Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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676. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she is satisfied with the level of data that is collected on the issues which come under her Department's remit; the steps she will take to work with the administration in Northern Ireland to collect data under her aegis on a North-South basis; and the budgets she will put in place to undertake this work (details supplied). [14436/16]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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My Department is involved in a number of data initiatives relevant to its remit. In this context it

- funds and oversees Growing Up in Ireland: the National Longitudinal Study for Children, which is a rich source of data and covers a number of key domains

- publishes the biennial State of the Nations Children Report, which charts the well-being of children in Ireland across a range of key indicators

- oversees the implementation of the National Strategy for Research and Data on Children's Lives

- manages the Inventory of Data Sources on Children’s Lives, an online data related resource aimed at a range of users including those involved in research, service planning, service evaluation and policy development and monitoring in relation to children.

My Department is also currently in the final stages of a project to develop a set of outcome indicators to track progress across the five national outcomes in Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures, the Children and Young People's Policy Framework.

Data in Growing Up in Ireland, the National Longitudinal Study of Children in Ireland, has similarities with the Millennium Cohort Study carried out in Northern Ireland, and together they provide a rich source of comparative data with a North South dimension. Extensive data is also collated on each individual child on admission to detention in the Oberstown Children Detention Campus.

Together with the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and Atlantic Philanthropies, my Department has given financial support to the Children’s Research Network for Ireland and Northern Ireland over the past number of years. The Network brings together a wide range of professionals with an interest in data and research on child and family issues across the island of Ireland. Members include researchers from academia, Government, voluntary and independent sectors.

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. As Minister, I participate in the Child Protection Agenda of the Health Sectorial. There are five identified workstreams under this agenda and, where necessary, data from the two jurisdictions is collated and analysed in relation to specific issues. The work programme is due for review shortly, and the issue of the collection and sharing of relevant data will form part of these discussions.