Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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42. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she is satisfied with the way in which section 13 of the Child Care Act 1991 is carried out by Tusla officials; and her views on whether the policy is in need of review in view of some exceptional cases. [7028/19]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I can understand the Deputy’s concern about the use of this powerful legal instrument. Emergency care orders are only granted by the Courts where there is an immediate threat to the safety of a child. Social workers seeking an Emergency Care Order are often acting to protect a child during a crisis.

Information from the Child Care Law Reporting Project indicates that Emergency Care Orders are the least commonly sought Order. They are also the Order of shortest duration, lasting a maximum of 8 days.

Section 13 of the Child Care Act 1991 specifies the circumstances required for an Emergency Care Order to be granted. The operation of Section 13 by Tusla social workers was raised by Dr Geoffrey Shannon in his audit of how the Garda use their powers under Section 12 of the Act.

Section 12 allows the Garda remove a child from a situation of acute risk. The child is then transferred to Tusla which undertakes an assessment of the child’s situation. Tusla may return the child home, if their situation is deemed safe, or apply for an Emergency Care Order under section 13 of the Act.

I am conscious that there has been no empirical work on applications being made to the Courts under section 13 by social workers. I was sufficiently concerned about the lack of data on this crucial practice issue that I requested Tusla to commission research on the topic.

The research is being undertaken by NUIG and comprises a quantitative and qualitative methodology. The quantitative aspect is based on a unique database, created by extracting key information on every Section 12 case on record in Tusla for the 12 month period from 1 July 2016-to the end of June, 2017.

The qualitative aspect of NUIG's research involves interviews with social workers and key Tusla personnel involved in applications for Emergency Care Orders, to identify the factors contributing to practice decisions at this point.

The research report will integrate the two methodological approaches to identify key findings. I expect the report to be finalised by the end of June. Any relevant findings will be taken into consideration in the review of the Child Care Act that is currently under way in my Department.