Vol. 899 No. 1
1. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs why there has been a delay in the publication of inspection and quality regulations for preschools; when these will be published; and if all registrations of preschool providers will be completed within the statutory three-year timeframe. [42947/15]
The Minister will remember that back in May 2013, the whole island was shocked at the revelations in the "Prime Time" programme, Breach of Trust, an exposé of awful practices which had been going on in some early year settings. In light of that, the then Minister for Children and Youth Affairs promised a comprehensive review and a speeding up of the publication of revised regulations for child care standards. Given the fact we are now two and a half years on from that, can the Minister say when these will be published? Does the Minister believe we will be able to complete the re-registration process in all our preschool services within the three-year timeframe stipulated at the time?
In order to provide for the implementation of the legislative changes to the Child Care Act 1991, which were enacted through the Child and Family Agency Act 2013, it was necessary to carry out a root and branch re-examination of the 2006 child care regulations, including a restructuring of the regulations in line with the latest drafting practices. This exercise has proven to be more time consuming than originally envisaged and my Department is continuing to work closely with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to finalise the text of the new regulations. I hope to be in a position to publish the new regulations shortly.
The legislative changes to the Child Care Act include the requirement that every preschool service be registered with the Child and Family Agency before being permitted to operate. Every preschool service that was notified to the Health Service Executive prior to the commencement of the Child and Family Agency Act was deemed to be registered for a period of three years. This requirement has been in place since the Act was commenced in January 2014 and does not require regulations to underpin it. The legislation requires that every preschool service that was deemed registered under the terms of the Act must be re-registered by 1 January 2017. The Department is working with the agency to ensure that this task will be completed within the required timeframe.
I secured additional funding of €1.1 million in budget 2016 to support the early years inspectorate in the development of its service. This funding will be used by the agency to recruit 17 additional staff, including additional inspectors and a registration manager who will run a dedicated registration office where all the administrative tasks associated with registration will be carried out.
The Deputy may wish to note that the early years inspectorate has inspected 1,659 services so far this year, an increase of 68% on the same period in 2014.
Despite the ongoing duplication of inspection systems in early years settings, it is questionable whether the procedure is robust enough to identify services that pose a risk to the health and welfare of children. There are massive gaps in oversight across many regions. That is why the Minister's predecessor, supported by all sides of the House, acknowledged the need for the publication of the new regulations. What is the reason for the delay? We are constantly told we have a new fully fledged Department with its Minister sitting at the Cabinet table. Given that there is a full Department in operation, one would imagine regulations as important as these would have been published without delay. They are required urgently.
The Minister rightly referred to the passage of the legislation in January 2014. It means that 4,500 early years services must be re-registered by 1 January 2017, despite the fact that this deadline is just one year away. Two years have elapsed in which not one of the services has applied to re-register. The Minister may correct me if I am wrong. If what I say is correct, we are leaving 100% of the work to be done in one third of the time. Is the Minister confident that it will be completed on time?
I accept the Deputy's concern, but I must repeat the point made in my response that "the early years inspectorate has inspected 1,659 services so far this year, an increase of 68% on the same period in 2014." Therefore, the system is well advanced in terms of inspections. Inspections have not stopped because the regulations have not been reviewed and the new ones have not been put in place.
The Deputy's question on the reason for the delay is very fair and I have asked it myself. The bottom line is that when the Child Care Act was amended, the Department decided to revise the child care regulations to take account of the new requirements in the registration of services and to bring the other regulations up to date. The 2006 child care regulations, rather than setting out definitive requirements in areas such as staff ratios and space, used the words "adequate" and "suitable". They were accompanied by an explanatory guide to the requirements that set out recommendations on how service providers should comply. In fact, the early years inspectorate has measured compliance against these recommendations.
Regarding delays, the problem has turned out to be much more complex than anticipated. The matter is with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel which is drafting the regulations. It obviously wants to be as careful as possible in the drafting and does not wish to have to revisit the matter any time soon. It wants to make sure it has them right. We are acting as a go-between between the drafter in the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, to marry the two strands together in order that we can have the best outcome for children.
