Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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704. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which she can foresee the possibility of addressing the underlying issues contributing to child poverty or affecting child welfare and-or abuse; if she expects to see opportunities to address these issues in the short and medium term; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7444/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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My Department is committed to addressing the issues contributing to child poverty and supporting child welfare and protection. In order to effectively address each of these issues, my Department invests a considerable amount in research and data, including the State of the Nation’s Children, Growing up in Ireland, and outcome indicators for the five national outcomes in Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures. Such information is important in identifying issues and anticipating trends that need to be tackled from a policy perspective.

My Department is responsible for a number of measures to address child poverty. Firstly, it co-finances, with The Atlantic Philanthropies, the Area Based Childhood (ABC) Programme (2013-2017). With additional funds which I secured in the 2016 budget this programme amounts to €34 million. The ABC Programme is designed to prevent inter-generational poverty through area based programmes with a strong prevention and early intervention focus. My department will hold an open policy debate on 14 February to share learning from our investment in the ABC programme with colleagues in other departments such as the Departments of Health, Social Protection, Education and Tusla with a view to informing a strong focus on prevention and early intervention programmes targeting children at risk of poverty.

My Department has committed over €3m this year to the development of the Quality and Capacity Building Initiative that aims take a co-ordinated approach to the improve capacity, knowledge and quality in prevention and early intervention services for children at risk of developing poor outcomes.

My Department also provides significant funding in a range of key areas which support a concerted response to addressing child poverty, and ensuring a strengthening of focus on the well-being and welfare of children and young people. These include the areas of Early Years and Youth. It also includes resources to Tusla services focusing on the welfare, protection and support for children, young people and their families. These are all key to supporting outcomes which assist in addressing contributory factors and reducing the impact of child poverty.

My Department is fully committed to the protection and welfare of children. There is a clear and compelling duty on us all to protect children and to ensure their safety.

With specific regard to child protection, the Children First Act 2015 was signed into law on 19 November last year and provides, with the removal of the common law defence of reasonable chastisement, that children now enjoy the full protection of the law in relation to assault. This new legislation will also provide for mandated reporting of child protection concerns and will require organisations working with children to prepare Child Safeguarding Statements. I have approved phased preparations for implementation of the remaining provisions of the Act in the period up to end 2017.

The legislation will operate side-by-side with the existing non-statutory obligations provided for in Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children 2011. The Guidance is currently being revised and updated to take account of the new legislative obligations so as to provide in one place a comprehensive reference resource for individuals and organisations.

A statutory Children First Inter-Departmental Implementation Group has been established to promote the importance of Children First compliance across Government and to ensure a consistent approach is adopted.

I am fully convinced that it is only by strengthening and aligning efforts in the areas of research, policy and service provision that we can effectively address many of the underlying causes that impact on child poverty and children's welfare.