Andrews to present childcare report to Government before summer recess

MINISTER OF State for Children Barry Andrews will present a report on childcare to Government and debate it in the Dáil before the summer recess.

Mr Andrews said the report, which will be presented annually contains a plan which is deliberately “very ambitious in what it sets out to achieve” by setting “clearly identified and ambitious timescales”.

During the Dáil debate on the implementation of the Ryan report recommendations Mr Andrews confirmed his intention to appoint a HSE “supremo” with direct responsibility for children in care.

He has briefed the Cabinet and will discuss the issue today with the board of the HSE.

The Minister rejected calls by Labour health spokeswoman Jan O’Sullivan for a full Cabinet Minister to be responsible for child care services. Ms O’Sullivan said that while 200 social workers were promised only 25 had been appointed and this “really will not make the kind of difference required”. There must be prioritisation of the issue and “a senior Minister will be required in this regard for some time”. She said “it needs this level of crisis management”.

Mr Andrews wanted to address this issue “once and for all by saying that I am at Cabinet. I do not have a vote but there has never been a vote so I do not see what other steps can be taken in that regard.

“I have sufficient position to ensure that the priority afforded to this area is acted upon.”

Sinn Féin Dáil leader Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin also sharply criticised the low number of social worker appointments and said the Government should heed the words of Fr Peter McVerry for 1,200 additional social workers.

He said Mr Andrews was quick to dismiss Fr McVerry’s call “but he should seriously rethink his response” because that figure was “absolutely spot-on”.

Mr Andrews said however: “I don’t believe that’s going to solve our problems”.

He said he had academic papers which showed in another jurisdiction that by doubling the number of social workers “they simply doubled the number of suspected cases, none of them substantiated to a greater extent than had been the case before. So you simply flood the system with reporting.”

He said there were “failures in Dublin North Central and failures in Dublin North West, but there are no failures in Dublin North.” Dublin North had no extra social workers or resources but “probably” had better management.

The Minister said 200 new social workers this year and 70 next year “will allow us to achieve the basic targets we need to make sure that we have allocated social workers, regularly reviewed care plans and assessments of foster carers”.

Dr Jim McDaid (FF, Donegal North-East) criticised the payments to lawyers dealing with child sex abuse cases and also said “it’s about time we had an audit of all of the various organisations that have mushroomed as a result of child sexual abuse over the past number of years.

“A certain degree of in-fighting has erupted among the groups and the only winners will be the lawyers while the losers, inevitably, will be the victims in the Ryan report.”