Tuesday, 30 Apr 2024

Significant progress has been made in advancing plans for a dedicated state agency for early learning care and school age childcare (ELC/SAC). It is envisaged that this dedicated agency will undertake the functions currently carried out by Pobal Early Years (including Better Start), the 30 City/County Childcare Committees (CCCs), as well as operational functions currently undertaken by my Department.

A Programme Oversight Board has been established for the agency and is tasked with overseeing the analysis and design phase of the programme. The Programme Oversight Board will ensure that proposals for a new agency are based on offering the best possible service to children and their families, practitioners and service providers while ensuring value for money.

My Department is currently engaging with independent consultants who have been contracted to carry out a phase of research, analysis and robust stakeholder engagement to inform the design of the agency. This work, which is expected to take 18-24 months, will culminate in a costed agency design, including the remit, organisational structure and service delivery model, which will be presented to Government for approval.

My Department is committed to ongoing consultation with all stakeholders throughout the design process. In that regard a series of stakeholder consultation sessions have already been held with key stakeholders and valuable input has been received as part of a collaborative co-design process to develop a vision, mission and values for the agency. A report has been compiled from these initial consultations and the report has been circulated to the participating stakeholders. A further series of stakeholder consultations are scheduled for May 2024 and consultations will continue throughout the lifetime of this programme.

The final report of the ECCE Review is now complete.

The aim of the review was to independently assess the implementation of the ECCE Programme and its impact.

The Review was informed by comprehensive stakeholder engagement with parents, ECCE providers and staff and representatives from disadvantaged groups.

My Department is considering the findings of the review and possible enhancements to the programme.

I expect to publish the report in the comings weeks.

As announced as part of Budget 2024, from September 2024 the universal subsidy provided through the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) will be increased from €1.40 to €2.14 per child per hour.

This change follows on from a previous increase to the NCS universal subsidy from €0.50 to €1.40. The upcoming increase to €2.14 will reduce out of pocket childcare costs by 50% overall when compared to 2022 levels. It should be noted that this reduction is a result of cumulative changes and is based on calculations made during Budget time.

The fee freeze in place in 94% of services participating in the Core Funding Scheme which has been in operation since 2022 ensures that these enhancements to the NCS subsidies will not absorbed by fee increases.

My Department and the Child and Family Agency (Tusla) continue to take the issue of potential Child Sexual Exploitation very seriously and are committed to promoting safe and high quality practice in all areas of Alternative Care, including working with An Garda Síochána as required.

As the Deputy has highlighted, officials in my Department reviewed the findings and recommendations of the Protecting Against Predators scoping study by UCD’s Sexual Exploitation Research Project (SERP) immediately following its publication. My officials and their counterparts in Tusla continue to work closely on the safeguarding framework for all children in care to ensure that it continues to be sufficiently robust to protect children from evolving risks.

Prior to the publication of the report, my Department and Tusla established a Working Group looking at institutional and organisational abuse. My Department has requested that the Group consider the report and make recommendations as required, after which I will consider any further steps as may be necessary.

The Working Group is in the process of commissioning independent research, jointly funded by my Department and Tusla, into the area of organisational and institutional abuse of children, including children placed in residential care settings. This research will review international literature and best international social work practice and child safeguarding responses in this area. It is intended that the commissioned research will also look at the findings, learnings and recommendations of seminal reports on abuse of children in residential care settings, such as the Rotherham report, and the Rochdale enquiry. The procurement process for this research was completed in January 2024 and, following a number of applications, an identified external researcher was appointed to commence the research in early February 2024.

The study sheds important light on attitudes towards potential child sexual exploitation among some professionals who work with children in care. I would like to highlight to the Deputy a number of actions taken by my Department and by Tusla both before and immediately following the publication of the study, which are relevant to the recommendations made in the study.

• I engaged with the authors of the identified report, and my officials have engaged with Tusla, to ensure that any child protection concerns outlined in the report are being followed up, including in respect of any necessary reports to An Garda Síochána.

• Tusla has liaised with An Gardaí Síochána in relation to the findings of Report.