Inspections are being carried out under the old regime. Is that not true? If a new service is to open, is must open under the old registration process, despite the fact that it is two and a half years after being promised the new registration process would be complete. That is worrying, to say the least. There is duplication of inspection systems. Does the Minister believe we would be better off if the process was streamlined and there was one comprehensive inspectorate for early years settings?
The Minister has said he has often asked about the reason for the delay himself. He is the Minister with authority and responsibility for ensuring the regulations are published. It is not acceptable, two and a half years on, that we are still awaiting them. Teething problems should have been well sorted out in the time that has expired.
With regard to the re-registration process, I asked a specific question on the 4,500 early years services available. Has any one of them commenced re-registration? I am told the answer is no. If that is the case, is the Minister confident that 100% of the 4,500 services will be able to re-register in one third of the time that was allowed?
As the Deputy will be aware from the initial answer and the passage of the Child Care Act through this House, every preschool service is required to register with the Child and Family Agency before being permitted to operate. That is a major change. Up to now, there was no way of insisting on getting into a preschool setting before opening. That is a major change and one with which we all agree.
To return to the issue of the inspectorate, in April this year because of ongoing difficulties with the regulations and their drafting, we appointed a full-time officer to finalise the text. Many of the agency's requirements had still to be interrogated and explained to the drafter at that point. Most of these matters have now been resolved satisfactorily, although not without some difficulty. The Department has submitted its latest response to the Parliamentary Counsel and hopes all queries raised by the drafter have been addressed satisfactorily.
2. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs how he will ensure that preschool places are made available for children who have turned three years of age and whose parents are seeking to enrol them in the early childhood care and education scheme in January or April 2017, given the likelihood that many early years education and care settings will be full with the cohort enrolled in September 2016. [43043/15]
How will the Minister ensure preschool places are made available for children who have turned three years of age and whose parents are seeking to enrol them in the early childhood care and education scheme in January or April 2017, given the likelihood that many early years education and care settings will be full?
The early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme covers children who have reached the age of three years and two months by 1 September of the relevant year. From September 2016, I am expanding the programme to allow children to enrol in free preschool from the time they are three years of age and remain there until they start primary school. This extended free preschool provision was first recommended by the expert advisory group on the early years strategy in 2013. It was also one of a series of recommendations of the recent interdepartmental group on future investment in child care, which I established last January. The group consulted a wide range of stakeholders, including in the early years sector, during the course of its work. The result of that work was a very good example of what a coherent document based on wide consultation could achieve. We now have a clear pathway for future investment in child care.
Under the extended programme, there will be three opportunities for eligible children to enrol during the preschool year: children who reach the age of three years between April and August will have the opportunity to enrol in September; children who reach the age of three between September and December will have the opportunity to enrol in January and children who reach the age of three between January and March will have the opportunity to enrol in April. As a result of this extension, the number of children benefiting from the programme is expected to rise from around 67,000 to 127,000 in a given programme year. For the 2016-17 programme year, it is estimated that 89,500 children will be eligible to enrol in the programme from September 2016, 22,000 from January 2017 and 15,500 from April 2017.
In order to provide the early years sector with the time it needs to build capacity to meet this increased demand, a decision was taken to introduce the new measure from September 2016. As the increased demand for the programme is not expected to peak until January and April 2017, this timeframe should allow preschool providers to make infrastructural or service changes that are necessary and put in place extra staff resources to accommodate the additional demand.
I thank the Minister for his reply. The extension of the free preschool year is most welcome. As part of my outreach work as rapporteur on quality and affordable child care, I met many staff across the sector. The one issue they raise, although they very much welcome the second free preschool year, concerns the capacity to cope. Have studies been carried out to identify the gaps where sufficient infrastructure is needed and extra places will be required nationally?
