19 April 2013: Questions to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, for answer before the meeting of the Committee on Health and Children.

Question 17: Child and Family Support Agency

Question 16 (Senator Jillian Van Turnhout)

Question 18 (Senator Jillian Van Turnhout)

Question 17: Child and Family Support Agency.

To ask the Minister to share with the Joint Committee on Health and Children the Implementation Plan for the new Child and Family Support Agency; including details of the transfer arrangements from the NEWB, Family Resource Centres and HSE; and the referral pathways for children and families to the new agency.

Vision for Child and Family Agency
The Programme for Government commits to “fundamentally reform the delivery of child protection services by removing child welfare and protection from the HSE and creating a dedicated Child Welfare and Protection Agency, reforming the model of service delivery and improving accountability to the Dáil.”

I established a Task Force to advise on the establishment of this new Agency. I requested the Task Force to base its work on “best practice in child welfare, family support and the delivery of public services, and according to principles that:

• The welfare of the child is paramount;
• Children and families should be supported in their local communities to the greatest extent possible;
• The welfare of children is founded upon strong and loving families and supported by the purposeful and shared responsibility of the state and society to always protect and promote their welfare;
• The Agency will operate to the highest standards of performance and value for money;
• Children will receive the best parenting when received into the care of the state.”

The final report of the Task Force was published in July last year and made recommendations on a number of key issues. The Task Force provided a specific chapter on the vision for the Agency, amongst which included the following:

“The Child and Family Support Agency, working in collaboration with the Department, provides leadership to relevant statutory and non-statutory agencies, ensuring that the conditions needed to achieve children’s wellbeing and development are fulfilled.

The Agency is responsible for the wellbeing of children and families who require targeted supports due to family and social circumstances. These range from support to families in the community to highly specialist interventions where children are at risk of being unsafe. Such children and families are not an isolated grouping nor are they a static grouping as children and families can move in and out of needing support as their life circumstances change.

In fulfilling its statutory role, the Agency ensures that:
• The needs of such children and families are identified at the earliest sign of their emerging need;
• A coordinated set of supports that addresses all the facets of a child’s wellbeing is put in place which incorporates and utilises well-developed interagency working mechanisms;
• The effectiveness of the supports is monitored;
• For the services provided directly or funded by the Agency, service delivery systems and practice are continuously reviewed to ensure they respond successfully to changing needs, and unmet need is clearly identified as a part of ongoing planning and reporting processes to the Department and the Minister;
• It provides mechanisms to engage with children, families and communities regarding the design and quality of service provision.”

I share the view of the Task Force that in order to achieve genuine improvements for children and families, the Agency must have a broader focus than child protection. Prevention, early intervention, family support and therapeutic & care interventions are all key to the provision of integrated multi-disciplinary services for children and families based on identified need.

It is my intention that the new Agency will address the persistent and difficult issues which have been found regarding the standardisation of services, communication, professional collaboration and coordination, and sharing of risk assessment, management and treatment for many children and families with the most complex needs. At the same time, the Agency will have a role in supporting families more universally – providing less complex, less intrusive, less expensive responses which have a preventive function.

The new Child and Family Agency and the wider transformation of children’s services represent one of the largest, and most ambitious, areas of public sector reform embarked upon by this Government. The reforms are much deeper than structural or organisational change as they embrace operational, cultural and inter agency improvement. As such, they will not be delivered overnight and the organisational arrangements are intended as an enabler of the improvement in outcomes which will be the real service goal in the years to come.

Progress on Planning and Implementation
On 13th July 2012, Government approved the drafting of Heads of a Bill to provide for the establishment of the Agency. The detailed policy decisions to inform the drafting of legislation were set out in these Heads of Bill and approved by Government in November last. Such policy includes:

• The functions and legal remit of the Agency;
• The constituent services that are to make up the new Agency;
• The governance arrangements between the Minister and the Agency and between the Board and the Executive;
• The funding relationship between the Minister and the Agency;
• The arrangements for the Agency to contract others to provide services on its behalf;
• The arrangements for dissolving the Family Support Agency and the National Educational Welfare Board; and
• Provisions for the transfer of staff, assets, liabilities and contracts.

The Government decided that the constituent elements of the Child and Family Agency on establishment day will be made up of:

● Child welfare and protection services currently operated by the HSE including family support and alternative care services.
● Other child and family related services for which the HSE currently has responsibility including pre-school inspections and domestic, sexual and gender-based violence services.
● Psychologists working in the community setting in relation to children and families
● The Family Support Agency.
● The National Educational Welfare Board.

The scope of these services is sufficiently broad to capture an enhanced range of both universal and targeted services operating to a unified management structure. These will constitute the immediate service responsibilities of the new Agency. Further consideration will be given to the subsequent transfer of additional services to the new Agency after the initial set-up phase and following further consideration of relevant recommendations of the Task Force in consultation with relevant departments.

The Agency will function as a separate statutory body with strong governance and a framework of public accountability underpinning its operations. The Agency will have a board appointed by the Minister based upon expertise and competency. Therefore, accountability and transparency will be a key feature of the governance and performance management frameworks to be introduced in the legislation.

The legislation must provide for the reassigning, under law, of the sensitive and complex legal responsibilities which arise in relation to the care and protection of children and the promotion of their welfare. Particular care is also being taken in respect of the disaggregation of the functions from the HSE to ensure that there are no unintended consequences (for either the Agency or the services remaining within the HSE) in the separation of functions, either in legal terms or in terms of the practical operation of day-do-day services for children and their families or other HSE clients.

Work on the drafting of the legislation has been progressing in conjunction with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel. The legislation is at an advanced stage and once it is finalised it will be brought to Government for the purposes of approving its introduction to the Oireachtas. The legislation is on the A list of the Government’s legislative programme and I intend to bring it before the House in this current term.

While the legislative process is under way, all necessary organisational preparations are continuing in parallel. These preparations are being led by the Programme Director/CEO Designate of the Child and Family Agency, Mr Gordon Jeyes. The preparations are being supported by an oversight group chaired by the Secretary General of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. In addition to the CEO Designate, its membership includes officials of the departments of Children and Youth Affairs, Health and Public Expenditure and Reform; HSE Children and Families and a representative of the CEO of the HSE.

