Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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247. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which the welfare of children in State care or institutions continues to be monitored effectively; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15220/16]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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My Department receives regular detailed reports on key performance and activity indicators of service provision, including on children in care, from the Child and Family Agency, Tusla. My officials have regular meetings on a monthly and quarterly basis with Tusla management to review the overall level of service provision, including areas in need of improvement. In addition to regular reports, Tusla also provides occasional or special topic reports, as needed, which can then be used for budget and resource planning. There is also a protocol in place that Tusla informs my Department of specific issues where risks are identified and to ensure that effective management responses are put in place.

My officials use information provided by Tusla to monitor the current status of service provision and the effect as reforms to services take place. Activity indicators allow for attention to be focussed on areas where further improvement is required. Tusla has responsibility for inspecting all private and voluntary children's residential centres and since the end of September 2015 these inspection reports are available on the Tusla website, www.tusla.ie. Tusla has internal mechanisms for quality assurance of its services, in addition to the regulatory monitoring requirements, which include regular visits by a social worker to children in care and the inspection of private and voluntary children's residential centres. In addition to the reporting arrangements with Tusla, my Department also reviews the findings of a number of independent bodies, which are made available in the inspection reports from the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), who inspect all statutory children's residential centres and Special Care Units run by the State, as well as Fostering Services and Child Welfare and Protection Services in each area. My Department also receives reports on child deaths and serious incidents from the independently chaired National Review Panel, and reports from the Ombudsman for Children.

At the end of March 2016, there was a total of 6,405 children in care and of those 333 (5%) were in residential care.