Will every child be guaranteed a free preschool place for the first and second years? A second free preschool year has been granted, but questions posed within the child care profession include whether the need for the training of child care workers will be adequately met in such a short period of time and whether it will be able to cope with the extension of the ECCE programme.
I am satisfied that there is additional capacity in the early years sector to cope with some of the increased demand. The annual survey of early years services which was conducted in December 2014 estimated that there were more than 24,000 vacancies in early years services across the country, with almost 13,000 of these vacancies in sessional services. I am also aware that every year a significant number of new preschool providers apply to participate in the programme and the increased demand for and the additional investment in free preschool provision should encourage a greater number of applicants. The restoration of capitation rates to pre-2012 levels from September 2016 should also encourage a greater number of new applicants and encourage existing preschool providers to expand. I am clear that more capacity will be required and that January and April enrolments may pose a challenge. Officials in the Department are committed to assisting with these challenges. They are working closely with the city and county child care committees and the voluntary child care organisations on a range of measures which will assist preschool providers to meet increased demand for free preschool provision, particularly from January and April 2017. Further information on these measures will be available shortly. A mapping exercise has started in the Department to identify where the gaps might be.
I thank the Minister for his reply and I am delighted to hear a mapping exercise has commenced. As I am sure the Minister is aware, professionalisation and ensuring a certain standard of care in the child care sector are issues. We have some of the most fantastic child care workers in Europe and they should be treated as such. What are the Minister's views on professionalisation within the sector and the security offered by a decent wage to reward people for their time spent studying hard while preparing to become professional child care workers?
I thank the Deputy for her question because it has now been well proved nationally and internationally that early childhood care and education has a beneficial effect for children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. This is the case if it is of high quality; if it is of poor quality, it can be detrimental. Quality is very much the focus of the Department and interdepartmental group which engages with parents and service providers. What we want is affordable and accessible quality early child care. We have put in place a number of incentives, including another €1.5 million for a learner fund to encourage people to upskill. This will take a period of time, but the moneys we have available should allow between 900 and 1,000 people to upskill each year. Wages and terms and conditions are matters for providers and their employees.
3. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the child-related issues he will address prior to the examination on 14 January 2016 by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child of Ireland's progress in implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42774/15]
What child-related issues will the Minister address prior to the examination on 14 January 2016 by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child of Ireland's progress in implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child?
I can inform the Deputy that preparations for Ireland's examination by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child on 14 January 2016 are a priority for my Department. I am actively engaged in these preparations and looking forward to leading Ireland's delegation and engaging positively with the UN committee on developments in Ireland in the observance of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child since the last such examination took place in 2006. In the meantime, I intend to advance a number of key issues. In particular, I want to maximise the progress I can make on a number of legislative measures that are nearing completion. Parliamentary time is already scheduled to complete all Stages of the Child Care (Amendment) Bill in December to provide for a statutory right to an aftercare plan. The Bill has passed Second Stage in the House and we will take Committee and Report Stages tomorrow.
Following completion of all Stages of the Children First Bill, I want to progress towards commencement of particular sections of the Bill at the earliest opportunity. In particular, I want to consider the provisions that remove the common law defence of reasonable chastisement in cases of corporal punishment.
I have received the report from the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children on its pre-legislative scrutiny of the general scheme and heads of the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2015. I want to examine the report in detail and use it to inform the draft Bill.
I hope to finalise and sign the early years (pre-school) regulations and my Department is working closely with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel in this regard.
I intend to consult stakeholders on matters relating to the Gender Recognition Act, while regulations are also being prepared on entries in the register of inter-country adoptions.
The Deputy will be aware that a considerable number of child-related issues are being addressed, not only by the Department but also across government, in the context of the national policy framework for children and young people 2014 to 2020, Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures. The framework involves a whole-of-government approach. My Department is actively leading in the implementation of this ambitious framework. In this context, we are working in close collaboration with the better outcomes advisory council in the identification and advancement of its work programme. This will inform consideration of cross-sectoral priorities for 2016 which will be proposed by the high level sponsors group that will meet later this week, on 4 December.
