Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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714. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the criteria according to which a child may be removed from the care or custody of its mother directly or soon after birth; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34581/16]

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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715. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of cases since 2011 when a newborn child has been removed from the care or custody of its parents directly or soon after birth; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34582/16]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 714 and 715 together.

Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, has a statutory duty under the Child Care Act 1991 to promote the welfare of children who are not receiving adequate care and protection and, if necessary, to receive a child into the care of the State. Social workers employed in maternity hospitals engage with vulnerable mothers to assess their capacity to care for their new born babies and, if necessary, will contact the local social work department in Tusla. When a social work department receives a referral regarding child protection concerns a social worker completes an assessment of those concerns. If the outcome of the assessment demonstrates that a child is at significant risk of harm or neglect, and that work with the family has failed to address that risk then an application is made to the Courts for a care order. Children are only separated from parents/carers when alternative means of protection have been exhausted. Re-union is always considered in the context of planning for the child’s future.

Tusla has confirmed that it does not collect a metric that collates the number of newborn children taken into care directly or soon after birth. Data regarding the number of children who were under 1 year old and in care on 31st December for the years 2011 to 2015 is set out in the following table.