Vol. 1063 No. 4
110. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if she will bring forward the review into the mother and baby institutions payment scheme due to be completed next year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8179/25]
I ask the Minister about the mother and baby institutions payment scheme, the review due to take place by mid-2026 and the issues raised, particularly around those excluded from that scheme. Will the Minister bring forward that review?
I thank the Deputy. Just for information, the mother and baby institutions payment scheme opened for applications in March 2024. The underpinning legislation for the scheme provides for a number of reports and reviews to be produced. Section 12 provides for annual reports to be prepared by 30 June by the chief deciding officer of the scheme. These reports are to include details on applications, determinations, staffing and training.
Section 48 provides for two reviews into the operation of the scheme to be completed. The first is to be completed within six months of the scheme’s second anniversary, by September 2026. As the scheme has been open for less than a year and I have not yet received the first annual report from the chief deciding officer, it would be premature to initiate a review at this time.
As of 17 February, almost 6,200 scheme applications have been received. Nearly 5,250 notices of determination have issued to applicants, of which more than 82% contain an offer of benefits under the scheme. Applicants have six months to decide to accept the offer before they need to respond but already some 3,900 payments have been made or are in the process of being made.
While the Department projected higher up-front applicant numbers in 2024, the scheme is open for five years so there is plenty of time for potential applicants to apply. It is difficult to predict at what stage across the five-year lifetime applicants will apply, although we do know that in some previous redress schemes, significant numbers of applications were actually made very much so towards the closing dates.
It is important to emphasise that the payment scheme is just one element of the Government’s response to the complex legacy of mother and baby institutions. Of the seven major commitments set out in the Government action plan for survivors, six are now delivered and are actually in place, while the seventh is well under way. Key actions which have been achieved include counselling support, access to birth information, with almost 15,200 cases completed and the creation of the special advocate for survivors, as well as the ongoing development of the National Centre for Research and Remembrance.
I thank the Minister for that. There are a couple issues here I had raised with the Minister's predecessor in terms of the scheme. The number of applicants applying and the number of payments issued to date have been quite low. That is dependent on the number applying, so clearly more work needs to be done on that messaging and communication. I know that is being done abroad but it needs to be looked at again.
Approximately 34,000 people are eligible to apply. To date, just over 6,100 people have applied to the scheme.
Regarding those institutions that are excluded, I found that quite odd. The exclusion of the institutions has been based on a list that was investigated by the commission of investigation. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has stated this is flawed in terms of the institutions that are excluded. It is very hard to tell people that because they were not in a particular institution, they do not get the support. Those excluded institutions is what I would like looked at in particular.
I thank the Deputy. I appreciate the points she is making but given that we have not yet reached the one-year anniversary and I have not received either the annual report or the first of the two reviews, it would be premature to go into the system of review. The Deputy referenced sincerely the need in respect of promotion, advertising and allowing people to be aware that the scheme is in place. The interdepartmental group that advised the Government on the design of the scheme estimated the cost of communication and publicity to be well in excess of €2 million. That includes social media and advertising abroad whether it is the United States, the UK, Australia or wherever the case may be; you name it. There have been two phases of advertising across all those jurisdictions consisting of radio, print, online and out-of-home advertising, as well as a poster campaign and so much more. There are five years there, which does give people an opportunity. As I said, often the uptake is towards the end rather than at the start.
I thank the Minister. On the figures, I chaired the committee meeting last year in which Revised Estimates were gone through and there was an underspend of €158 million. It was listed as a saving and it was money brought back in this scheme. In fairness, it was expected a lot more would apply in the first year and that was fair enough. If there is such an underspend of the €100 million that is there for 2025, I really would ask that it would be looked at. I appreciate the reviews are there and are laid down in legislation but in the case of the institutions excluded, these survivors are passing away. They are not getting the opportunity to get the justice they deserve and many of them are being excluded from the scheme. I have told this story here before of meeting Michael Grant last year. He was a resident in Temple Hill from when he was four weeks old until he was one year old and then he was adopted. That institution is excluded from the scheme because it is deemed to be a hospital yet his mother paid 5 shillings a week to keep him there and he was adopted out of it. Therefore, it was not a hospital. He and others like him cannot get any justice, any support or anything from the scheme. If there is an underspend again this year, that really should be looked at.