I certainly welcome the range of issues the Minister intends to address prior to the UN committee meeting and I hope the legislative process will be finalised before then. I very much welcome what is being done on the issue of corporal punishment. We are well aware that the State has taken no steps to implement the UN committee's recommendation that there be a comprehensive legal prohibition on corporal punishment. The common law defence of reasonable chastisement to a charge of assault remains in place. It is incredible that corporal punishment was banned in schools in 1982 but that it is still acceptable in the home. It is wide open to several forms of abuse, which is not right and proper in this day and age. In 2014 Childline received 7,365 calls from children about physical violence, of which 1,500 were about a real and present danger to children. We need to secure changes in advance of our appearance before the UN committee in January.
It was in 1982 that the late John Boland, a predecessor of mine from Dublin North, as Minister for Education, signed the instrument to ban it in schools, although the law did not change until some time afterwards.
The Revised Estimates Volume for 2016 which is being published today will confirm the significant additional resources secured in budget 2016 to deal with child-related issues. In my Department these include an additional €85 million for a child care package and €38 million in additional funding for Tusla to place it on a firm financial footing and enable it to meet its obligations to children. Furthermore, through a Supplementary Estimate which will be considered by the Dáil select sub-committee tomorrow, 3 December, we aim to secure further moneys to allow Tusla to address legacy issues and over-runs from this year.
In accordance with the Child and Family Agency Act 2013, I hope to receive Tusla's draft business plan for 2016. I have recently issued my performance statement to Tusla outlining the areas I would like to see addressed, with particular attention on the measures for which additional financial resources have been secured.
There is one area on which we are still falling down and where there is huge neglect regarding children and I hope we can do something about it in the short to medium term. This is the situation where children are continuing to experience difficulties in accessing primary and community health services, as the Minister is aware. There is a major problem with regard to waiting times for essential services for children, including orthodontics, occupational and speech and language therapy, autism services and community psychological services. There are gaps and huge delays in the provision of these services for children. They often require a multidisciplinary approach, involving a number of specialised services. We will have to change our approach to the need for all the aforementioned services and to develop a proper community and primary care service and deliver in a timely fashion.
I am not the Minister for Health but I know from talking to him and from being at Cabinet meetings that there are considerable additional funds for health this year. In fairness to this Government, we have brought in free GP care for all children under six and made a commitment to bring it in for all children under 12. That is to be welcomed. In respect of primary care, when I last checked, we were still opening a new primary care centre at a rate of one per month, which is quite an achievement given the recession we have just been through.
I agree with the Deputy that most care should be given in primary care facilities and that we need community facilities for children in particular. I also agree that we need early intervention, particularly when it comes to speech and language therapy and behaviour therapy, to pick up problems early and to get the best outcomes for our children. What we all desire for our children is that they be afforded the opportunity to realise their full potential, whatever that potential might be. That is all any parent asks, that their child has the best chance in life.
This Government has done a great deal of work in this regard, with the first full-time Minister, a new Department of Children and Youth Affairs, the children's referendum, the new child care package we have put in place and the removal of the defence of reasonable chastisement. We have made a great deal of progress during a very difficult period. For the first time, the Government and the people have acknowledged in a real way that the dark past of which we have all become aware in respect of how our children were treated has come to an end and now we seek to continue to improve their opportunities because when we improve their opportunities, we improve our society as a whole.
4. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the reviews he has taken of the capacity and sustainability of the preschool and early education sector to provide for the extension of the early childhood care and education scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42684/15]
Given that those working in the sector unanimously agreed the sector was not ready for the expansion of the early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme until capacity and sustainability had improved, could the Minister outline what reviews of the capacity and sustainability of the sector his Department carried out before introducing the extension of this scheme in the most recent budget?
