Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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1451. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the portion of the €37 million extra funding allocated to Tusla in 2017 which has been allocated to improving the emergency out-of-hours services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20564/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, provides a range of out of hours services to all areas of the country, aimed at addressing emergency situations in the area of child welfare and protection. Out of hours services are currently organised in three structures to deliver services to three areas: the greater Dublin area, Cork city and all other areas. In 2017, Tusla plans to coordinate the three existing out of hours services into a national service.

The aim of out of hours social work services is to ensure that the disruption and upset to which children may be exposed in emergency situations is minimised and the rights of parents and guardians are respected. The merger of existing services into a fully integrated national service will improve the focus and quality of service delivery, provide ease of access, and eliminate confusion regarding service area boundaries.

The additional 2017 funding provided to areas, regions and directorates within Tusla to maintain the existing level of service is approximately €16 million. This will principally be allocated to cover cost pressures in a number of service areas, including funding for emergency out of hours social work services.