The oversight group is supported by a joint Department of Children and Youth Affairs and Child and Family Agency project team (led by the CEO Designate) which is driving day to day delivery of the overall project. Its responsibilities include the full range of activities required to bring the project to completion. Representatives of the Family Support Agency and the National Educational Welfare Board are also members of the team and are actively involved in leading the requisite change management programmes within those agencies. The project team undertakes integrated project planning, risk management and reporting. It reports to the Oversight Group and relevant matters are escalated to the Oversight Group if necessary.
Progress achieved to date in preparation for the Agency includes:
• the separation of children and family services within the HSE from other health and personal social services, with discrete management responsibilities and budgets;
• recruitment of a senior management team to lead the agency. All positions with the exception of the Chief Operations Officer and Head of Education Welfare are currently filled. These two positions are currently being re-advertised/advertised;
• the establishment of a dedicated sub-head for children and family services within the HSE Vote to bring transparency to the current budget of HSE children and family services;
• the undertaking of an external due diligence process, under the auspices of the two Departments, to inform the reassignment of budgets from the HSE to the Child and Family Agency;
• the establishment of an industrial relations process to communicate with staff representatives and resolve issues to facilitate the transition to the new Agency;
• the issuing in January 2013 of personal letters to almost 4,000 staff across the HSE, NEWB and FSA informing them of the plans to establish the new Agency and that it is intended that upon establishment their employment will transfer;
• commencement of external inspection by HIQA of the child welfare and protection services, in line with the goal of promoting enhanced transparency;
• the continued implementation of a comprehensive national change programme for the operational improvement of children and family services. This includes detailed design of referral pathways and assessment frameworks in order to ensure national consistency;
• continued implementation of the integration of education services within the NEWB and the development of the Family Resource Centre network in advance of the relocation of responsibilities to the new Agency;
• the appointment from January 2013 of Mr Gordon Jeyes as fulltime Programme Director for the establishment of the Child and Family Agency; and
• the recent approval of the Government that name of the new Agency will be the ‘Child & Family Agency’.

In line with the public service reform programme the replication and duplication of transactional or support functions such as payroll, financial transactions and property management will be avoided. These can be more effectively provided on a shared service basis in order to ensure that costs associated with disaggregation are entirely minimised. Accordingly, preparations are in place for the HSE to provide significant levels of such shared services to the new Agency. This will involve process and technical development within the HSE. HSE has recently received approval to contract for IT system enhancements necessary to facilitate this service which will be implemented this year.

In addition to these organisational preparations the decision has been taken to commence governance preparations on a shadow basis pending the enactment of legislation including its provisions for a Board. The Government has approved the appointment of Ms. Norah Gibbons as first Chairperson of the board of the new Child & Family Agency. Ms Gibbon’s expertise and experience in the area speaks for itself. It is intended that Ms. Gibbons will initially be appointed as Chairperson of the existing Family Support Agency which is one of the agencies being incorporated into the new Child & Family Agency. The appointment process will include appearance before the Oireachtas Health & Children Committee in line with procedures for the appointment of the chairpersons of state bodies. My Department will also be seeking expressions of interest for other board members by means of advertisement on the publicjobs and Department websites.
These appointments will reflect the intention, pending the legal establishment of the Child and Family Agency, to have the FSA Board prepare in advance for the governance task associated with the new Agency and provide oversight and direction to the preparations at an organisational level which are underway for the new Agency. The newly appointed board of the Family Support Agency will play this role on an administrative basis in addition to its existing statutory functions. Day to day statutory responsibility for child welfare and protection services and education welfare services will remain with the HSE and the NEWB respectively until these are transferred on the enactment of the necessary legislation. This approach reflects the overall strategy to undertake as much preparation as possible in advance of legislative enactment and the consequential transfer of onerous operational responsibilities.

It is important not to underestimate the scale of change involved and the absolute necessity for a carefully planned approach to be adopted while embarking upon such large-scale change within this crucial area of the public service. The approach to the project is informed by learning from the establishment of other major agencies, particularly where preparatory time was inadequate. Such preparations include allowance for sufficient consultation and consideration of the legislation by the Oireachtas and stakeholders in the period immediately ahead. A precise date for the establishment of the Agency will be set when consideration of the legislation by the Oireachtas has advanced.

Conclusion
In conclusion, it is considered that the intensive preparations underway and summarised here will provide for the effective establishment of the Child and Family Agency and will bring a dedicated focus to child protection, family support and other key children’s services for the first time in the history of the State, contributing in time to the transformation of what are essential services for families and communities.

Question 16 (Senator Jillian Van Turnhout)

To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to set out and provide details on the process for the selection of the sites; programmes; interventions; and supports to be provided under the new Area Based Approach to Child Poverty Initiative in 2013.

Written Response
The Area-Based Approach to Child Poverty Initiative was allocated €2.5m in Budget 2013. The amount allocated will rise to €4.75 in 2015. It is hoped that this Initiative will be co-funded by Atlantic Philanthropies and discussions are ongoing to this end. This Initiative will build on and continue the work of the Prevention and Early Intervention Programme (PEIP) which supported projects in Tallaght, Ballymun and Darndale/Belcamp/Moatview.

The new Initiative reflects the Programme for Government commitment to adopt an area-based approach to child poverty in co-operation with philanthropic partners, drawing upon best international practice and existing services, to break the cycle of child poverty where it is most deeply entrenched.

I can confirm that the focus will be, very firmly, on outcomes, rather than inputs and outputs, and these will be referenced in (a) the selection of areas where children are most disadvantaged, and (b) in measurement of the success of interventions.

It has been proposed that the Initiative will consist of the following components:

• Continuation of interventions, where appropriate, in the 3 existing PEIP sites, subject to those programmes being supported by positive evaluations and evidence regarding impact and cost effectiveness
• Selection of 6 sites (including as appropriate proven programmes in existing PEIP sites), where multi-faceted approaches to addressing Child Outcomes via evidence based programmes will be implemented. The impact of these interventions will be monitored in a cost-effective manner, to ensure they have the intended outcomes on child well-being
• In time, the mainstreaming of proven, cost-effective evidence-based programmes into service delivery in a wider context than the areas specifically participating in the Area-Based initiative.

The Initiative is being overseen by a Project Team, chaired by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs with participation of the Departments of An Taoiseach, An Tánaiste, Public Expenditure & Reform, Environment Community & Local Government, Education & Science, Health, Social Protection, HSE, and including Atlantic Philanthropies. The Project Team is supported by the Centre for Effective Services (CES) and Pobal, which has been asked to act as the fiscal agent for the Initiative.

A Working Group to Support the Project Team has been established. At present it consists of DCYA, CES, Pobal and Atlantic Philanthropy.

