Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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346. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 179 of 8 March 2018 and in view of the fact that it has taken the Office of Wards of Court seven months to issue 350 statements, the timeframe for the issuing of all 2,500 statements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12475/18]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, the High Court has jurisdiction in wards of court matters and management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service, which is independent in exercising its functions under the Courts Service Act 1998.

However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and the Courts Service has informed me that while the Office of Wards of Court commenced issuing statements to Committees of Wards of Court in late September 2017, the work in producing these statements is to a large degree a manual task involving records held in respect of each individual ward and this process is proving more time consuming than originally anticipated.

Given the nature of the systems in the Office of Wards of Court, involving individual paper files, the process of issuing individual fund statements to each of more than 2,500 cases is quite labour intensive. All data must be checked to ensure it is accurate and up to date and to avoid contravening data protection legislation. As the Deputy is aware, 350 statements have issued to date and the next batch of statements is to issue this month.

The Courts Service remains committed to providing all such statements over the coming months and has informed me that it is intended that these statements will have issued to all Committees of Wards of Court by the end of August 2018. The Wards of Court Office continue to provide individual detailed financial statements when requested by Committees of Wards of Court.

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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347. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of case officers attached to the Office of Wards of Court that have received specialist training in family liaison, communications, mediation or other specialist training with a view to enabling effective, prompt and sensitive communication with the families of wards of court under the committeeship of the General Solicitor. [12476/18]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, the High Court has jurisdiction in wards of court matters and management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service, which is independent in exercising its functions under the Courts Service Act 1998.

However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and the Courts Service has informed me that there are 10 case officers in the Office of Wards of Court and 8 case officers in the Office of the General Solicitor for Minors and Wards of Court. 5 case officers in the Office of Wards of Court and 4 case officers in the Office of the General Solicitor for Minors and Wards of Court have received conflict resolution training with other formal and on the job training provided as the need arises.

Case officers in the Office of Wards of Court are experienced civil servants employed at  Assistant Principal level. A key competency required to be appointed to this level are interpersonal and communications skills which include a focus on customer service and an ability to engage with all stakeholders, including members of the public.

In addition, on appointment to the Office of Wards of Court, all case officers receive intensive one to one training and induction at a local level from senior experienced case officers. This training covers all aspects of case officer work including practices and procedures, legal aspects of the work and communications with Committees of Wards of Court and other parties. As with all civil servants, their performance is subject to ongoing performance review and development to ensure their work meets the standards required at that grade and in their specific role.

Case officers in the Office of the General Solicitor for Minors and Wards of Court comprise 6 qualified solicitors and 2 experienced civil servants employed at Higher Executive Officer level. The case officers who are solicitors receive ongoing training as part of their continuing professional development requirements as legal professionals. In addition, on appointment to the Office of the General Solicitor for Minors and Wards of Court, all case officers receive intensive one to one training and induction at a local level from senior experienced case officers. As with all civil servants, their performance is subject to ongoing performance review and development to ensure their work meets the standards required at that grade and in their specific role.