To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the contact that she has had with the Department of Justice and Equality and An Garda Síochána in relation to allegations that Traveller children, including a 16 day old baby were assigned criminal intelligence PULSE numbers as a matter of routine; the postion regarding children’s rights in this area.; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
– Clare Daly
REPLY.
I can inform both deputies that I have had no contact with the Department of Justice and Equality or with An Garda Síochána in relation to the matter outlined in the questions above. I have no function in this matter. I am aware that my colleague Minister for Justice and Equality Alan Shatter has recently replied to similar questions which have been put to him in this matter.
QUESTION NO: 28
DÁIL QUESTION addressed to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (Ms. Fitzgerald)
by Deputy Clare Daly
for ORAL ANSWER on 27/03/2014
To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will extend the terms of reference of the Children’s Ombudsman’s inquiry into the circumstances of the two Roma children being taken from their parents last year, to include the broader issue of racial profiling within An Garda Síochána in view of the allegations that Traveller children were being routinely assigned criminal intelligence PULSE numbers, and the very serious impact that this will have on those children in later life.
Clare Daly T.D.
REPLY.
I can inform the Deputy that I have no plans to extend the terms of the inquiry by the Ombudsman for Children into the circumstances of the two Roma children being taken from their parents in 2013, for the reasons described in the question. I have previously informed the House that the Ombudsman for Children Ms Emily Logan has initiated an investigation of the actions of the HSE in relation to these cases under provisions of the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002. The Minister for Justice and Equality appointed Emily Logan in a personal capacity to undertake the inquiry into the taking into care of two children from two Roma families. In accordance with Section 42 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended by the Criminal Justice Act 2007) the report will be submitted to the Minister for Justice. The Ombudsman for Children is an independent officer of the State and reporting is a matter for the Ombudsman for Children. I look forward to the conclusion of the process and to the independent findings of the Ombudsman for Children, once she reports on her investigations.