At present, the ECCE programme covers children who have reached the age of three years and two months by 1 September of the relevant year. From September 2016, I am expanding this programme to allow children enrol in free preschool from the time they are three years of age and to remain there until they start primary school. That is very important because parents in some instances have felt under pressure to send their children to school earlier than they would otherwise like because of financial considerations. This is a major change to the benefit of children and parents. This extended free preschool provision was first recommended by the expert advisory group on the early years strategy in 2013. It was also one of a series of recommendations of the recent interdepartmental group on future investment in child care, which I established in January last. The group consulted widely with a range of stakeholders, including the early years sector and parents, during the course of its work.
Under this extended programme, there will be three opportunities for eligible children to enrol during the preschool year: children who reach the age of three between April and August will have the opportunity to enrol in September; children who reach the age of three between September and December will have the opportunity to enrol in January; and children who reach the age of three between January and March will have the opportunity to enrol in April. As a result of this extension, the number of children benefitting from the programme is expected to rise from around 67,000 to 127,000 in a given programme year. For the 2016-17 programme year, it is estimated that 89,500 children will be eligible to enrol in the programme from September 2016, with another 22,000 from January 2017 and a further 15,500 from April 2017.
In order to provide the early years sector with the time to build capacity to meet this increased demand, a decision was taken to introduce this new measure from September 2016. As the increased demand for the programme is not expected to peak until January and April 2017, this timeframe should allow preschool providers to make any necessary infrastructural or service changes and to put in place extra staff resources to accommodate the additional demand.
I am satisfied that there is already additional capacity in the early years sector to cope with some of the increased demand. Indeed, the annual survey of early years services, which was conducted in December 2014, estimates that there are more than 24,000 vacancies in early years services across the country, with almost 13,000 of these vacancies in sessional services.
Can the Minister clarify exactly how many spaces are available at present? In a reply to a parliamentary question I asked a few months ago, he said approximately 10,000 spaces were available. Assuming that, as Pobal found in a survey it carried out, approximately 6,245 of those places are available in rural areas, with 3,245 available in urban areas, and given that the expansion of the community child care subvention scheme, which will create 13,000 places, was announced in this budget, how are we going to have the capacity in the sector? In an answer to a previous question, the Minister talked about commencing a mapping process now. Surely that should have been done before the extension to the scheme was announced. Does the Minister know where there is capacity in the services throughout the country at the moment? I do not think he does.
He talks about phasing it in over a period, with an extra 22,000 in September 2016 and a further 22,000 in January 2017 but what is going to be there to help services build the capacity? Is the Minister going to introduce a capital grant scheme so they can build on additional space if required? We have already extended the timeframe to enable people to upgrade their qualifications to September 2016 because we do not have the required number at present. While everyone will concur that a second free preschool year is needed and welcome, I have grave reservations that this was announced as part of an election ploy without due consideration for the capacity of the sector to develop.
I am aware that every year a significant number of new preschool providers apply to participate in this programme. This increased demand for, and additional investment in, free preschool provision should encourage a greater number of applicants. I am clear that more capacity will be required; we are all agreed on that. Officials in my Department have identified a number of challenges that preschool providers who wish to expand may face, including issues of sustainability. They are working closely with the city and county child care committees and the voluntary child care organisations to identify measures to address such challenges.
The restoration of capitation rates to pre-2012 levels from September 2016 which I recently announced is one such measure. The increase which will bring capitation rates to as much as €2,850 per year for each eligible child is a guaranteed source of income and a major support for preschool providers. This was particularly evident in the difficult economic climate that prevailed in recent years when many parents would not have been in a position to avail of preschool services for their children. Additional capitation payments for preschool providers recently announced as part of the suite of Government-funded supports for children with a disability in accessing the ECCE programme will not only ensure children with a disability can meaningfully participate in and reap the benefits of free preschool education but will also assist in addressing issues of sustainability for preschool providers. Budget 2016 also includes further measures to address this issue, including investment in training and education, as well as capital funding. I will announce further details of these measures shortly.
