Treoir Newsletter Jul/Aug/Sept 06

Treoir Three Year Strategic Plan
Treoir is currently undertaking a strategic review of its services, supported by the Comharile Mentoring Service, and has engaged an independent research consultancy firm, Athrú, to assist with the Plan. Comments are welcome on various aspects of Treoir work including its strengths and weaknesses, what works well, what could be improved upon, what could Treoir do more or less of etc. If you would like to comment on the work of Treoir please do not hesitate to contact the research co-ordinator Liam O'Sullivan on 086 068 8362 or at 8 liamo28@oceanfree.net to make your views known.

Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006.
Treoir hosted a packed meeting for members on 14th September in Wynn's Hotel to clarify the provisions of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006. Paul Murray, of the Criminal Law Division of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, who assisted in drafting the Act, presented a very interesting history of the development of the legislation on sexual offences from the Offences against the Person Act 1861 which made it a felony to have sex with a girl under 10 years of age and a misdemeanour to have sex with a girl under 12 years of age.

The purpose of the 2006 Act was to re-enact in gender neutral terms the provision struck down by the Supreme Court and allied provisions of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1935 and the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 which protected young persons in the wake of the de-criminalisation of homosexual acts. In sum, the 2006 Act makes it an offence to engage in a sexual act with a boy or girl under 17 years of age and includes the defence of mistake as to age. It provides more severe penalties for persons in authority who engage in a sexual act with a girl or boy under 17 years of age.

The Act also provides that proceedings can only be brought by or with the consent of the DPP. This is in order to ensure that inappropriate proceedings will not be brought where the boy and girl are of a similar age.
Under Section 5 of the Act a girl under 17 years cannot be guilty of an offence by reason of engaging only in an act of sexual intercourse.

Liam Curran of the HSE North East Child Care Training and Development Section spoke about the Children First Guidelines which are operating with regard to child abuse.

A stimulating discussion followed the presentations and clarity was given on several issues.

Treoir will be making a submission to the All Party Oireachtas Committee on Child Protection in the very near future based on the issues raised at the meeting.

Court Statistics / Unmarried Parents

Guardianship Applications Granted Refused Struck Out
2004
1237 862 38 337

2005

1734 1266 48 420

The figures for 2004 and 2005 show that approximately 96% of unmarried fathers who applied for guardianship were successful (i.e. after cases withdrawn/struck out are taken into account)

Maintenance Applications Granted Refused Struck Out
2004

2307 1666 46 595
2005

2562 1816 38 708

Application to high court for the return of child placed for adoption
The High Court ruling on the recent "Ann" case raises interesting questions many of which have been raised by Treoir over the years. We await with interest the outcome of the appeal.

Justice McMenamin commented that the young couple did not receive the support they needed during the adoption process. In the thirty years since the foundation of Treoir services have changed and developed greatly. While some services have expanded dramatically there is still a lack of support for parents, particularly those involved in litigation concerning their children.

Treoir welcomes the emphasis placed on the rights and best interest of the child in the case. It is now timely to enumerate the rights of children in the Irish Constitution, something which Treoir has been calling for, for many years. Unfortunately the recommendations of the Constitutional Review Group on this issue leave a lot to be desired and we hope a more enlightened approach will be adopted.

Supervised Access to Children
A question Treoir regularly receives at its information centre is 'who supervises the access in instances where the Court orders supervised access?' Unless the case before the court involves the health board, whereby the access may be organised by the HSE, there is no provision for supervised access in the state and it is up to the individuals involved to organise their own supervised access. A number of organisations have identified this gap in the services and are providing either facilities in which the access can take place and in some cases supervised access at these facilities. These centres provide a safe environment where the parent having access may spend time with their child, in order to provide an alternative to what is often referred to as the 'McDonald's Father'. The requirement for supervised access or use of an access centre may not always come about as the result of a 'court order' but may be as a result of an informal arrangement by a family.
The Men's Resource Network Centre in Ballymun offers a supervised access service while providing ongoing supports to a family. The service provided is seen as a stepping-stone towards establishing parenting responsibilities. As part of their service they can also offer mediation or counselling. They have been providing this service since 1994 and have just this year received €10,000 from the HSE which goes a small way towards the cost of their services which they estimate as costing around €100,000 a year - currently being raised privately. The centre is open Mon-Fri from 9:00 - 4:00 and they may be contacted on ( 01-8622194.
Father's Family Time in Wesley House, Leeson Park, Dublin also provides supervised access. Rev. George Ferguson who provides this service says "it's shameful that more groups do not do what we do, because the need is very great". ( 01-4941201.

A new child contact centre is to be opened later this year in Gardiner Row by the congregation of Findlater's Presbyterian Church in Dublin. Alan Boyle who is the minister of this church recognised the need for such a service through his work with the prisons and through his contact with lawyers.

Separated parents in Britain and the North fare much better. Child Contact Centres, which was set up in 1991, has more than 330 child contact centres which host around 15,000 children and their parents. (Ref. Sunday Business Post 20./9/2006)

FLAC Legal Advice
A free Immigrant Legal Advice service is now available from FLAC on the first Thursday of every month, 7pm to 8:30 pm. To make an appointment with a lawyer Call ( 01-8656230. They can help with questions you may have around your rights as a non-national in Ireland, family reunification or information on the various types of residency in Ireland, e.g. long-term residency or citizenship.

