Minister for Children and Youth Affairs addresses Oireachtas Joint Committee
The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Frances Fitzgerald TD has, today, told the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health, Children and Youth Affairs that her new Department will leave a lasting legacy in ensuring that robust systems for the implementation and oversight of child protection practices are in place and are complied with.
Addressing the Joint Committee, Minister Fitzgerald stated:
"The next few weeks and months will see the publication of further reports on child protection failings, including the Report of the Commission of Investigation into the Diocese of Cloyne, the HSE audits of Catholic Church Dioceses and Religious Orders and the report from the Independent Review Group on Child Deaths.
"Cumulatively, these reports, and those that have been published to date, shine a light on some horrific episodes from our past; and indeed from our very recent past; where, as a state and society, we failed in our moral duty to cherish and protect our nation’s children. My role, as Minister, is to seek that never again will these evils be countenanced.
"I will be expecting and demanding that all organisations working with children will accept fully and without question their fundamental responsibilities with respect to child protection. There will be no exceptions, no exemptions. However, cognisant of the bitter legacy of past failings, the state must; and I, as Minister, will ensure that robust systems for the implementation and oversight of child protection practices are in place and are complied with.
"Central to this will be implementing the recommendations of previous reports, in particular the Ryan Report. As Minister, I personally took over the Chairmanship of the Ryan Report Implementation Group and I also opened up its membership to include the Children Right Alliance. I chaired a meeting of the group as recently as this week and I can advise the committee that the second annual implementation report will be laid before the Oireachtas in the coming weeks.
" I am happy to see real progress being made on many of the recommendations and I believe that this work and, in particular, my plans to bring forward new legislation to support Children First National Guidance will leave a lasting legacy when it comes to child protection in Ireland.
The Minister outlined the progress made in implementing the Ryan Report including:
Additional funding of €24m has been provided to date to implement the plan.
By the end of this year we will have 260 of the 270 proposed additional social workers recruited. These are additional posts. Recruitment to back-fill other vacancies is proceeding separately.
The HSE is currently recruiting 29 posts to deliver assessment and therapeutic services for children in high support and special care units, and for children in detention.
The new Children First National Guidance will be published very shortly along with an associated implementation framework, prepared by the HSE. It is the Minister’s further intention to bring forward new legislation to support the Children First National Guidance.
The Department of Children and Youth Affairs, in conjunction with the Department of Justice and Equality, is currently finalising the Heads for the National Vetting Bureau Bill.
The Minister will be establishing a new Child & Family Support Agency, separated-out from the HSE.
· A new emergency-placement service for Children has been established. Gardai around the country can now ring a single phone number to access foster care arrangements nationwide on an out of hours basis.
· Two pilot projects involving out-of-hours social work services in Donegal and Cork are now up-and-running and will inform the future development of out-of-hours social work services.
Work is underway on the development of a National Aftercare Service in line with the new National Aftercare Policy developed by the HSE.
Additional funding has been provided to the National Counselling Services to provide services to the victims of past abuse.
The Government has given the go ahead for the competition stage of a memorial to victims of institutional abuse.