Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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1661. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the steps she has taken to upgrade the data collection systems in Tusla and in her Department. [37724/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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My Department collects and disseminates a wide range of data in relation to children and young people.

From 2011-2016 the National Strategy for Research and Data on Children’s Lives (NSRDCL) guided and supported my Department’s approach to the development of data relating to children’s lives. The final implementation report on this strategy will be published later this year. Key actions relevant to data development and collection in my own Department under the Strategy include:

- The publication of the State of the Nation's Children Report (SONC) whichpresents a wide range of disaggregated administrative, survey and Census data on children and on factors relevant to children’s lives. The 2016 report, the sixth in the biennial series, was published in March 2017.

- The development of the Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures (BOBF) Indicator Set by my Department to track the progress of children and young people aged 0-24 across the five outcomes outlined in Better Outcomes Brighter Futures (BOBF). A report on the indicator set is scheduled for publication during autumn 2017.

- My Department’s ongoing commitment to and management of the Growing Up in Ireland Study: The National Longitudinal Study of Children in Ireland. So far over 45 reports have been published by the GUI research team at the ESRI and Trinity College Dublin using the GUI data. GUI data are also used frequently by DCYA to inform policy development and service provision.

In addition, a data needs analysis is currently underway within my Department in line with the Government’s Open Data Strategy, the results of which will contribute to the development of a proposal and project plan to support the implementation of a centralised departmental approach to the storage and management of data for monitoring, planning and evaluation purposes. This will also be the first phase towards fulfilment of Output 33 of the Department’s Statement of Strategy, i.e. “a statistical data reporting system developed to support the work of the Department and its stakeholders”.

Tusla, the Child and Family Agency has recently announced the establishment of a new project, Outcomes for Children, National Data & Information Hub. Tusla requires optimum data management, utilising reliable data tools to ensure effective planning services for children. The project will ensure that Tusla can better fulfil its responsibilities by establishing state of the art data platforms through which it can plan its services.

The project will involve the building of an interactive area based geo mapping system to provide information for policy makers, service providers, Tusla management, practitioners, information managers and local communities so that planning and delivery of services are informed by the best available data.

It is being co funded between my Department and Tusla under the Quality and Capacity Building Initiative (QCBI) and is being piloted with eleven Children and Young People's Services Committees (CYPSC) this year, with the aim of rolling it out across all CYPSC areas in subsequent years.

This project is a prime example of collaboration between different statutory bodies and stakeholders, and my Department is providing its full support to both Tusla and the CYPSC as they continue to improve the well being and outcomes for children in Ireland.

I have referred your question to Tusla to provide information on other steps taken to develop data collection within Tusla, for direct reply.