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Dáil
‹ Order of Business

Child care amendment Bill

Summary

Seán Ó Fearghaíl asks about legislation requiring Tusla to provide aftercare plans and raises delays in services for children in care. The Minister says the child care amendment Bill was cleared by Cabinet and will soon be published as a Seanad Bill.

No. 6 on the A list is a child care (amendment) Bill. That is to be published shortly. It commits Tusla to preparing an aftercare plan for young people in care. It has been my experience in recent times that children placed in care cannot be assured of proper services while they are in care, never mind after they leave care. In one recent case, somebody placed in voluntary care waited six months before they were seen by Tusla. Can the Minister tell us what is happening about that important legislation?

I also want to ask about the building control Bill. I ask this in the context of the housing crisis. I am conscious of the veracity of the points made by Deputy Broughan just a few minutes ago. How is the Minister going to ensure when these modular homes are developed that they are temporary in nature and that they do not become the Irish equivalent of the American trailer parks?

If the Government considers the housing situation to be a top priority, how can the Minister or any other Minister come in here today and say they do not know whether legislation will be required in order to fast-track the delivery of these units? Given the length of time this issue has been on the agenda, the very least we would expect is that every Minister in the Cabinet would know what legislative measures were required.

Comment on this

No decision has been made yet as to whether legislation will be necessary in order to achieve what the Minister has announced. That is the position and the Deputy understands it perfectly clearly. The child care (amendment) Bill was cleared by Cabinet this Tuesday. It will be published in the coming days as a Seanad Bill.

Comment on this