• In 2021 Tusla implemented its Child Sexual Exploitation Procedure in partnership with An Garda Síochána. The joint working protocol between Tusla and AGS forms a critical part of the response to child abuse, neglect, and child sexual exploitation.

• All staff in residential centres for the care of children have undergone Children First training, which provides guidance for the protection and welfare of children.

• A Principal Social Worker from Tusla has been seconded to the Garda National Protective Service Bureau (GNPSB) for a number of years.

• Tusla has established an anti-trafficking working group in readiness for the Department of Justice's National Action Plan for Human Trafficking which includes the area of child sexual exploitation.

• DCEDIY is leading an inter-departmental group on the national implementation of Barnahus, which is a multi-agency approach to the provision of forensic medical intervention and therapeutic services to children subject to child sexual abuse.

This Government is committed to the expansion of specialist services for people with disabilities. The Action Plan for Disability Services 2024-2026, which I published on 14th December 2023, represents a national strategy for capacity increases and service and policy reform in disability services. It was informed primarily by findings from the Disability Capacity Review, published in 2021.

The Plan was also informed by an extensive consultation process, to which nearly 800 participants, including members of disability advocacy groups, contributed. The Department engages on a continuous basis with a variety of stakeholders across a range of matters concerning disability services, including the Action Plan. Further engagements are planned to take place over the coming year. 

Further, a Monitoring Group has been set up to independently review progress  on the Action Plan twice-yearly. The Monitoring Group is chaired at Ministerial level and membership includes

representatives from relevant stakeholders such as Disabled Persons’ Organisations, provider

umbrella bodies, relevant Departmental and HSE officials, and the National Disability Authority.

The planned improvements in the Action Plan will require additional investment which would see current expenditure grow by 25% over 2023 funding levels over the three years of the plan. Furthermore, the planned expansion of residential services will require significant capital investment, primarily through the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, in order to provide the necessary housing.

The service areas for investment for 2024 under the Action Plan have already been agreed through the budgetary process. Specifically, €74m has been allocated for new development measures which will provide greater investment across a range of disability services and contribute to the progressive realisation of the Action Plan. The measures are: 

• €20.5m for circa 100 Residential placements for children and adults

• €15m for provision of further Respite services, including alternative respite

• €18.2m for new Day Services places for approximately 1,250 people

• €8.5m for developments in Children's Services, including 125 new therapy assistant positions

• €11.9m for other developments, including 80,000 extra PA hours and furtherance of Community Neurological supports.

The precise level of delivery of services for people with disabilities, based on the funding provided in the Budget, is set out in the HSE's National Service Plan for 2024.

To enable strategic planning of new current spending and achieve value for money over the full three years of the plan, it will be essential to have an indicative funding envelope, though year to year funding will fall to be decided through the Estimates process. It is intended to address the capacity deficits identified in the Capacity Review in a phased approach, meaning this Action Plan represents an implementation plan for the first phase and will be followed by a successor plan in 2027. The Action Plan is a living document and will be reviewed and updated in the light of priorities, policy considerations and the funding available under this and subsequent Budgets.

Under the Little Library initiative, every 4-5 year old child is invited to visit their local library and collect a free bag of books in Irish or in English, and to become library members. The aim of this initiative is to ensure that all children have access to books in their home, to develop children’s language skills and imagination, and to foster a lifelong love of reading.

This initiative is led by my Department in conjunction with the Department of Rural and Community Development (DRCD) and the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA).

In the scheme’s current format, over 120,000 Book-Bags have been collected by children and their parents in the last two years. This represents an aggregate uptake of 92% across 2022 and 2023. Libraries Ireland and the LGMA report that the scheme is directly responsible for over 30,000 children joining their local library each year.

My Department recently concluded an evaluation of the 2022 Little Library initiative. Findings were overwhelmingly positive.

In addition, in 2023, my Department trialed an expansion of the Little Library initiative called ‘Little Book at Bedtime,’ which provided 190,000 bedtime books in Irish or in English for children aged 4 and under nationwide.