My Department published details on its website on 12th April last outlining the overall selection process. Details of a seminar arranged for 25th April where the Initiative will be explained to potential applicants have also been published. It is intended that Applications will close by the end of May, and Stage 1 of the selection process is expected to be completed at the end of June. It is inspected that the finalisation of proposals may be effected more quickly in the case of some successful applicants than with others, depending on their readiness. Shortly and in advance of the seminar my Department will publish detailed guidance for applicants and an application form. The Department of Children and Youth Affairs will be happy to supply the committee with copies of these documents as soon as they are published.

The criteria for selection of proposals to attract support under the programme are as follows:

• Evidence of need – The level of poor outcomes for children in the target area
• The quality of the proposal
• Additionality & Sustainability – The degree to which the proposal leverages other resources
• Understanding & ability of the applicants to capture outcomes

The Working Group and Project Team will conduct assessments of the proposals and recommend projects for selection.

Who should apply?
Applications are invited from area-based groups of not-for-profit organisations, with a proven track record of working with statutory and non-statutory service providers and local community groups with a capacity to form consortia. These consortia must be in a position to propose and deliver an area based initiative that delivers on the programme’s objectives of:
Breaking the cycle of child poverty within areas where it is most deeply entrenched and where children are most disadvantaged, through integrated and effective services and interventions that address:
1. Child development, and/or
2. Child wellbeing and parenting, and/or
3. Educational disadvantage,
From pre-natal to 18 years of age.

Proposals are invited across all elements but particular consideration will be given to proposals that focus on the quality and effectiveness of services and interventions from birth to 6 years of age.

What will the programme provide?
Successful applicants will receive funding to implement proven and cost-effective early intervention and/or prevention programmes and practices. The level of funding which will be available to individual projects for the duration of the programme will vary depending on the scale and impact of each initiative and the level of existing resources allocated to the area concerned. It will be a requirement of funding that the programmes and practices are implemented collaboratively by all relevant service providers in the area, both statutory and non-statutory, using existing resources. Applicants should have regard to the fact that, while the initiative is expected to provide additional levels of funding until 2016, the objective is to work towards withdrawal or reduction of additional funding from then on.

Research and evaluation
Research and evaluation were key elements of the PEIP and will continue to be important components of the new initiative to ensure that the outcomes from the interventions are evaluated and measured. Given that the new initiative will build on trialled and proven leaning from the PEIP, and other prevention and early intervention projects funded by the State and/or Atlantic Philanthropies, the research and evaluation component is expected to be less onerous and will be centrally directed.

Successful applicants will be subject to on-going research and evaluation requirements, overseen at central level by an Expert Advisory Committee. This process will be assisted by the Centre for Effective Services, acting on behalf of the Department.

Mentoring
With the exception of applicants who demonstrate an acceptable record in the delivery of prevention and early intervention programmes (e.g. the existing PEIP sites), successful applicants will be expected to avail of mentoring assistance over the course of the new initiative.

Systemic Change
It is anticipated that the initiative will expand over time, both in terms of the number and type of area based interventions and the degree of systemic change and mainstreaming of evidence based programmes and practices which is taking place. In tandem with this, it is anticipated that the range of area based projects which will be included in the initiative, will broaden.

Applications will also be required to demonstrate an approach which is based on additionality to existing levels of service provision and resources both statutory and non-statutory i.e. the proposal should demonstrate how existing services, practices and resources will be made more efficient and more effective as a result of the proposal. In effect, the initiative is expected to promote improved inter-agency collaboration at local level leading to systemic change which is capable of being replicated on a broader or national scale.

Question 18 (Senator Jillian Van Turnhout)

In light of the Fifth Report (July 2012) of the Government’s Special Rapporteur on Child Protection, Geoffrey Shannon, to ask the Minister to confirm the status of:
• The examination he called for to establish whether the system of Direct Provision itself is detrimental to the welfare and development of children and whether, if appropriate, an alternative form of support and accommodation could be adopted which is more suitable for families and particularly children.

• The establishment in the interim of an independent complaints mechanism and independent inspections of Direct Provision centres and the recommendation that consideration to these being undertaken through either HIQA (inspections) or the Ombudsman for Children (complaints).

Written Response

No answer provided.

18 July 2013: Questions to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, for answer before the meeting of the Committee on Health and Children.

Question 4: National Substance Misuse Strategy

Question 5: Implementation plan for the Child and Family Support Agency

Question 6: Oberstown campus development

Question 4: National Substance Misuse Strategy.

To ask Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to outline her position on the recommendations contained in the Steering Group Report on a National Substance Misuse Strategy on protecting children and young people from the impact of alcohol. Specifically, the recommendations relating to alcohol marketing and minimum pricing with a view to impacting on the age at which young people start drinking alcohol, as well as the consumption levels of under18s.

Children and Alcohol
Whilst there have been some indicators showing an improvement in the levels of alcohol consumption in children over the last decade, with the percentage of children aged 10-17 who report never having had an alcoholic drink increased from approximately 40% in 2002 to 54% in 2010, there are many more indicators that continue to give deep concern about the patterns of drinking that exist in children and young people.

Drunkenness amongst Irish Young people
There exists a consistent trend for drunkenness when drinking among Irish young people, a trend that sets them apart from the majority of their European counterparts.
In the latest report on drinking among 15 and 16-year-olds across Europe, Irish students reported drinking a third more on their latest drinking day than the European average. In addition, there also exists a trend whereby Irish girls drink as much as boys, and sometimes drink more. Irish students reported that, in the 30 days prior to the survey
• Half (48% boys and 52% girls) had drunk alcohol
• 40% had 5+ drinks on a single drinking occasion
• 23% had one or more episodes of drunkenness
• In 2010, 18.3% of children aged 10-17 reported that they had been drunk at least once in the last 30 days.
Unfortunately, the impact of the trend in drunkenness has already surfaced as chronic alcohol-related conditions among young people become increasingly common.
Between 2005 and 2008, 4,129 people aged under 30 were discharged from hospital with chronic diseases or conditions of the type normally seen in older people.There has also been a considerable increase in alcoholic liver disease (ALD) among younger age groups. Among 15 to 34-years-olds, the rate of ALD discharges increased by 275% between 1995 and 2009
The accompanying trend of increased ease of access to alcohol is also a source of concern. In 2011, 84% Irish 15 and 16-year-olds reported that alcohol was “very easy” or “fairly easy” to get compared to 75% in 2007. Just over a quarter (26%) said they had bought drink for their own consumption from the off-trade in the 30 days prior to the survey; 37% said they had bought their drink from an on-trade outlet.
This trend has been accompanied by an explosion in the number of outlets selling alcohol at ‘pocket money’ prices with a bottle of beer often cheaper than a bottle of water. Discounts on multiple packs of alcohol have created a culture where young people buy slabs of beer instead of six-packs.
Unsocial and Public Order Offences by Children and Young People‘Public Order and other Social Code Offences’ were the single highest cause of referrals to the Garda Juvenile Diversion Programme, representing 28.9% of all referrals. Many of these are associated with alcohol consumption and binge drinking amongst young people.
The effects of Alcohol Abuse by Adults on Children
There are serious consequences also to children living in families where one of the parents or carers has an alcohol misuse problem. Adult alcohol problems are directly responsible for a significant percentage of child abuse and neglect cases; was identified as a risk factor in three-quarters of Irish teenagers for whom social workers applied for special care; is associated with a range of disorders known as foetal alcohol spectrum disorders are caused by mothers drinking alcohol in pregnancy
In Conclusion

