Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I published the Heads and General Scheme of a Bill to amend the Child Care Act 1991, in April of this year, following a comprehensive review of that legislation.

While Review found that the Act has served children well, and there is much that is worth retaining, our thinking as regards child welfare and protection landscape has evolved since 1991. We have a better understanding of children’s rights and a greater emphasis on listening to children’s voices. These factors, coupled with changes in the structures providing child welfare and protection services mean that there are provisions of the 1991 Act which need to be updated.

An issue that I am particularly interested in, is the ability of organisations to work together efficiently and effectively in the best interests of children. The General Scheme, in Heads 10 and 11, therefore included proposals which are intended to enable interagency cooperation, including the proposal to establish a statutory Child Care Act Advisory Committee.

The intention behind this Committee is to ensure that there is a structure composed of senior decision makers from key Departments, Tusla, the HSE and the Gardaí. I intend this Committee to have a problem-solving focus and for it to actively address issues which fall across more than one sector. For example, this could include cross-agency cooperation in relation to the interface between child welfare and disability or mental health services.

The remit of the Committee will encompass children and families known to Tusla and who may be receiving, for example, family support services, and persons who are eligible for aftercare. A particular focus of this Committee will be on ensuring that children who have been removed from their parents by the State, receive adequate help and support from all relevant State bodies.

My Department is actively considering the recommendations that the Joint Oireachtas Committee made in its report on the pre-legislative scrutiny process, as well as feedback received from other key stakeholders. My officials, in conjunction with Parliamentary Counsel continue to consider how best to frame these legislative proposals.