Romania - Accelerated Reform Needed - McGuinness

Romania - Accelerated Reform Needed - McGuinness - 26/09/2005

Monday 26th September 2005.

“The EU must work closely with the Romanian authorities to address the care of children and young adults held in institutions and provide the necessary financial and other back up required to shut down the institutions,” Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuinness said today on her return from a fact-finding mission to Romania.

The Ireland East MEP, a member of the EU Parliament’s Romanian delegation, said that while improvements have been made in the care of children and young adults held in institutions, the situation is far from satisfactory.

“These institutions should have no place in today’s world,” she said. “The country’s accession to the EU must be accompanied by accelerated reform of the institutions but Romania needs greater assistance from the EU to achieve the necessary reforms. “It emerged during my visit that one of the key problems in the effort to reform the situation is a lack of funding for staff and for the provision of new facilities to accommodate these people. “One county council had slashed its budget for the institutions, resulting in the laying off of over 40pc of the staff in the institutions, leading to an impossible situation. “This has a terrible impact on those living in the institutions and is unacceptable,” she said Over 30,000 children in Romania are held in “placement centers” which accommodate from 8 to over 100 children.

Some 20,000 young adults with a disability are also in institutional care, some in very large institutions. In addition 4,600 babies were abandoned by their mothers in maternity hospitals last year.

“The scale of the problem facing Romania is very large,” said Ms McGuinness. “Since the start of the year significant measures to improve the welfare of children have been implemented. No child under the age of two can be placed in institutional care. Of the 4,600 children abandoned by their mothers/family in 2004, half were reunited with their natural mother, while many returned to extended family. “However, several hundred children remain in maternity hospitals or placement centers for months longer than is acceptable. “On Saturday we visited a busy maternity hospital where 15 children remain in the care of the hospital staff because of abandonment. “One of the children was 18 months old and had never been outside the confines of the hospital - a situation which is not acceptable. Others aged from one month upwards await the provision of foster care.”

The plight of young adults with a disability is of particular concern, Ms McGuinness said. “These are the children of the Ceausceuera, who have remained in institutions. “While the strategy is to close down these institutions and build proper sheltered accommodation for these adults, the scale of the problem is such that on current trends it will take a very long time to move these adults to suitable accommodation.

“In Techirghiol over 450 adults are living in sub-standard conditions, with three and four adults cramped into very small bedrooms and only the basic facilities provided. The older part of the building appeared unsafe. “The EU has a unique opportunity to make a real difference to the lives and wellbeing of thousands and thousands of children and young adults in institutional care.”

Following her visit, Ms McGuinness will write to the Commission urging it to hone in on the situation of abandoned children and young adults in care in Romania.

“This must form part of the EU report on progress to accession which is due out in late October,” she added. Ms McGuinness travelled to Romania with Focus on Romania, a group working for many years to assist young people in Romanian institutions.

Observers from Romania and Bulgaria will attend the European Parliament this week.

End Note: Population: 21.7 million Romania, a slower developer than other former communist countries of Eastern Europe, is still suffering the legacy of Nicolae Ceausescu who was executed in an uprising on Christmas Day 1989. In April 2005 Romania signed the EU Accession Treaty and is set to join the EU in 2007, depending on the pace of reforms. Corruption is one of the key stumbling blocks to membership. In a surprise result, Traian Basescu, the popular Mayor of Bucharest became Prime Minister in December 2004. He has said that his priority is to focus on the rapid acceleration of reforms and he has promised to be tougher in the fight against poverty and corruption.