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs works closely with the Department of Health to identify and support actions supported by emerging international evidence on what is effective in helping reduce the current levels of alcohol misuse in Ireland. Actions on pricing, advertising, sponsorship, labelling and others will move us further down the road of achieving safer levels of alcohol consumption in adults and minimising or preventing consumption by children.

Question 5: Implementation plan for the Child and Family Support Agency

To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to share with the Joint Committee on Health and Children the Implementation Plan for the new Child and Family [Support] Agency including: the anticipated commencement date for the Agency; details of the exact number and disciplines of the staff who will be transferred from the NEWB, Family Resource Centres and HSE; and a clear explanation of the referral pathways for children and families to the new Agency.

As I stated in response to the Deputy’s questions on this subject in advance of the April meeting, the establishment of the Child and Family Agency is at the heart of the Government’s reform of child and family services.

Extensive work is ongoing in the Departments of Children and Youth Affairs and Health, and in the HSE to prepare for the establishment of the Child and Family Agency. The preparations are designed to allow for the Agency to assume full statutory responsibility for specific services for children and families upon establishment.

The Child and Family Agency Bill was published on 12th July last and it is the intention to introduce it to the Houses of the Oireachtas in the current session. A precise target date for establishment of the Agency will be set when consideration of the legislation is advanced.

The Bill focuses on the task of bringing together the functions of the three “source” agencies (the HSE, the Family Support Agency and the National Educational Welfare Board). Particular care is required in respect of the disaggregation of the functions from the HSE to ensure that there are no unintended consequences (for either the Agency or the Directorates remaining within the HSE framework) in the separation of functions, either in legal terms, or in terms of the practical operation of day-do-day services for children and their families or HSE clients across the life cycle.

A key task in drafting the legislation has been to ensure that the Agency operates within a strong framework of public accountability. Other important features of the legislation relate to the need to create the correct platform for interagency arrangements, shared service arrangements and a robust process for the commissioning of services from a range of providers.

In addition to creating a framework for the future, the Bill also has to take account of the transitional arrangements which inevitably have to be prescribed. These are potentially complex against the backdrop of changing governance and structural arrangements in the context of the wider Health Reform programme.

While the legislative process is under way, all necessary organisational preparations are continuing in parallel. It is important not to underestimate the scale of change involved and the absolute necessity for a carefully planned approach to be adopted while embarking upon such large-scale change within this crucial area of the public service.

The establishment of the Agency is being directed by a project team (led by the CEO Designate) which is driving the overall project plan. Its responsibilities include the full range of activities required to bring the project to completion – from the high level legislative programme elements through to the more practical day-to-day issues regarding the transfers of staff, systems and various undertakings relevant to the operation of the new Agency. Representatives of the Family Support Agency and the National Educational Welfare Board are also members of the team and are actively involved in leading the requisite change management programmes within those agencies.

The project team reports to an Oversight Group which is chaired by the Secretary General of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and relevant matters are escalated to the Oversight Group if necessary. Its membership includes officials of the Departments of Children and Youth Affairs, Health and Public Expenditure and Reform; the HSE – both sides of the organisation; and the CEO Designate of the Child and Family Agency.

In order to prepare for the establishment of the new Agency, a due diligence exercise has been commissioned regarding the level of resources to transfer from the HSE to the CFA on establishment. The objective of the exercise is to establish that the level of resources to be divested from the HSE to the new Agency is fair and reasonable.

Following intensive work on the part of HSE and CFA-designated staff, individual letters of notification issued earlier this year to some 4000 staff that have been confirmed as transferring to the new Agency. This includes staff employed by the HSE (the majority currently working in Children and Family Services), the Family Support Agency (FSA) and the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB). It should be noted that the staff of the Family Resource Centres are not employed by the Family Support Agency directly.

I am confident that the establishment of the Agency will bring a dedicated focus to child protection, family support and other key children’s services for the first time in the history of the State and will in time contribute to the transformation of what are essential services for families and communities. As can be seen from the above, following publication of the Report of the Task Force on the Child and Family Support Agency, intensive work has been underway to prepare for establishment of the Agency. There are strong project governance and project planning methodologies in place, with revisions on an ongoing basis as tasks are accomplished or issues escalated. Further details of the tasks undertaken or underway were set out in my April reply.

In addition, since April my Department has sought expressions of interest for the Family Support Agency board which will form a shadow board pending the legal establishment under the Child and Family Agency Bill which has now been published.

In respect of referral pathways, HSE Children and Family Services are piloting programmes in selected geographical areas to ensure the most effective response to all referrals. Currently, all child welfare and protection referrals are channelled through social work departments, where child protection is prioritised. The revised referral pathways are intended to ensure a service is provided for all referrals at a level that is most appropriate to the problem presented. The intention is that the lessons learned from the early roll-out of this method of dealing with referrals will be applied across the country.

Question 6: Oberstown campus development

To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs when a single management structure will be in situ in Oberstown to oversee the development of the campus including the integration of the three existing schools, and to outline, including the timeframe, the remaining steps in the process to ending the practice of detention of children in St Patrick’s Institution by mid-2014.

As previously stated in response to various Parliamentary Questions, we are the first Government to:

• have ended the detention of 16 year olds in St Patrick’s Institution.
• provide capital funding, of €50 million, for the development of National Child Detention Facilities in Oberstown.
• have extended the remit of the Ombudsman for Children to include St Patrick’s Institution.
• have established a dedicated multidisciplinary assessment and therapeutic care team for children in detention and special care.
• revised campus rosters and management structures at Oberstown.
• moved to close St Patrick’s Institution.