I thank the Deputy. We want to the scheme to work. That is why so much effort is going into the whole advertising element of it and much more. Regarding those who are excluded from the scheme, I absolutely understand the points that are raised by so many. However, those identified by the commission of investigation as having a main function of providing shelter and supervision from an antenatal and post-natal point of view to mothers and children were deemed to be the institutions. There will be an annual report at the end of June. There will be a review to give it its best chance in early operation and then we will see where we go from there on the basis of that review. The figure of 6,200 applications is estimated, as the Deputy said herself. I appreciate how well informed and sincerely she feels regarding this issue of there being more than 34,000 people being eligible to apply. We will do all we can to ensure the maximum number of the 34,000 are in receipt of support.
111. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the action she intends to take to ensure that parents have access to State-provided early years education facilities where there is a lack of provision; her plans to reduce the cost of child care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8541/25]
What actions will the Minister take to ensure parents can have access to State-provided early years education facilities where there is currently a lack of such facilities? I also ask what actions she will take to reduce the cost of childcare.
I thank the Deputy. Investment in the early learning and childcare sector is now at an unprecedented level with public funding exceeding €1.37 billion in 2025. We have never had as much money being expended. This clearly demonstrates the Government’s commitment to this area. As well as addressing affordability, this investment has served to improve accessibility, availability and the quality of provision. The new programme for Government provides the impetus now to go much further however, and to deliver more high-quality early learning and childcare places at a cost that is affordable to families. Under this Government, the recently established supply management unit in the Department will be resourced and transformed into a forward planning and delivery unit to identify areas of need and better forecast demand. That is important. The Government is also making a commitment that this unit will introduce an element of public provision with State-led facilities to add capacity in conjunction with capacity provided by private operators. As a key first step, the unit will work to identify the type and number of local places across the country, and how this compares to the number of children in the corresponding age groups. A poll is also being undertaken of parents to better understand their preferences for early learning and childcare. That is important too. Taking a more strategic approach to forward planning and the option of public delivery offers much greater scope to influence the type and number of places available and to better align them with families’ needs. Record numbers are now benefiting from the national childcare scheme. Some 220,000 children benefited from a subsidy under the scheme in 2024. Fee controls are in place in almost 93% of services as a result of the core funding scheme and this ensures the investment is not unnecessarily absorbed by fee increases.
I thank the Minister. Early Childhood Ireland outlined in January that statistics from Pobal state that 6,663 children under the age of one are on a crèche waiting list where there are only 223 places available. It also goes on to say that 12,208 children aged between one and two are on a waiting list where there are only 675 places available. The Minister mentioned that in the programme from Government, the Government has committed to building or purchasing State-owned childcare facilities and to creating additional capacity. In her reply, the Minister spoke about a poll of parents. Will she let us know in the House when, where and how that poll will be conducted? It is important that we address those anomalies. In Cork, at the moment, there are 534 children under the age of one vying for 17 places. This is what is happening throughout the country in many areas in the State. In Kildare, in my own area, many parents are seeking childcare accommodation and they want to hear from the Government and from the Minister as to what is going to happen for them and the when, where and how that poll might be conducted.
Again, I thank the Deputy. He is 100% correct. There is an issue around capacity and the Government recognises that. It is for that reason that the Government has committed to doing a root-and-branch discovery around the country to determine where there are areas of maximum need and where is under-provided for. The new forward planning and delivery unit will be very important in that respect. Early and initial scoping exercises have taken place. This is an absolutely new departure. It has never been done before that the State will intervene and build or purchase State-owned early learning childcare facilities. It is important to gather the views of parents. Regarding the poll, it is my understanding that the poll was conducted in February. It is presently being analysed and we should have the results by the end of March or early April. Again, it will inform the trajectory of the journey.