Family Resource Centres
Speaking recently in Westport town at the launch of the Family Resource Centre's Guide to Services for Older People, Minister Brennan announced that the target set by the Government Under the National Development Plan of funding 100 Family Resource Centres by the end of 2006 will be delivered. There are currently over 90 core-funded groups in the Family and Community Services Resource Centre Programme and funding has now been approved for the additional centres. Funding for the Programme has increased substantially from €317,500 in 1994 to over €12.9 million in 2006. The aim of the Family and Community Services Resource Centre Programme is to combat disadvantage and improve the function of the family unit. The emphasis in the projects is on the involvement of local communities in developing approaches to tackle the problems they face and on creating successful partnerships between the voluntary and statutory agencies in the area concerned. Family Resource Centres involve people from marginalised groups and areas of disadvantage.

Partnership Companies
Speaking at the annual conference of 38 partnership companies in Dublin the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Éamon Ó CuÍv spoke of radical changes to the way community services are delivered across the State. The changes, to be implemented by January 2007, will affect services for disadvantaged peoples in urban and rural Ireland. They will ensure that all areas of the State will in future be covered by services for the disadvantaged through partnership companies. In addition, programmes for the period 2007-2013 will address new and emerging challenges, such as immigration and in rural areas a more co-ordinated service for communities is planned. The Rural Development Programme Leader, the Rural Social Scheme and the partnership services (know as the Local Development Social Inclusion programme) will be delivered by the one company in each area. (Irish Times 8/9/2006)

Programme to support children in disadvantaged areas
A major programme of support to help children in disadvantaged areas overcome problems such as early school-leaving and low achievement was announced by the Government in August. This €36 million project, which is co-funded by Atlantic Philanthropies, will focus initially on three of the poorest communities in Dublin by providing intensive support to young people and their families. The three projects supported by the initial stages of the programme include a childhood development initiative in west Tallaght; an early-intervention project based in the northside communities of Belcamp, Darndale and Moatview; and an initiative of the Ballymun Development Group for Children. Minister for Children Brian Lenihan while speaking about this programme, also announced the establishment of a forum to analyse and disseminate lessons learned from the projects to help inform wider Government policy. (Irish Times 29/8/2006)

Income Guidelines for GP Visit Card - June 2006
The income guidelines for the GP visit card were increased in June. The GP visit card which was introduced last year is designed to help people on moderate incomes to visit their GP free of charge. To qualify for the GP visit card you have to satisfy a means test.

Weekly income limit after tax and PRSI
Single Parent / Cohabiting Couple with dependent children €400.00

Allowance for each dependant child under 16 years over 16 years
First two children €57.00 €58.50
Third and subsequent children €61.50 €64.00
In full time third-level education (and not grant aided) €117.00
There are also allowances for mortgage or rent payments, travel to work expenses and childcare costs.

Application Forms are available from your local health office or health centre.

West Cork Crisis Pregnancy Counselling Service
This new agency has been set up in Skibbereen, Co. Cork, by the Crisis Pregnancy Agency. They offer:
* confidential pregnancy counselling by a
professional counsellor who can give you full
information on all your options: parenting,
adoption and abortion.
* ongoing support throughout the pregnancy
and after the birth, if required.
* information regarding your rights and
entitlements.
* counselling after an abortion.
* support counselling to partners and other
family members affected by crisis pregnancy.
LoCall 1890 252 359

Annual Report of Social Welfare Appeals Office 2005
The Report of the Social Welfare Appeals Office, which was published in August 2006, shows that 13,800 people appealed decisions governing social welfare entitlements in 2005. Of those who appealed, 47% received a favourable outcome, 41% were disallowed and 12% were withdrawn. Over 67% of appeals were determined by way of oral hearings. The report also provides a number of case histories and details of court proceedings and judgements during 2005. Over 70 case studies are published on the new website of the Appeals Office, www.socialwelfareappeals.ie

WEBSITES

www.nclc.ie The highlight of the Northside Community Law Centre's new website is the Social Welfare 'Casebase', a unique database of decisions made in social welfare appeals cases taken by the clients of the law centre. 'Casebase' allows a person to search for cases similar to their own by the type of social welfare benefit(s) being appealed and should assist people all over the country to take appeals to the Social Welfare Appeals Office.

www.comhairle.ie/news/news20060608.html This e-bulletin contains information on funding for the voluntary and community sector in Ireland, e.g. funding sources, legislative and regulatory changes etc.

www.mycharity.ie, a web based fundraising and donation service, provides individuals and organisations with the opportunity to maximise their fundraising potential. In order to register go to www.mycharity.ie/charity_register.php.

Treoir
The National Federation of Services for Unmarried Parents and their Children
14 Gandon House
Custom House Square
IFSC
Dublin 1
Tel: 003531 6700 120
Fax: 003531 6700 199
email: info@treoir.ie
www.treoir.ie

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