With respect to the development of National Child Detention Facilities in Oberstown, this project is required in order to give effect to the Programme for Government commitment to end the practice of detaining children in adult prison facilities. My officials have, in conjunction with the Office of Public Works, completed the design process and secured planning permission for the capital development. The tender process is being managed by the Office of Public Works at present and an announcement on the outcome of this process will be made shortly. The project will result in an increase in the overall detention capacity on the campus from 52 places at present to 90 places in total, along with associated education, visiting and other facilities. The required capacity to enable the assignment of responsibility for all children under the age of 18 years to the Oberstown campus is to be delivered in the first phase of the project, by mid 2014.

There is legal provision under the Children Act 2001 for 24 male bed spaces in Trinity House School, 8 female bed spaces in Oberstown Girls School, and 20 male bed spaces in Oberstown Boys School. However, only 16 of the certified 24 male bed spaces in Trinity House School are currently available for use due to staffing issues. The Irish Youth Justice Service, which is based in my Department, is currently in discussions with management and staff on the Oberstown campus to reconfigure staffing and accommodation in order to meet the increased demand for male bed places from the courts. I have also noted a substantial increase in demand for male bed spaces on the Oberstown campus in 2013 compared to 2012. This has been primarily but not exclusively driven by an increase in the number of boys aged 16 years old on admission detained in Oberstown. The Irish Youth Justice Service has identified a trend since late 2012 of a higher number of such children being detained in Oberstown compared to the situation which applied when this age group was the responsibility of St Patrick’s Institution. This increase in demand from the courts merits further consideration, particularly since the Central Statistics Office has recently recorded a general reduction in crime trends overall in the community.

The first-ever campus-wide staffing roster, with a set of harmonised conditions for hours worked, was implemented on 25th February 2013 following protracted negotiation and agreement between staff and management at the Labour Relations Commission. I wish to acknowledge the cooperation of staff with the implementation of the LRC agreement to date. A number of outstanding issues are the subject of ongoing discussions in conjunction with implementation of the campus wide roster, the ongoing industrial relations process on the campus and the Haddington Road Agreement.

I have obtained Government approval for an amendment to the Children Act, 2001. The Bill includes an enabling provision which will allow for the merging of the three current children detention schools into one single cohesive organisation. The Bill is at drafting stage at present with Parliamentary Counsel and it is my aim to bring it to the House later in 2013. This will ensure that a single unified management structure is in place and fully operational when the proposed new development on the campus is completed. In the interim my Officials are making arrangements for the appointment of a campus manager to drive the change management programme in Oberstown. The arrangements for the recruitment and appointment of this manager will be made in the coming weeks, in conjunction with the Public Appointments Service (PAS). It should be noted that the existing Board of Management has responsibilities in relation to each of the three schools.

Since taking over responsibility for the children detention schools, I have also engaged fully with the HSE on the implementation of a new mental health service for children in detention and in the special care / high support system. This is known as the Assessment, Consultation and Therapy Service (ACTS). Good progress has been made and the posts for addiction counsellor and speech and language therapist have been filled with the psychology post due to be filled in September, 2013. Representatives from the children detention schools, HSE and IYJS have been working together over the last two months to identify an appropriate mental health screening system that can be used in the children detention schools and to develop training for staff. Training is due to take place in September 2013 with a view to implementing mental health screening for all young people in the detention system before the end of December 2013. I welcome the ongoing development of this important service on the Oberstown campus, which was a key recommendation of the Ryan Commission on child abuse of 2009.

In conclusion, a very substantial change programme is underway on the Oberstown campus. Oberstown’s expanded remit will see it accommodate all children detained in the State in a child specific environment from the middle of next year. The Government has provided dedicated capital funds for this purpose. I recognise that significant operational change is also required. Major change has already been achieved and my Department continues to work with the Board of Management, the staff and their representatives to expand the range and quality of services on the campus.

17 October 2013: Questions to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, for answer before the meeting of the Committee on Health and Children.

Question 17: Family participation in HSE reforms in disability services

Question 18: Emergency medical card procedures for terminally ill

Question 19: Paediatric hospitals integration

Question 17: Family participation in HSE reforms in disability services.

Can the Minister outline the Department of Health’s strategy and objectives in terms of family participation in the major strategic reforms currently being undertaken by the HSE in the area of disability services?

The HSE and the DOH acknowledge the importance of involving service users, parents & families and wider community in the planning organisation & delivery of services with people with a disability. In this context, the development of a partnership approach between all these stakeholders has been an important part of the model of service over many years. A range of both formal and informal processes are in place to give effect to this strategic objective.

At a national level, the National Consultative Forum (NCF) which was established by the HSE is the mechanism for bringing these key stakeholders together.
The forum includes representatives of the various umbrella bodies representing service providers e.g. Federation of Voluntary Bodies, The Disability Federation of Ireland (DFI), the Not for Profit Business Association, a number of bodies representing families or service users are involved e.g. Inclusion Ireland and National Parents and Siblings Alliance. The National Disability Authority is also represented as are the DOH & HSE.

Similar fora have been developed at regional and local level. In addition to the above, the development of many of the key strategic policy documents have included such representation e.g. the Report on Congregated Settings, New Directions the HSE’s policy document on the development of day services and the Policy on Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People. As these strategic policies are being implemented, the HSE is ensuring that local implementation groups provide for the involvement of service users and/or parents & families as active participants.

The current process, for implementation of 0-18 Children’s Service model, as outlined below, is a good example of the processes being put in place to ensure full participation by service users, parents & family representatives.

Children’s Services Model:

• Membership of the National Coordinating Group includes Inclusion Ireland CEO and 2 parent representatives
• A subgroup on Communications was established to focus on improving communications with all stakeholders, including parents..
• The programme’s recent Local Implementation Group (LIG) Lead Workshop included a presentation by the Special Needs Parents Association representative on how to involve parents in the LIG from a parent perspective which was extremely very well received. Guidelines on Parent and Service User representation on Local Implementation Groups was developed with input from Special Needs Parents Association and Inclusion Ireland and shared with LIG Leads Subgroup on development Outcome Focused Performance Management Framework for Children and their Families” included a parent’s voice in the working group. Ongoing work being done at local level across the country to hold parent information/briefing sessions in order to inform parents of the proposed changes and to seek parental involvement on the local

Question 18: Emergency medical card procedures for terminally ill.