The Minister has not confirmed whether 10,000 or 20,000 spaces are available. Perhaps he might do so. Even if the number is 20,000 which would be at the higher end of his expectations, he is talking about an additional 22,500 spaces in the free preschool year in 2016 and a further 13,000 under the community child care subvention scheme. That gives a total of 35,500 which represents a requirement for 15,000 more spaces than those available. What review of capacity and the sustainability of the sector did the Minister undertake prior to the announcement? He talks about being aware of capacity issues, but what was done prior to the announcement in order that we would know where exactly the gaps were and in what geographical areas there were gaps?
The Minister has referred to restoring capitation rates to pre-2012 levels. The Government reduced the rates a number of years ago, but the level of restoration is still not adequate. Is the Minister aware of the huge financial pressures on communities and small private operators? He is restoring capitation rates, but under the contract with the State, the provider is meant to pay staff costs for 42 weeks of the year, yet the State is only paying for 38 weeks.
I have to call the Minister to reply.
Restoring capitation rates is not good enough. The previous Government invested €500 million in the previous decade to ensure there would be sufficient spaces available in the sector. Will the Minister introduce capital funding to ensure we will have sufficient capacity in the sector? It is a welcome announcement, but I do not think it has been well thought out. Parents will face the real issue in September 2016 long after the general election.
This is Question Time and I want to try to keep to the time limits. The Minister and all other Members should, please, watch the clock.
I will respond to the Deputy because his assertions are outrageous. We put an expert interdepartmental group together across virtually all Departments. We had consultations with people involved in the sector, as well as with parents. We now have an extremely well thought out and considered plan for future investment in child care. It will provide parents with affordable and accessible child care services, as well as quality care for children. As money becomes available and the economy recovers from the fiasco Fianna Fáil left behind, we will continue to invest in this sector. We will do so prudently as money becomes available and in a very clear fashion.
Will the Minister confirm how many spaces are available?
Nobody interrupted the Deputy. As the truth sometimes hurts, he should just listen to the facts.
Some 35,000 spaces will be needed in September 2016.
Please, Deputy.
The Minister is not answering the question.
I have made it very clear from where the information comes. The results of a capacity study came through in December 2014 and the Deputy knows what they are. As I have told him, there are 24,000 vacancies in early years services across the country, of which almost 13,000 are in sectional services. The Deputy also alluded to a mapping process.
The spaces will be needed next September.
May we have order, please?
It is very hard to talk if the Deputy continues to interrupt. If he does not want to hear the information, that is fine. He can simply ask the question in order that he can get his name in the local newspaper, the Longford Leader or whatever it is.
The Minister is fond of going to the newspapers.
The bottom line is that there is additional capacity available. Even the Deputy would acknowledge that this is dynamic. Where the opportunity presents, people are happy to become involved in this business. There are new people joining all the time. In fact, one of the sector's major concerns was that there would be no displacement of existing services. At one point it was suggested we close off applications to join the new service, but clearly we are not going to do that. We have competition law which will dictate the issue.
I am sorry, but we have to move on to the next question.
We also have planning laws. We will support the sector in this regard. In the area of special needs we brought forward a seven-point plan in conjunction with the Department of Health and the Department of Education and Skills. There will be an inclusion co-ordinator in each service and every child attending a preschool facility will receive an extra €2 per week in capitation, whether he or she has special needs or whether there is a special needs co-ordinator in the preschool setting. The idea is to encourage inclusion and enable people to feel confident and competent to include children with special needs and-or disabilities.
5. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if he is undertaking work with the Department of Social Protection and other relevant Departments to address the unacceptably high rate of child poverty [42775/15]
The Department of Social Protection has the lead role in co-ordinating Government strategies on child poverty and is the sponsor of outcome 4 of Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures - economic security and opportunity. In this context, the Department has identified child poverty as a cross-sectoral priority action. It has also lead responsibility for the national action plan for social inclusion.
To assist in addressing the issue of child poverty, the advisory council for Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures which brings together key members of the community and voluntary sectors who work with and for children and young people and the Department of Social Protection have co-convened a sub-group with officials from relevant Departments and the relevant stakeholder to progress solutions to the problem of child poverty. The group held its first meeting in September and two more are anticipated in the near future.