My Department in conjunction with other stakeholders are currently examining options for future iterations of this scheme.

Ensuring high-quality early learning and childcare is affordable and accessible is a policy priority. While there is clear evidence of a significant increase capacity in recent years, the supply of early learning and childcare remains an issue. This is in a context of increased demand owing to the success of recent steps taken to address affordability.My Department is progressing a range of actions to ensure the supply of early learning and childcare meets demand, with work in this area led by a new Supply Management Unit that I established earlier this year. A key part of the Supply Management Unit’s remit is to develop a planning function for monitoring, analysing and forecasting of the supply and demand - akin to the Forward Planning Unit in the Department of Education. The Unit will also oversee the administration of new capital investment under the National Development Plan, with two strands of funding rolling out this year and next under the Building Blocks Capacity Grant. As well as this, the Unit is engaging with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to progress the updating of the 2001 Planning Guidelines for Local Authorities on Early Learning and Childcare Settings. In addition to this work of the Supply Management, other work across my Department will increase places among existing and new services.Core Funding, which began 2022, has proven to be effective in expanding capacity. Year 2 of the scheme provided for capacity growth of 3%, which has materialised and for Year 3 of the scheme, further funding will be directed towards a further 3% increase in capacity in the sector - driven by existing services offering more places and/or longer hours to families and by new services in the sector.In addition, under the National Action Plan for Childminding, I have committed to opening up access to the National Childcare Scheme to parents who use childminders following the extension of regulation to childminders this autumn.

The Government recognises that the ability of organisations to recruit and retain staff is crucial to the delivery of quality services and the overall sustainability of the sector.

To support the sustainability of services, including the ability of voluntary organisations to recruit and retain staff, the Department and its agencies proactively engaged with a Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) process with unions representing staff in Section 39 disability organisations.

The agreement reached last October delivered a significant increase in funding to these services, amounting to a phased 8% increase in funding for pay for staff in these voluntary organisations. An additional €41m has been made available to the HSE in 2024 to meet the full year cost of this increase for disability service providers. 

As part of the agreement, Departments also committed to further talks after future public sector agreements. The recently ratified public sector deal opens the door to such further engagement and the WRC has written to relevant parties with a view to reconvening talks. 

The administrative arrangements developed by the HSE to meet the terms of the agreement, are designed to make additional funding available as efficiently as possible to the employer organisations, while also providing for appropriate accountability for expenditure of public monies.

The HSE has contracted dedicated resources to work with employer organisations and set up a portal to expedite payments, so that their staff can be paid the increases funded under the WRC agreement. 

Significant interim payments have already been made to qualifying organisations.

As of 29th April the HSE has indicated that, 422 submissions have been received, 30 Section 39 organisations are currently within the payment process, 8 of which have already been paid with the remainder due payment over coming weeks.

Ensuring high-quality early learning and childcare is affordable and accessible is a policy priority. While there is clear evidence of a significant increase capacity in recent years, I am aware that the supply of early learning and childcare remains an issue, particularly for children aged 1-3. This is in a context of increased demand owing to the success of recent steps I have taken to address affordability.My Department is progressing a range of actions to ensure the supply of early learning and childcare meets demand, with work in this area led by a new Supply Management Unit that I established earlier this year. A key part of the Supply Management Unit’s remit is to develop a planning function for monitoring, analysing and forecasting of the supply and demand - akin to the Forward Planning Unit in the Department of Education. The Unit is engaging with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to progress the updating of the 2001 Planning Guidelines for Local Authorities on Early Learning and Childcare Settings and is also overseeing the administration of new capital investment under the National Development Plan, with two strands of funding rolling out this year and next under the Building Blocks Capacity Grant.

Applications for the first strand - the Building Blocks Expansion Grant Scheme for the renovation or reconfiguration of existing facilities to deliver additional capacity, particularly for children aged1-3 – are now closed. Pobal are currently appraising applications and I hope to announce the list of successful applicants next month.

I intend to announce details of the significantly larger, Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme next month. Under this scheme, grants will be available to early learning and childcare providers to physically extend their services to deliver additional capacity, also for children aged 1-3.