Can the HSE clarify the procedures in place in the event that an emergency medical card issued on the grounds of terminal illness (and therefore not subject to means test requirement) needs to be renewed after six months, to ensure that the renewal process will be on the same basis as the initial application – i.e. on the provision of evidence from the GP or hospital consultant of the terminal nature of the condition – and the applicant will not be asked to provide details of means?

The HSE can issue a medical card where a Doctor or a Consultant certifies that there is a terminal illness. Where a patient is terminally ill in palliative care, the nature of the terminal illness is not a deciding factor in the issue of a medical card in these circumstances and no means test applies. Given the nature and urgency of the issue, the HSE has appropriate escalation routes to ensure that the person gets the card as quickly as possible. The HSE monitors such cases and can renew the clients’ eligibility if necessary. In such circumstances there is no assessment of means.

Under the provisions of the Health Act 1970, the assessment for a medical card is determined primarily by reference to the means, including the income and expenditure, of the applicant and his or her partner and dependants.

While people with specific illnesses such as cancer are not automatically entitled to medical cards, the HSE can apply discretion and grant a medical card where a person’s income exceeds the income guidelines.

In these cases, social and medical issues are considered when determining whether or not undue financial hardship exists for the individual in accessing GP or other medical services. Discretion will be applied automatically during the processing of an application where additional information has been provided which can be considered by staff or a medical officer, where appropriate.

The HSE set up a clinical panel to assist in the processing of applications, where a person exceeds the income guidelines but there are difficult personal circumstances, such as an illness. The Medical Officer reviews and interprets medical information provided by the applicant on a confidential basis. He/she can liaise with general practitioners, hospital consultant and other health professionals as appropriate so as to determine the health needs of the applicant and his/her family and dependants.

It is important to stress that the medical card system is founded on the “undue hardship” test. The Health Act 1970 provides for medical cards on the basis of means. That is what the law states and we must operate within the legal parameters.

The HSE can also provide a medical card for patients in an emergency where they are seriously ill and in urgent need of medical care that they cannot afford.

Emergency medical cards are issued within 24 hours of receipt of the required patient details and letter of confirmation of condition from a doctor or consultant and are generally requested by a manager in a Local Health Office or a Social Worker.

Emergency cards are issued for six months on the basis that the patient is eligible for a medical card on the basis of means or undue financial hardship, and will follow up with a full application within a number of weeks of receiving the medical card.

The HSE ensures that the system responds to the variety of circumstances and complexities faced by individuals in these circumstances.

Question 19: Paediatric hospitals integration

With the Children’s Hospital Group Board appointed on 2 August 2013 to oversee the long overdue operational integration of the three existing paediatric hospitals in Dublin into a new children’s hospital, can the Minister provided us with an update on progress and the timeline for each phase?

The Children’s Hospital Group Board will oversee the operational integration of the three existing paediatric hospitals in advance of the move to the new hospital and is also the client for the new hospital. I appointed Dr Jim Browne as Chair of the Children’s Hospital Group Board last April. On 2 August I announced nine further appointments to the Children’s Hospital Group Board. The Chairs of the three paediatric hospitals are members of the Group Board. Other competency-based appointments have been made, with further competency-based appointments to be made at a later stage. The first meeting of the new Board took place on 2 October last.

On 13 September I announced that Ms. Eilísh Hardiman had been selected as CEO of the Children’s Hospital Group. This follows an open recruitment process led by the Public Appointments Service. The role of CEO of the Children’s Hospital Group is critically important in driving forward the integration of the three hospitals, and the project as a whole.

The Children’s Hospital Group Board will work closely with the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board on the capital project. The National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) is the body responsible for the design, building, planning and equipping of the new hospital building. Also on 2 August, I announced appointments to the NPHDB which will ensure that the necessary capital development skills are available to drive this priority project to completion, including the appointment of Mr Tom Costello as Chair. These appointments replace the transitional Board of officials from DOH and HSE who had been charged with progressing the project on an interim basis. The key post of Programme Director for National Paediatric Hospital Development Board was advertised on 4 October and will be recruited via open competition. The Programme Director will be the chief officer of the agency, will lead the project and will be responsible directly to the Board for the delivery of this priority project.

Work on developing a detailed project timeline is continuing and I expect to receive an update on this within the coming weeks. This will reflect the urgency and priority of the project and also its scale and complexity. The estimated programme will be kept under continuous review and validation by those to be charged with project delivery.

In the near term, the tender process for the procurement of a new design team is well underway, and the aim is to have the new design team in place by the end of 2013. Pre-application planning discussions have commenced and the aim is to secure planning permission by December 2014 with construction to commence in Spring 2015. A review of urgent care centre(s) configuration is almost complete; the number and location of these satellite centres in the Dublin area is a key decision, as the size, activity and infrastructure of these satellite centre(s) has implications for the main hospital brief. In parallel, St. James’s Hospital is working closely with HSE Estates and the National Paediatric Development Board in regard to the decant phase of the project.

The new children’s hospital is a priority for me and for this Government. Everyone involved in the drive to deliver the new children’s hospital capital project is working to do so by the earliest possible completion date. I am confident that the appointments made to the two Boards will ensure the new hospital is completed as swiftly as possible, with optimal design and value for money.

16 January 2014: Quarterly Meeting of the Joint Committee on Health and Children, the Minister for Health James Reilly TD and the HSE.

Question 9: Registered Nurse Prescribers

Question 10: Cardiac Rehabilitation Services

Question 11: Neuro-Rehabilitation Services

Question 9: Registered Nurse Prescribers

To ask the Minister for Health the reason for the HSE policy that Registered Nurse Prescribers who work in private healthcare facilities including nursing homes are not issued with prescription pads; if he would agree that this discriminates against qualified registered nurse prescribers working in private facilities and may impact on patient care by preventing timely symptom relief for residents with medical cards living in private and voluntary nursing homes where access to a GP may not be immediately available; and if he has plans to ask the HSE to change this?

Professional guidance is already in place with regard to scope of nursing and practice and specifically in relation to nurse/midwife medicinal product prescribing. Nurse/midwife medicinal product prescribing has been in place in Ireland since 2007 underpinned by (a) legislation, and (b) the NMBI regulatory framework. There are currently 650 registered nurse prescribers.

