Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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356. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans for the expansion of contact centre services to facilitate access and similar services for families. [44607/17]

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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359. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the action she is taking to ensure that there are facilities available to families that are referred from the District Court for supervised access. [44610/17]

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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360. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the action she is taking to ensure that there are facilities available to families that are referred from the District Court for supervised access in County Cork. [44611/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 356, 359 and 360 together.

My Department is committed to supporting and promoting the development, welfare and protection of children, and the effective functioning of families. We recognise that the dynamics of domestic violence and the safety needs of both children and non-abusing parents must be considered in making appropriate arrangements for children's contact with abusive parents in the case of family breakdown.

I wish to acknowledge the valuable work of the child contact centres which were set up under a pilot project operated by Barnardos and One Family from October 2011 to December 2013. The effectiveness of these centres is evidenced in the final evaluation report on the Child Contact Centres Pilot Project, published by One Family in March 2014.

I understand that officials from my Department are shortly due to meet with officials from the Department of Justice and Equality to discuss the potential for establishing Child Contact Centres on a national basis. These discussions will have regard to current infrastructural arrangements such as the establishment of the Child and Family Agency and the proposed Family Courts Service and the availability of financial resources. It will also have regard to the final evaluation report on the Child Contact Centres Pilot Project which considers that an integrated response by my Department and the Department of Justice and Equality, supported by relevant agencies (i.e. The Child and Family Agency, the Courts Service, the Probation Service, the Legal Aid Board, the Family Mediation Service, and COSC) would be the best approach to establishing such a service on a national basis.

I will inform the Deputy in due course of the outcome of these discussions.