I thank the Minister. The other area I wish to ask about is childcare costs. I recently met a young family in Newbridge, County Kildare, who are paying €1,400 per month. The Minister will know, as it is often referenced in this House, that this is a second mortgage. However, it is obviously not just in Newbridge that those are the costs of childcare; it is throughout the State. Linked to those costs are the turnover in staff where the average turnover is 25% of those working in the sector. Many of them quote the low pay they are receiving at present. There is a huge cost for them. Associated with that is the issue of the many regional childcare providers that have delays with payments from the Department, which are causing them headaches and issues about staying open. Obviously, there are then the increased overhead costs that many of these childcare providers, particularly in rural areas, have faced. Will the Government address any of that to try to reduce childcare costs for parents while also ensuring providers will stay open?
I thank the Deputy. To confirm in terms of the core funding model, an unprecedented level of funding has gone into that for the first time. In year 1, €259 million was expended directly on core funding and €210.8 million was brand-new funding. That increased to €287 million in year 2 and presently in year 3, it has increased to €331 million.
Again, a very significant uplift is being provided by the Government to providers. It has a core funding fee management element to it as well in terms of affordability for parents. The Government has been very conscious of the cost for parents and families so it has committed to establishing a €200 per month cap on childcare costs in the lifetime of this Government. Significant progress has already been made in this regard through the establishment of the Together for Better funding model. This funding allows for greater control of the cost of early learning and childcare for parents, with adjustments that can be made on the supply and demand sides. On the demand side, it is important to say that the national childcare scheme allows for the flexible allocation of subsidies to families, where the highest subsidies are provided to the families that need them the most. System support for the national childcare scheme also supports rapid changes to eligibility parameters and subsidy parameters where directed by the Government. On the supply side, the core funding fee management measure ensures that fees do not grow significantly and absorb subsidies provided to parents.
112. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the total number of children on waiting lists for an assessment of needs; the average waiting time; the measures she intends to take to tackle these waiting lists for children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8180/25]
Before asking this question, I wish the Minister of State well in her new role because I did not have an opportunity to do so earlier. This question is to ask the Minister of State about the number of children on waiting lists for assessments of needs, the average waiting time for the children on the waiting lists and, more importantly, I suppose, the measures she intends to take to tackle these very long and record-level waiting lists.
The Government recognises that waiting lists for assessments of need are far too long and have a significant impact on the needs of children and their families. It should be noted that children who require services from a children's disability network team, CDNT, do not require a diagnosis or a statutory assessment of need, AON. However, it is a fact that demand for AONs has increased significantly in recent years, which is a reflection of both the increase in population and of families exploring all options for accessing services for their children. The HSE advises that in 2024 it received 10,690 AON applications, which is more than double the 4,700 applications received in 2020. The most recent data from the HSE shows that 14,221 AONs were overdue for completion at the end of December 2024.
Work is ongoing by the HSE to increase the capacity of CDNTs to deliver therapy interventions to children and produce assessments of need. It is notable that the HSE reports a 30% increase in the number of AONs completed in 2024 compared with 2023. This has been achieved by a number of measures, including the waiting list initiative agreed by the Government last May. It targets those families waiting the longest for assessments of needs, with funding provided for the procurement of assessments from approved private providers. The HSE advises that more than 2,400 assessments of needs were commissioned from private providers over seven months in 2024. This initiative will continue in 2025 with €10 million in funding allocated to deliver some 2,850 assessments of needs and allow for additional capacity in the assessment teams in the form of assessment and liaison officers. In 2023, on foot of a direct request from the Minister of State with responsibility for disability, the HSE also developed AON administrative hubs in community healthcare areas. I will leave it there for the moment.
On the very high figure of more than 14,000 children and the demand increase, this is fine and part of it, of course, is related to population. I would not say, though, that part of it is parents exploring all options for their children, particularly if they can go through the CDNTs without an assessment of need. We must be really careful in terms of the things we say concerning this matter because, for those children who are on a waiting list, and their parents especially, waiting and waiting is extremely stressful and worrying. The parents know the situation all the time as long as the child is waiting and waiting. We must be mindful too that the waiting list for an assessment of need is only step one. It is then typically necessary to move on to another list for whatever therapy is needed and children may actually end up on a number of waiting lists. We must, therefore, be very careful in terms of how we speak about the increase and what it means. If the Minister of State does have the opportunity, I would like if she could expand on her final comment on the AON administration hubs and what this means.