The issue in question is the requirement for access for nurse prescribers in private nursing homes to primary care prescription pads for the purposes of GMS reimbursement for medical card holders. This is a matter primarily for the HSE to determine.
The Department supports, in principle, nurse prescribers in private nursing homes having access to primary care prescription pads, subject to robust governance and accountability structures being put in place. The provision of nurse prescribing services in nursing homes would greatly enhance continuity of care from the hospital sector through to the nursing home sector. Medicines legislation currently in place does not differentiate between prescribing by nurse prescribers in public or private setting. Nor does it deal with reimbursement under the Community Drugs Schemes of prescriptions by nurses.
The issue of reimbursement through the Primary Care Reimbursement Service (PCRS) is a matter that will be progressed through engagement with the HSE by the Primary Care Division in this Department.

Question 10: Cardiac Rehabilitation Services

In light of Irish Heart Foundation and Irish Association for Cardiac Rehabilitation survey showing serious staffing deficits in cardiac rehabilitation services in all hospitals providing this service nationally, is the Minister concerned that these services cannot therefore maximise their life-saving and quality of life-saving capability

Rehabilitation is the phase following acute medical intervention, during which structured approaches to halt or slow progression of the underlying health condition are undertaken and where the patient is enabled to return to an optimal level of physical, psychological and social well-being. Rehabilitation goals focus on recovering lost function and reconditioning, reducing the risk of a recurrent event (secondary prevention) and optimising quality of life. To be effective, rehabilitation must start as soon as the patient is stabilised in the acute medical setting. Rehabilitative care should be integrated across acute, out-patient and community services, to include access to both intensive acute rehabilitation and long-term follow-up.

The development of cardiac rehabilitation services were accelerated under the National Cardiovascular Strategy and the Building Healthier Hearts (BHH) initiative from 2000 onwards. The BHH identified ten recommendations and three implementation measures for cardiac rehabilitation. These recommendations identified the need for a cardiac rehabilitation service in all hospitals that treat patients with heart disease, which would be multi-disciplinary, exercise based and involve family members. During the years 2000 to 2005, €72 million was invested for the development of cardiovascular services in line with the recommendations of Building Healthier Hearts.
The HSE is aware of the findings of the study by the Irish Heart Foundation and the Irish Association for Cardiac Rehabilitation. Cardiac rehabilitation is an important and significant part of the recovery process for patients who have experienced an ischemic event. As the report acknowledges, the number of patients attending cardiac rehabilitation services has significantly increased whilst demand for services has also continued to increase.

The report confirmed that following the expansion of cardiac rehabilitation services under the cardiovascular strategy, most services have many members of the clinical team in place. The report states:

• all services have a medical director in place
• all but two services have a designated rehab co-ordinator with 30 of the 34 services having a full time co-ordinator in place
• the majority of services have access to nursing and dietician services.
• requirement for further focus on integrating psychology services given the important and specialised role such professionals play in the rehabilitation process
• significant gaps in dedicated access to social work and occupational therapy services

It should be noted that where dedicated social work and occupational therapy services are not available to the cardiac rehab team, medical staff within hospitals have the ability to refer patients to the general social work and OT services of the hospital.
Although the report identifies staff cut backs as a significant service issue, the largest category of staff vacancies related to maternity and sick leave. In such cases, staffing returning from maternity or sick leave will resume providing services as part of the cardiac rehabilitation unit and therefore should not be considered a staff cutback. Similarly, the previously invested budget in cardiac rehabilitation services continues as part of the overall hospital budget. There have been no targeted reductions in cardiac rehabilitation budgets and hospitals will continue to manage this and all hospital services in line with their overall budget for 2014.

However, the report does highlight the need for further actions to ensure continuity of cardiac rehabilitation services where important clinical support services are not available for the reasons identified in the report (i.e. maternity leaves, retirements, transfer of staff, etc). Similarly, it is anticipated that demand for cardiac rehabilitation services will continue to grow requiring all units to be able to respond to increased levels of referrals in the future. The National Director of Acute Hospitals will further progress this area over 2014 utilising the findings from the report particularly focusing on required improvements in waiting lists, access to allied health professionals and levels of patient enrolment in programmes. The integration of pathways between cardiology services and referral to cardiac rehabilitation services is also another area which the HSE will focus on to ensure greater levels of access for patients requiring such service. As part of the reorganisation of services in the future, there will be opportunities to develop single site services into larger multi-site services which can share development opportunities and achieve greater economies of scale to the benefit of patients. As an example, the University of Limerick has its Clinical Operations Group currently working to develop a single clinically governed cardiac rehabilitation service that will be available and operate across the acute hospitals in its region.

In parallel, the HSE will also be expanding the range of services available to patients who experience ischemic events through initiatives implemented via the clinical programmes. For example, the National Clinical Programme for Heart Failure aims to reorganise the way heart failure (HF) patients are managed across the health service rolling out a co-ordinated, multi-disciplinary and patient focused disease management programme. The initial focus of this work has been on the creation of dedicated hospital centres where care and expertise in HF is concentrated. The programme also aims to develop appropriate support services for patients to be managed in the community and is currently working on a number of initiatives to advance this. To date structured heart failure services have been implemented in 11 sites under the HSE’s National Clinical Programme for Heart Failure.

Question 11: Neuro-Rehabilitation Services

What progress has been made on the development of the promised implementation plan in relation to the National Policy and Strategy for the provision of Neuro-Rehabilitation Services in Ireland 2011 – 2015?

The National Neuro-Rehabilitation Strategy made a number of recommendations for services for people with rehabilitation needs that covered a range of types of provision including: clinical, therapeutic, social , vocational and community supports.

Following development of the report, the HSE as part of it’s commitment to ensure the optimal care pathway for different Clinical needs, established the Rehabilitation Medicine Programme. The scope of the programme covers the whole of the patient journey from self management and prevention through to primary, secondary and tertiary care. These programmes provide a national, strategic, and coordinated approach to a wide range of clinical services and include the standardization of access to and delivery of, high quality, safe and efficient hospital services nationally as well as better linkages with primary care services. The RMP has almost completed the Model of Care for the provision of specialist rehabilitation services in Ireland which will be the basis for the delivery of services.
Outside of the Clinical Programme, the HSE Disability Services Division has a role in certain key aspects of Neuro-Rehabilitation Services, primarily the provision of community based therapy services, and personal social services, often funded through partner service providing agencies in the non statutory sector. The Disability Services Division is obliged to implement the recommendations of the Value for Money and Policy Review of Disability Services, and will use the recommendations of the VFM report, to focus on Disability funded rehabilitation services and enable reconfiguration of existing provision through the establishment of demonstration sites. Close links will be maintained with the Rehabilitation Medicine Clinical Programme to ensure that there is no duplication of effort and that all initiatives receive optimal support.