My Department, through its leadership of the implementation of Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures and in participating in the sub-group, is actively involved with the Department of Social Protection in supporting this multidimensional approach to child poverty. Towards this end, my Department has a number of areas of focus that support its response to child poverty. It is also leading the implementation of the area-based childhood programme 2013 to 2017, in consultation with an interdepartmental project team, which aims to improve outcomes for children and young people and the existing service by drawing on best international practice to break the cycle of child poverty where it is most deeply entrenched.
As part of my Department's response, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, is also responsible for the delivery of a range of services, focusing on the welfare of and protection and support for children, young people and their families, which are key to supporting outcomes which assist in actively mitigating the impact of child poverty.
In a recent online Behaviour & Attitudes survey involving 408 teachers 41% said the number of children going to school hungry had increased since this time last year. We are all aware of the fact that this deficit in society is increasing rapidly. It is estimated that in the region of 140,000 children attend school hungry and that they are hungry at home also.
A number of schools cannot serve pupils in need owing to a lack of facilities and personnel to assist with the school breakfast programme.
We will have to redouble our efforts through the Minister's Department, the Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Social Protection.
There are a lot of statistics which show the detrimental effect. The EU survey on income and living conditions 2014 shows that in Ireland, while the consistent poverty rate fell slightly from 11.7% in 2013 to 11.2% in 2014, one-parent families had the highest consistent poverty rate, at 22.1%. We have a lot of work to do to rectify the position.
I mentioned a number of programmes in my response, one of which is the area-based childhood, ABC, programme. This programme is a prevention and early intervention initiative consisting of committed funding for an area-based approach to improving outcomes for children, young people and families and thereby contributing to addressing intergenerational child poverty. The ABC programme builds on the work of the prevention and early intervention programme from 2007 to 2013.
The ABC programme involves joint investment by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and Atlantic Philanthropies of €29.7 million in evidence-informed interventions to improve outcomes for children. The ABC programme is time bound and the co-funding arrangement between the Government and Atlantic Philanthropies remains in place until 2017. There are 13 sites in the ABC programme, all of which are now operational. The focus of this is to learn from these programmes and then inform the rest of the system of that learning and ensure that it is reflected in our services throughout the country.
Child poverty can have a significant effect and long-term consequences on growing children, particularly on their concentration in school. For instance, it affects their physical and mental health. Their future job opportunities are also being significantly affected.
Child poverty is one of the most critical issues facing children today. The statistics are stark. For example, one in three children does not have warm clothes, eat a nutritious meal every day or have an adequately warm home. The austerity measures are really hitting at this stage. There must be a concerted effort by all the relevant Departments. We need to address this as a matter of urgency.
The Deputy has made many valid points. Much of this comes from outside my Department but, nonetheless, I am concerned. However, I am pleased that Government has created more than 130,000 new jobs and unemployment has fallen below 9% for the first time since 2008. We all acknowledge that the best way out of poverty is a job and to have financial independence and that is why many of the provisions we have put in place are to address this.
From my Department's point of view, it is about increasing the employability chances for children when they become adults to break that intergenerational poverty trap and that starts really early in life. It now starts in the ECCE programme at three years of age, so that children go to school with the same reading skills as other children because, perhaps through disadvantage, they did not get that opportunity.
An important aspect of getting people back to work, or enabling people to go back to work, is child care, where we are putting an initiative in place. In that initiative, which will be developed this year, we will replace the community child care subvention, CCS, programme and the training and employment child care, TEC, programme with an entirely new scheme that will be simple and easily accessible for parents. Everybody has agreed that the most vulnerable should be looked after first. Therefore, the income threshold will start at a particular point and increase as more funding becomes available. More and more people, therefore, will not encounter that barrier to going to work because of the cost of child care. From the children's point of view, if they get a good start in early life, their ability to finish education will improve. The school completion programme is to support that and the ABC programme allows them a better chance of a job later in life.