The Deputy is entirely correct about the stress, frustration, worry and anger of parents out there, and I absolutely acknowledge this point. They want access to therapies for their children. In many cases, they also want a diagnosis. There is a combination of reasons why people look for assessments of need. I absolutely accept that.
The administrative hubs are in CHOs 1, 4, 5, 7 and 8. Established assessment hubs are also in CHOs 3, 6 and 9. The AON administration hubs will aim to provide a single point for receipt of AON applications and allocation to assessment officers to ensure a spread of demand of assessment officers across all available resources. The roll-out of the regional assessment hubs sees the provision of personnel dedicated to the delivery of assessments of needs while preserving the time of other clinical staff for therapy interventions for children and their families. I absolutely accept, therefore, that this matter is about therapies as well and this is another body of work we are doing in the Department with the HSE to ensure we are recruiting and retaining therapists.
I thank the Minister of State for the reply. Regarding those on the waiting lists, and this is an issue I have written to the Minister of State about, I take the opportunity to flag a communication issued by the HSE to parents with a child or children on the waiting lists for assessments of needs in the last couple of weeks. It told parents that if they did not respond to say their child still wanted the assessment of needs and to remain on the waiting list by a certain date, they would be taken off the waiting list. I raise this issue here because parents are already under enough pressure. I do not think it is right for the HSE to put it back on parents. I have seen the communication. It states this action must be undertaken to progress the application, which really does not make any sense at all at all. These children are on the waiting list for the assessments of need. Parents should not be told their children will be taken off the waiting list if they do not respond to the HSE and confirm they want their children to remain on it. I would be concerned that children would be removed if this is what the HSE is doing. I have seen the communication. I ask the Minister of State to please ensure no child is removed from the waiting list for assessments of needs because their parent did not respond to this request from the HSE.
I will certainly follow up with the HSE on that issue. What we want to do here is ensure that children and others with disabilities, including adults, are getting the therapies and services they need and require. That is my focus, that of the Minister, Deputy Foley, and of the Government. I refer to ensuring that we have the services and therapies required, be they occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, physiotherapists or whatever therapies it might be, to ensure we are addressing the needs of our young people and people with disabilities right across the country. My door is open and I welcome the Deputy's feedback. I want to try to respond and we all need to work on this area together. The Deputy has my commitment on that.
113. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if she will outline her plans to reform and improve the provision of children’s disability network teams, as outlined in the programme for Government. [8145/25]
I wish the Minister and the Minister of State well in their roles. Will the Minister of State outline her plans to reform and improve the provision of children's disability network teams as outlined in the programme for Government?
I thank the Deputy for his question. The Government is committed to providing early intervention services to children with disabilities and their families as referenced in the programme for Government. A total of €3.2 billion has been allocated for disability services in budget 2025. This is an 11.6% increase on 2024 and represents an overall increase since 2020 of €1.2 billion. This increase will support the roll-out of the roadmap for service improvement for disabilities, including services for children and young people, through the provision of key roles and trainee placements for children's disability network teams.
As we know, the demand for CDNT services is growing every year and the progressing disabilities services, PDS, roadmap 2023-2026, which was launched by the HSE in October 2023, focuses on the ongoing development of CDNT services to meet current and growing demand. The PDS model is a needs-led model of service, where a child does not require a diagnosis to access services. CDNTs provide a multidisciplinary assessment of individuals' needs and strengths. Currently, 42,000 children are receiving services through the CDNTs. We know the delivery of services to children is inherently linked to the staffing levels in the CDNTs and their capacity to deliver these services. The Government has provided funding for additional posts to enhance the capacity of CDNTs in recent years. The HSE has advised there was a net addition of 272 staff in CDNTs in 2024, which is a 17% increase compared with 2023.