Demonstration sites have been identified by Disability Services and mapping has commenced.

The Rehabilitation Medicine Clinical Programme and the HSE Disability Services Division will jointly agree an implementation plan for the Neuro-rehabilitation Strategy, the first draft of which has been completed and is undergoing a process of refinement before finalisation.

10 October, 2013: Questions to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, for answer before the meeting of the Committee on Health and Children.

Question 9: U.N Committee on the rights of the Child report.

Question 10: Special Rapporteur on Child Protection Reports

Question 11 Youth work budget.

Question 9: U.N Committee on the rights of the Child report.

On 16 July 2013, Minister Fitzgerald advised that her Department had finalised and submitted to Government for approval Ireland’s consolidated Third and Fourth State Report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. The submission of this Report, which is already considerably overdue (April 2009), are essential components of Ireland’s international obligation in relation to the review and monitoring process of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Can the Minister provide a definitive answer as to when Government approval will be secured and when the consolidated Reports will be furnished to the UN Committee?

The Government approved a consolidated 3rd and 4th Report in July 2013 and the report was submitted to the on the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, in August 2013.  The report is available on www.dcya.ie and outlines the most significant developments for children and how Ireland has been implementing the main aims of the UN Convention during the period 2006 to 2011 inclusive.

Ireland ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1992. Ireland submitted our second progress report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2005. Following the establishment of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in June 2011, I directed that a substantial progress report, combining the 3rd and 4th reports, to cover the period 2006 to 2011 inclusive should be submitted to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.  An Inter-Departmental Liaison Group was established to prepare the report and a draft of the report was completed in December 2012.  This draft report formed the basis of consultations with the NGO sector and subsequently the Children’s Rights Alliance, on behalf of the NGO sector, submitted its observations on the draft to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.  These observations were considered by my Department in conjunction with other Departments and a draft report prepared for consideration by Government.

With the Report’s submission now complete I look forward to attending a hearing of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child on the report, although the timing of the hearing will be a matter for the UN Committee.  I understand there is currently a backlog of hearings to be dealt with by the Committee.  The hearing when it takes place will provide an opportunity to further bring the Committee up to date on what we have achieved as part of the programme of this Government since 2011.

Question 10: Special Rapporteur on Child Protection Reports

There have been a number of important Reports concerning children over the last number of years. Significant amongst them are the Fifth and Sixth Reports of the Special Rapporteur on Child Protection, Dr Geoffrey Shannon. In each of these Reports, recommendations are outlined to Government to improve the experiences and lives of children in Ireland. In the interests of transparency and accountability, and indeed to facilitate the tracking of said recommendations, will the Minister consider adopting a formal response to the recommendations similar to Ireland’s response to the Working Group Report on the Universal Periodic Review, whereby indication is given to each recommendation as follows: examined and supported; to be examined and responded to in due time; not supported? And, will the Minister ensure that implementation mechanisms and timelines are developed and published as part of the formal response to each Report’s recommendations?

There have been a number of important reports concerning children published over the last number of years, among them are the reports of the Special Rapporteur on Child Protection and, significantly, the report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (referred to as the Ryan Report) published in May 2009. Currently the monitoring mechanisms vary between no formal mechanism, once off responses or annual monitoring.

The Special Rapporteur on Child Protection is appointed by the Government and his recommendations are relevant to a number of Government Departments and Agencies. The reports of the Child Protection Rapporteur are circulated to all relevant Departments and it is a matter for individual Departments to take the appropriate action on any recommendation relevant to its work. Where recommendations are proper to the DCYA they form part of the process of policy development and, if appropriate, are incorporated within the Department’s business planning process.

The most formal response to a report is that of the Implementation Plan in response to the Ryan Commission Report, which was published in July 2009. The Plan sets out a series of 99 actions to address the recommendations in the Ryan Report, and includes additional proposals considered essential to further improve services to children in care, in detention and at risk. The Government committed to implementation of the Plan. The 99 actions identified in the Implementation Plan are the responsibility of a number of Government Departments and Agencies.  I, as Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, have had the responsibility for overseeing the implementation of the actions set out in the plan.  I chair a high level monitoring group with representation from the Department of Education and Skills, the Irish Youth Justice Service, the HSE, the Gardaí, the Children’s Rights Alliance and my Department. Three Progress Reports have been published so far and the final Progress Report is due at the end of this year.

My Department is currently preparing a monitoring framework for higher level oversight of recommendations from all significant child care reports, which is intended to be put in place following the completion of the formal monitoring process for the Ryan Commission Implementation Plan. In this regard the intention is to review current monitoring and reporting mechanisms, with a view to capturing all relevant recommendations and streamlining progress reporting, to provide effective and sustained implementation of recommendations.

My Department has also commissioned independent research on the extent to which previous reports have influenced policy and practice.  This research also identifies learning as to how to improve the influence and usefulness of recommendations made in such reports.  It is my intention to publish this research as I believe it will be of general interest and particularly useful to anyone engaged in conducting reviews or investigations in the future.

Question 11 Youth work budget.

 To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to share with the Committee the discussions her Department had with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform concerning the budget for youth work in the next round of the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure from 2015-2017. Did the Minster emphasise the disproportionate cuts to youth work in the overall budget adjustments for her Department in the last round from 2012-2014, and also will the Minister give details of when youth work organisations will receive details of funding for 2014 following the budget on October 15th?

 Officials of my Department have met with representatives of all the national organisations that are funded under the Youth Service Grant Scheme to share information and to hear from the organisations about the impact of the reductions in funding on the services that they provide. I have met with and continue to meet with, many youth projects and groups to try and see how we can work together to minimise the impact of these necessary savings in order to ensure that the provision of quality youth services to young people is sustained in these challenging times.

 Funding requirements and how resources should be prioritised and allocated across each area of Government spending are generally considered as part of the annual estimates cycle and budgetary process.  I am sure the Senator will appreciate that it would be inappropriate for me to comment at this time on any decisions that may be taken by Government in the context of Budget 2014.  The Committee can be assured that the benefits of youth work have been fully considered as part of my Department’s input to Budget 2014.  As soon as Budgetary figures are available my Department will assess the implications for youth funding and engage with the sector in planning the approach to 2014.  It would be my hope that the earlier timing of the Budget will allow for the notification of allocations to be brought forward so that they can take place prior to the commencement of the year.