Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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175. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which a satisfactory conclusion is achieved and remains achievable in respect of children referred to the relevant section of her Department for attention; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14659/19]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I understand the Deputy's question relates to referrals made to Tusla and how these are dealt with.

Tusla's response to all reports of child welfare and protection is detailed in the Tusla Child Protection and Welfare Practice Handbook, which is available on the Tusla website (www.tusla.ie). This covers both the immediate and initial areas of consideration and the various responses Tulsa offer to children and families to ensure child protection and welfare concerns receive the right response at the right time for the right reasons.

A child welfare concern can bea problem experienced directly by a child, or the family of a child, that is seen to impact negatively on the child's health, development and welfare, and that may need assessment and support, but is not presenting as child protection.

A child protection concern arises when there are reasonable grounds for believing that a child may have been or is at risk of being physically, socially or emotionally abused or neglected.

The first consideration when receiving a referral is the immediate safety of the child. All referrals to the Social Work Service of Children and Family Services are screened on the day they are received irrespective of the source.

The Deputy will appreciate that the parents of children referred to Tusla often have serious difficulties themselves. These include problems with addiction, mental health and in many situations, violence in the home. Tusla is dependent, in the main, on services provided by other agencies to assist parents with their difficulties, in order for satisfactory conclusions to be reached regarding the children. Where parents are not in a position to provide safe and appropriate care for the children Tusla may apply to the courts for a care order or may enter into an agreement with the parent for the child to be received into voluntary care.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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176. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which she remains satisfied regarding the adequacy of the structures available through her Department or bodies under the remit of her Department for children at risk or children that may not be brought to the attention of her Department with a view to achieving a compassionate and early response in respect of issues raised by such children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14660/19]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, is the statutory body with responsibility for child protection in Ireland. If I, or my officials, become aware of a situation in which a child is at risk, that risk is communicated to Tusla as a matter of urgency.

If a child appears to be at risk of harm or neglect, concerns should be reported to Tusla. Anyone can report a concern about a child to Tusla, and information on how to do so is available on the Tusla website. If a child is at immediate risk or in danger, the Gardaí should be alerted without delay.

Tusla act immediately on notification of an immediate risk to a child. Children who are in a situation of immediate risk may initially be dealt with by An Garda Síochána or by Tusla, but in the main both agencies work together in such cases. Tusla, when alerted to a child at immediate risk, for instance a young child left alone at home or abandoned, will contact AGS if the child needs to be removed from that situation.

Gardaí have specific powers under Section 12 of the Child Care Act to remove a child from a situation of danger, and under Section 13 of to deliver that child into the custody of Tusla. Tusla will at that point carry out an assessment to determine the child's needs. This may in some cases include applying for an Emergency Care Order. In all cases, a plan will be put in place to ensure that the child is safe from harm.

Tusla are implementing a child protection methodology, Signs of Safety, which has at its core the involvement of the child in any assessment and decision making process.

In 2015, the Children First Act placed key elements of the Children First National Guidance on a statutory basis. The Act provides for a number of key child protection required measures including mandated reporting of child protection concerns to the Child and Family Agency by designated persons, compliance with best practice in child protection as set out in the Children First Guidance, and development of an organisation-specific Child Safeguarding Statement. Organisations providing service to children are obliged to identify areas of risk to children in their services and to set out mitigating factors. The Safeguarding Statement is to be made available publicly.