Funding has been made available in 2025 for children's services to build on these existing recruitment initiatives, with funding focusing on various positions across the CDNTs, including 20 senior therapist posts, 20 staff grade posts, 20 health and social care assistant posts and 15 clinical trainee posts.
Under the new programme for Government, we will work to increase staff, train more therapists and enable targeted supports for CDNTs. Through these concerted efforts, we will be able to have a more robust workforce in the future to meet the growing demand from families and children.
We received a response this week to a parliamentary question on the issue, in which the HSE cites staff vacancy as one of the major issues. That aligns with what the Minister of State says about being able to work with as many children and young people as possible in the State.
Are we confident that we are maximising workforce opportunities from the point of view of third level education and in terms of those who are living abroad? From a Kildare perspective, some CDNTs have a 40% vacancy rate and 2,600 children are on waiting lists, 1,900 of whom are waiting more than 12 months for an intervention. That is notwithstanding the phenomenal work that happens once people can engage with the service. That is the story in so many regards. Is there anything more we can do to ensure those delays are minimised to really hone in on early intervention where possible?
In regard to early intervention, it is worth noting that in education, the access and inclusion model, AIM, is in place to support children with additional needs to access and meaningfully participate in early learning and childcare by providing universal supports to preschool settings generally and targeted supports based on the needs of the individual without requiring a diagnosis.
The Deputy asked what we are doing regarding recruitment, both domestically and in the international field as well. We are trying to recruit. As he is aware, recruitment and retention are a challenge across all sectors, but in particular this sector, and a significant focus of the Government is filling the vacant posts within the 93 CDNTs. To optimise the recruitment into funded agencies, the HSE is facilitating direct access for funded agencies to existing HSE health and social care professional panels, which will shorten the recruitment process. In addition, our Department is working with the HSE to seek to introduce specific recruitment and retention incentives for therapists to work in CDNTs, along with the CDNT sponsorship programme, which has bursaries for fourth year and postgraduate students linked to acceptance of job offers. We are also expanding places in higher education facilities. We have an extra 150 therapists now going through the third level system.
I appreciate the Minister of State's response. That level of detail is very welcome. I offer the full support of the Social Democrats in progressing this in whatever way we can in terms of policy. This is incredibly important. We have spoken quite often in the Chamber in recent weeks about SET and disability services. There is an intersectionality between the two. It is not just about the level of care within the CDNT, as there is an impact on education and housing. It is cross-sectional throughout society.
I appreciate the commitments the Minister of State has made here this evening and in the programme for Government. I look forward to continuing the dialogue with the Minister and the Minister of State in regard to that in the coming months and years. I reassure them of our support. We must maximise the encouragement of ways in which we can bring in staff. That will be the best way to reduce waiting times and ensure children get timely services.
I thank Deputy Farrelly for his support in this regard. My door is open as well if there are any good ideas. We do not have the monopoly on solutions and my door is fully open in that regard. This is about ongoing recruitment.
We have also been looking at what else we can do. There may be people working in other disciplines within the health sector who want to become therapists and could be upskilled. We must look at everything we can do. It is also about retention and pay. I get all of that. That is a key part of this as well. We must make sure there is a pipeline for the future given that disability is growing, not just here in Ireland but internationally, and we must also make sure we plan for the future so that we have the workforce coming in as well.
114. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if she will outline in relation to core funding, for each programme year, the total value of core funding, the amount allocated towards improving pay, and her Department's estimate of the cost to employers of implementing the employment regulation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8181/25]
I want to ask the Minister about the total value of core funding and the amount of it allocated to improving pay. That is very important because we know the issues with capacity whereby some providers have the physical space but they have to close rooms because they do not have the early years educators. We have an issue with recruitment and retention. Pay is key for staff and we must make sure the early years educators are paid properly.
Core funding is a grant to early learning and childcare providers towards their operating costs. The primary objectives of the core funding scheme are to improve pay and conditions in the sector and affordability for parents while also ensuring a stable income for providers. Providers have flexibility in how they spend their core funding grant, provided it aligns with the approved areas of expenditure outlined in the funding agreement. However, research shows that staff costs account for approximately 70% of the total operating costs of providers.
