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65 Children and Youth Organisations Call for Retention of Department of Children
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1st May 2020
Dear TDs and Senators,
One of the great successes of the Oireachtas and successive Governments over the past decade has been the focus they have had on children and young people led by a dedicated Department of Children and Youth Affairs. We are writing to you in relation to the formation of the new Government and to urge you to allow this excellent work to continue.
The Department was created in 2011 as a response to the publication of 17 official reports documenting how Ireland failed children and the failure of the political system to deal with issues facing children. Since its establishment, having a seat at the Cabinet table has transformed how children and young people’s issues have been dealt with because the Department of Children and Youth Affairs operates from a genuinely child and youth perspective. It also has a strong track record of working in partnership with other departments, public bodies and the community and voluntary sector.
One of the unique features of the Department is its reach from pre-birth to 24 years representing the lifecycle of the child and young person. During a severe recession the Department ensured that, we as a country, lived up to our commitment “to cherish all the children of the Nation equally”, by having a successful Constitutional referendum, addressing our broken child protection system by introducing Children First legislation and establishing the Child and Family Agency (Tusla). It also works towards the redevelopment of our new early years’ system and responding to Ireland’s damaging legacy towards children, including the establishment of the Mother and Baby Homes Investigation.
All this was achieved because we had a Department exclusively focused on issues facing children and young people and an Oireachtas willing to back and support it.
Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil agreed a historic framework document to facilitate negotiations with other parties on a plan to recover, rebuild and renew Ireland after the Covid-19 emergency. It has 10 key missions including one on ‘Supporting Young Ireland’. It is welcome that children and young people are central in this document. However, we are deeply concerned at reports that the Department of Children and Youth Affairs may be carved up. This will be disastrous for children and young people who make up one quarter of the population. It will mean that they will no longer have a strong voice focused on their issues at the Cabinet table. As a consequence they will lose out significantly more to the usual dominant agendas in bigger departments.
In 2020, we are facing major fallout from a global pandemic, with high levels of unemployment, rising child poverty and a sharp increase in serious cases of neglect and abuse. This is not the time to disband such a crucial Department. In fact, we need to beef up the Department to respond to these serious social issues.
We are pleading with you to ensure that in next Programme for Government your party remembers and keeps a focus on issues affecting children and young people. A first step in ‘Supporting Young Ireland’ is to make sure they don’t lose their seat at the Cabinet table and their Department.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Sheila Gilheany, CEO, Alcohol Action Ireland
Adam Harris, CEO, As I Am
Michael Nugent, Chairperson, Atheist Ireland
Suzanne Connolly, CEO, Barnardos
Larry de Cléir, Project Leader, Bedford Row Family Project
Moninne Griffith, CEO, BeLonGTo Youth Services
Nicola Toughey, National Office Coordinator, Catholic Guides of Ireland
Carol Coulter, Director, Child Care Law Reporting Project
Tanya Ward, CEO, Children’s Rights Alliance
Anna Gunning, CEO, Children in Hospital Ireland
Don O’Leary, Director, Cork Life Centre
Ger McGee, Senior Manager, Crosscare
Alex Cooney, CEO, CyberSafeIreland
Dr Tracey A Monson, Director of Services, Daughters of Charity Child and Family Service
Dr Helen Lynch, Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, UCC
John Dolan, CEO, Disability Federation of Ireland
Noeline Blackwell, CEO, Dublin Rape Crisis Centre
Harry Conway, CEO, Dyspraxia/ DCD Ireland
Teresa Heeney, CEO, Early Childhood Ireland
Emer Nowlan, CEO, Educate Together
Terry Dignam, CEO, EPIC
Mike Allen, Director of Advocacy, Focus Ireland
Sean Campbell, CEO, Foróige
Aine McGuirk, Chair, Irish Association of Social Workers
Liam Herrick, Executive Director, Irish Council for Civil Liberties
Catherine Bond, CEO, Irish Foster Carers Association
Amanda O’Sullivan, Chief Commissioner, Irish Girl Guides
Chris Macey, Head of Advocacy, Irish Heart Foundation
Bernard Joyce, Director, Irish Traveller Movement
Brian Killoran, CEO, Immigrant Council of Ireland
Fíona Ní Chinnéide, Executive Director, IPRT
Nick Henderson, CEO, Irish Refugee Council
Alison Dervan, Student Voice Development Manager, Irish Second-Level Students' Union
John Church, CEO ISPCC
Jo Holmwood, Creative Director, Kids’ Own Publishing Partnership
Fiona Coyle, CEO, Mental Health Reform
Edel McGinley, Director, Migrants Rights Centre Ireland
Denise Mc Cormillla, CEO, National Childhood Network
Noel Keenan, Vice President, National Parents Council Post Primary
Mary Cunningham, CEO, National Youth Council of Ireland
Una Burns, Head of Policy and Communications, Novas
Karen Kiernan, CEO, One Family
Maeve Lewis, CEO, One in Four
Lyndsey Anderson, Co-ordinator, Prevention and Early Intervention Network
Anne Staunton, CEO, Rainbows Ireland
Clíona Saidléar, Executive Director, Rape Crisis Network Ireland
Sharon O’Halloran & Mary McDermott, Co-CEOs, Safe Ireland
Anne Griffin CEO and Adrian Tennant Chair of the Board, Scouting Ireland
Wayne Stanley, Head of Communications and Policy, Simon Communities of Ireland
Noel Howard, Co-Ordinator, Social Care Ireland
Louise Bayliss, SPARK Ireland
Ian Power, CEO, Spunout.ie
Dr. Nicholas Breakwell, Chief Executive, St. Nicholas Montessori Society of Ireland
Paul Gilligan, CEO, St. Patrick’s Mental Health Services
Margaret Morris, National Co-ordinator, Teen Parents Support Programme (TPSP), Treoir
Aideen Howard, Director, The Ark
Marian Quinn, CEO, The Childhood Development Initiative
Yvonne Casey, National Director, The Irish Aftercare Network
Majella McAllister, Founder of The Museum of Childhood Ireland Project
Tricia Keilthy, Head of Social Justice and Policy, The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul
Professor Pat Dolan, Director, UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, NUIG
Vivienne Parry, Child Rights Advocacy and Education Manager, UNICEF Ireland
Siobhán O'Dwyer, CEO, Youth Advocate Programme
Dr Patrick Burke, CEO, Youth Work Ireland