombudsman for Children’s Act, 2002. The Act provides that the Ombudsman for Children is independent in the performance of his functions under the Act and is directly accountable to the Oireachtas in relation to the exercise of his functions. Gaisce (The President's Award) will also respond to you directly.

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