In addition to this work of the Supply Management Unit, other work across my Department will increase places among existing and new services and provide supports to families with young children.Core Funding, which began 2022, has proven to be effective in expanding capacity. Year 2 of the scheme provided for capacity growth of 3%, which has materialised and for Year 3 of the scheme, further funding will be directed towards a further 3% increase in capacity in the sector - driven by existing services offering more places and/or longer hours to families and by new services in the sector.

Under the National Action Plan for Childminding, I have committed to opening up access to the National Childcare Scheme to parents who use childminders following the extension of regulation to childminders this autumn.

Under First 5, I have also introduced and extended Parent's Leave and Benefit to support parents to spend more time at home with their child, in their early years. From August this year, the combined durations of Maternity, Paternity and Parent’s Leave and Benefit will equate to 46 weeks leave for a two-parent family. Mothers also have an entitlement to 16 weeks of Additional Maternity Leave which is unpaid. As well as this, there is provision for up to 52 weeks of unpaid parental leave and the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act provides for a range of other measures to improve family-friendly work practices and support parents in the workforce.

Transport is a key issue for persons with disabilities and as such it is a priority consideration. Ireland ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in March 2018, which clearly articulates that all State parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities have access, on an equal basis to others, to transportation.

In line with the UNCRPD principle of mainstream-first service delivery, it is incumbent upon all public bodies to execute their functions with proper regard for people with disabilities and Ireland’s obligations under the UNCRPD.

My Department has a particular role as "focal point" and "coordinating mechanism" across government for the implementation of the UNCRPD. My officials have therefore been engaging across government, including detailed and frequent engagement with colleagues in the Department of Transport, on matters related to transport accessibility, and I am aware that accessible public transport is the subject of dedicated work.

My officials are engaging at a senior level with colleagues across government to map out next steps towards the development of the next National Disability Strategy. This Strategy will provide an ambitious framework for disability policy across the next five years, and will build on work done under Action 104 of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy. Under Action 104, a Transport Working Group was established in 2020 to formulate proposals on how transport supports could be better coordinated across the state. The Final Report of the Group was published and is available on my Department’s website. 

The recommendations of the NDIS Working Group are under active consideration across departments and agencies with responsibility for the wide range of current and historic transport supports for persons with disabilities, even as the next National Strategy is in development. The Department of the Taoiseach has convened a Senior Officials Group to discuss how the proposals of the NDIS TWG final report can be progressed. My officials are engaging and actively contributing to discussions on this matter, and outcomes will form a key part of ongoing work for the development of transport-focussed actions under the next National Disability Strategy.

Ensuring high-quality early learning and childcare is affordable and accessible is a policy priority. While there is clear evidence of a significant increase capacity in recent years, I am aware that the supply of early learning and childcare remains an issue, particularly for children aged 1-3. This is in a context of increased demand owing to the success of recent steps I have taken to address affordability.My Department is progressing a range of actions to ensure the supply of early learning and childcare meets demand, with work in this area led by a new Supply Management Unit that I established earlier this year. A key part of the Supply Management Unit’s remit is to develop a planning function for monitoring, analysing and forecasting of the supply and demand - akin to the Forward Planning Unit in the Department of Education. The Unit is engaging with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to progress the updating of the 2001 Planning Guidelines for Local Authorities on Early Learning and Childcare Settings and is also overseeing the administration of new capital investment under the National Development Plan, with two strands of funding rolling out this year and next under the Building Blocks Capacity Grant.Applications for the first strand - the Building Blocks Expansion Grant Scheme for the renovation or reconfiguration of existing facilities to deliver additional capacity, particularly for children aged1-3 – are now closed. Pobal are currently appraising applications and I hope to announce the list of successful applicants next month.I intend to announce details of the significantly larger, Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme next month. Under this scheme, grants will be available to early learning and childcare providers to physically extend their services to deliver additional capacity, also for children aged 1-3. In addition to this work of the Supply Management Unit, other work across my Department will increase places among existing and new services and provide supports to families with young children.Core Funding, which began 2022, has proven to be effective in expanding capacity. Year 2 of the scheme provided for capacity growth of 3%, which has materialised and for Year 3 of the scheme, further funding will be directed towards a further 3% increase in capacity in the sector - driven by existing services offering more places and/or longer hours to families and by new services in the sector. Under the National Action Plan for Childminding, I have committed to opening up access to the National Childcare Scheme to parents who use childminders following the extension of regulation to childminders this autumn.Under First 5, I have also introduced and extended Parent's Leave and Benefit to support parents to spend more time at home with their child, in their early years. From August this year, the combined durations of Maternity, Paternity and Parent’s Leave and Benefit will equate to 46 weeks leave for a two-parent family. Mothers also have an entitlement to 16 weeks of Additional Maternity Leave which is unpaid. As well as this, there is provision for up to 52 weeks of unpaid parental leave and the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act provides for a range of other measures to improve family-friendly work practices and support parents in the workforce.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 131 and 132 together.

