This article is from page 17 of the 2012-04-03 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 17 JPG
FINE Gael councillor Mary Howard was one of the first delegates to speak at the party’s Ard Fheis in Dublin at the weekend.
The Ennis town councillor who comes from one of Ennis’s bestknown Fine Gael families was keeping the rights of children and young people to the fore of the Government’s mind when she presented the motion of the Michael Howard Branch, Ennis.
She called for the Ard Fheis to support the ongoing reform of Ireland’s child and family services, and in particular called for an increased focus on family support so as to protect children and to seek, where possible, to prevent children from being taken into care.
“The Child Care Act 1991 stipulates that children should, in the first instance, be supported to remain with their families. Children should only be taken into care where the HSE has identified abuse or the risk of abuse, including neglect that cannot be prevented or resolved without the child being received into care,” she told delegates on Friday night.
“In 2010, 1,251 children were admitted to care due to various factors resulting in a parental inability to cope. In the main these children are received into care on the voluntary request of their parents,” she added.
She called for these families to be given the support they need.
“The various factors which can result in parental inability to cope include: physical or mental health problems, disability, drug or alcohol addiction problems, and in some cases financial difficulties. However, a parental inability to cope financially is on its own not a reason for a child to come into care. Family support services work with parents where there are difficulties with budget management to support them provide a stable family situation for their children,” she added.
She paid tribute to her party colleague Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Frances Fitzgerald saying she is working to ensure that there should be no case in which children enter the care system due to financial need rather than cases of neglect, abuse or the risk of abuse.