The introduction of core funding in September 2022 brought a significant increase in investment for the sector, with €259 million of funding paid directly to providers in year one of the scheme, of which €210.8 million was entirely new funding. This funding increased to €287 million in year two and by a further 15% in year three of the scheme and now stands at €331 million of an investment. For year four of core funding, commencing this September, the core funding allocation will exceed €345 million. An additional allocation of €15 million, from September to December 2025, which equates to €45 million across the 2025-26 programme year, has been specifically ring-fenced to support employers in meeting the costs of further increases to the minimum rates of pay in the sector and is contingent on updated employment regulation orders being negotiated by the independent joint labour committee. This would bring the total year four core funding allocation to more than €390 million.
The estimated cost to employers of implementing previous employment regulation orders has been calculated based on information provided by providers. The estimated cost to services of the employment regulation orders given effect in September 2022 was approximately €55 million and was supported through the year one core funding allocation of €259 million. The estimated cost to services of the employment regulation orders given effect in June 2024 was €20.1 million and was supported by increased core funding in year two and year three allocations of €287 million and €331 million, respectively.
I thank the Minister. The review into core funding in the programme for Government commitments is very important. I am concerned that the money being earmarked for pay is not being reflected in the pay deals. I spoke previously about my concern regarding the pay talks and the JLC process that is in place because of the way in which it is designed in terms of pay increases for early years educators. The last pay increase for early years educators amounted to 65 cent. It took 14 months to negotiate that and it ended up in the Labour Court because agreement could not be reached. My concern is about the level of funding and the percentage of core funding that is supposed to be earmarked for wages and pay, and what is coming out of that process, because it does not add up given the previous pay increase of 65 cent. I am concerned about the inefficient use of the money that was announced in the budget and how it comes to pass in terms of these talks.
In the past three years, core funding of almost €900 million has been provided by the Government. That is an unprecedented level of funding into this area. I hear the Deputy's concerns about issues such as rates of pay. Research tells us that at least 70% of core funding is going on pay.
The State is not the employer and therefore does not set the pay or conditions for employees in either early learning and care or school-age childcare services. In line with the provisions of the Industrial Relations Act, the joint labour committee, which involves union and employer representation and an independent chair, is independent in its functions and neither I nor the Department have a role in its statutory processes. My officials are available to support the joint labour committee in its deliberation, through the provision of information and related data. However, it is a priority to ensure that we have sufficiency of provision and that those who work in the sector are appropriately recompensed, and equally that the sector itself - the providers - is sustainable.
I make the point again that if we want a functioning early years service for parents, children and the professionals who work in it, we have to get pay right. The JLC and pay talks granted, the last time, 65 cent, which to me is insulting, to the early years educators in the sector. If we do not get that right, we will continue to have issues with recruitment and retention and capacity. We already have about 30,000 children on waiting lists for places. In many cases, they are on waiting lists for places that do not exist and will not exist. It is not good enough, given the crisis we have in the early years sector, especially with the educators, to leave it to the JLC when it comes up with 65 cent for the early years educators, based on the fact we need a functioning early years sector for parents, children and for the professionals.
I hear the Deputy's concerns. Government has not been found wanting in terms of investment. Over three years, just short of €900 million has been spent. The level of funding is quite extraordinary, always with the proviso that it delivers for parents, the workers and the providers. Regarding capacity, Government is very cognisant of this issue. The Deputy will note that, in the programme for Government, a specific commitment has been made regarding, that when required, the State can intervene in the provision of service, supplementing and recognising that capacity is also being provided by the private sector. A body of work is under way on this. Early scoping is being done, as I referred to earlier. There is a poll to gather information from parents regarding where they see the logjams might exist. I am very cognisant of the issue of pay and it is a concern for me. We have seen two increases in minimum rates of pay for roles in the sector. These have positively impacted 70% and 50% of the workforce, respectively, but obviously the work is ongoing.