As the Deputy is aware, statutory and operational responsibility for the delivery of child protection and welfare services is a matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency.

Tusla is responsible for the assessment and child safeguarding response for children referred to them under the provisions of Children First and the Children First Act 2015. This includes any concern about a child that reaches the threshold of “reasonable grounds for concern” or 'harm' as defined by the Children First Act. When a child has been identified as being harmed, Tusla will seek to engage the family in a participative safety planning process, a process where they will work collaboratively with the child and family toward the achievement of safety goals. A child protection case conference may be convened which will consider all matters including potential care order applications. Where there is an immediate risk to the child's safety Tusla will apply to the District Court for an Emergency care order. Children who are likely to experience significant harm, specific child protection safety plans are put in place. All safety plans are monitored over time to promote the best interests of children to remain at home safely. Tusla offers a range of local voluntary, and community supports to assist families and children with difficulties they may be experiencing.

When children come into care it is Tusla's responsibility to ensure the child has a care plan and/or a placement plan which supports their short and longer-term needs. The care of these children is subject to ongoing review and monitoring by Tusla and HIQA as per the childcare regulation and HIQA standards.

Children typically come into care through voluntary agreement or by interim care orders pending a decision on a full care order. Tusla is obliged in respect of non-voluntary care to appraise the Court of the circumstances which led to the child requiring care and is obliged to provide evidence to the Court on an ongoing basis that continued care is required to protect the best interests of the child. Parents are legally represented in such matters and children are appointed a guardian-ad litem to represent their wishes and best interest. Some children may remain on a care order for a period of time while Tusla works with the family to agree a transitional reunification plan, or in some circumstances the children may move towards independent or semi-independent living until they reach the age of 18.

Tusla's involvement in private family law matters is through the explicit direction of the Family Court who may request an assessment of any potential child protection or welfare concern under Section 20 of the Childcare Act. Tusla is required to address specific issues before the Court as set out under this section and will respond to child protection and welfare matters in this context and may request a care order or supervision order on a child, where required.

Social workers are required under the Placement of Children in Foster Care, and Placement of Children in Residential Care Regulations 1995, to undertake statutory visits to the child in placement. These visits take place at intervals not exceeding 3 months during the first 2 years of placements, the first visit being within 1 month and thereafter at intervals not exceeding every 6 months. Children in Statutory Residential and Foster Care are monitored by HIQA. Children in voluntary or private care are monitored by Tusla Alternative Care Inspection and Monitoring Service (ACIMS).

The care of these children is subject to ongoing review and monitoring by Tusla and HIQA as per the childcare regulation and HIQA standards.

Youth workers and volunteers are central to the delivery of youth services to young people. The relationships which young people develop with their youth workers or volunteer leaders can be transformative to a young person's life.

I have committed to developing a workforce development plan for the youth sector, to support the recruitment and retention of staff and volunteers in the sector. My officials are currently carrying out preparatory work on the development of a plan, and will be carrying out consultation with stakeholders, including youth workers, youth organisations, and providers of youth work training.