Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh the number of persons offered one to one meetings with Caranua by month to date in 2018; the number of such meetings that took place by month to date in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Minister for Education and Skills Deputy Joe McHugh : Caranua is an independent statutory body established under the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Act 2012. From the last meeting my officials had with Caranua, I understand that Caranua reported that a number of face to face meetings had taken place with applicants in Caranua’s office. It is, however, an operational matter and under the protocol for the provision of information to Members of the Oireachtas by State Bodies under the aegis of Government Departments/Offices (Reference DPE 022/026/2016), Caranua operate a dedicated e-mail address oireachtas@caranua.ie for queries from members of the Oireachtas. As set out in that same protocol, Ministers are not directly accountable for the day to day operational matters of State bodies. I will, however, ask Caranua to respond directly to the Deputy with this information.
Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Education and Skills the measures in place at Caranua to deal with the influx of applications since the announcement of the cessation date; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Minister for Education and Skills Deputy Joe McHugh : Caranua is an independent statutory body established under the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Act 2012. My understanding is that there hasn’t been an influx of applications since the announcement of the cessation date. Under the protocol for the provision of information to Members of the Oireachtas by State Bodies under the aegis of Government Departments/Offices (Reference DPE 022/026/2016), Caranua operate a dedicated e-mail address oireachtas@caranua.ie for queries from members of the Oireachtas which I would refer the Deputy to for a response to her query. As set out in that same protocol, Ministers are not directly accountable for the day to day operational matters of State bodies.