Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 February 2012
64Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the date on which she will publish a new national children’s strategy; the consultation process that will be used alongside it; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8063/12]
View answerMy Department is developing a new strategy for children and young people. It will build on Our Children - Their Lives, Ireland's first children's strategy which was published in 2000. It will cover the period 2012-17. It is being developed in a holistic way to comprehend the continuum from early infancy, through early and middle childhood, to adolescence and early adulthood, in keeping with the Department's responsibility for children and young people.
For the first time we will have an early years strategy and I intend to appoint an expert group to advise me on this area. It is surprising, and tells us quite a lot, that we do not have a comprehensive early years policy strategy for young people in Ireland. It is needed and I intend to ensure that, under the new children's strategy, we have a comprehensive early years policy framework in place.
I want to ensure the new policy framework deals with emerging issues which affect children, like the impact of new technologies, the media and consumerism. It is important that we have a very broad approach to the development of the new strategy. It also has to be cross-departmental because while we have certain core functions which have been taken into the new Department of Children and Youth Affairs, there are also important linkages which need to be made.
For example, it is important that action is taken on obesity across a number of Departments, such as the Departments of Arts, Sport and Tourism; the Environment, Community and Local Government; Health; Education and Skills; and Children and Youth Affairs. If we do that we will get a fresh impetus and a whole Government approach to dealing with issues such as child poverty and healthy lifestyles.
In my question I asked for the date on which the Minister will publish the new national children's strategy. Could the Minister elaborate on that? What level of civil society engagement will be included in the consultation process and what resources will be allocated? Will there be an implementation plan to go alongside it? Are we waiting for the end of the process or can we do things along the way with newer and fresher thinking, for which I commend the Minister?
I am minded to refer to the third goal of the current national children's strategy, and I do so because of something I was exposed to this morning. It states that children will receive quality supports and services to promote all aspects of development. The Minister will agree that particular goal has not been achieved in the cases of far too many children heretofore. This morning I met a delegation of mainly young parents of children with Rett syndrome, a rare disease affecting some 60 children across the entire island of Ireland; we did so in the context of International Rare Diseases Day on 29 February. This morning we heard the reality of what those parents must cope with. These are children who are not only physically disabled but intellectually disabled as well. It is terrible to think the system in any way would create a hierarchy of disability and address a particular cohort first. These young children, virtually all of them female, present after 15 to 18 months of a normal infancy. This is very important and I urge the Minister, in the context of International Rare Diseases Day, to look at the needs of children with disabilities as an important focus in the national children's strategy. Those needs cannot be left as an equality issue under the Department of Justice and Law Reform or a health issue under the Department of Health. Children with special needs, particularly those with an intellectual and physical disability, should have their needs and interests loom large in the consideration of the new strategy.
I intend the strategy to be available towards the end of this year. It is important we consult with young people as well. I launched a consultation last year and I am pleased to say 67,000 children took part. I also thank the teachers and national schools that participated in that, giving us a rich body of data from young people about what they like about living in Ireland and what they would like to see improved. That is an important part of the consultation on the national children's strategy and I expect that towards the middle of this year, we will ask for submissions from a broad range of civic society on what should be in the strategy. I refer to this often when I meet groups, including those working with children with disability.
There is important work to be done to increase the focus on children's health issues. For example, basic screening for sight, hearing and speech will identify the one in six or seven children who will have difficulty in those areas. It important that we screen at an early stage, that we have a focus on children with a disability and that we have an integrated approach. I was reading research recently that showed that children with a disability who receive early care and education make much better progress than would otherwise would be the case. That is why the ECCE scheme plays a role in supporting families where children have a disability. I must work with other Departments but this must be an area where there is focus because we have not had integrated services in the past. I gave the example of the early childhood care area and working with families. There is potential there that would mean we would be to work with those children at an earlier stage, which would mean they make better progress than if the help had come at a later point.
I welcome the Minister's response.
I am glad to hear the new strategy will involve a comprehensive early years policy. How will the new strategy address the alarming rates of child poverty in Ireland, with over 19% of children at risk of poverty and 9% of children living in consistent poverty? What are the Minister's views of the fact that measures introduced in the budget may result in an increase in these rates, given there were cuts in child benefit for third and further children, cuts in the back to school allowance and that one parent families have been hit by the budget, where 65% of the poorest children come from? Will the new strategy deal with this problem?
This area needs particular focus because when it comes to poverty, children are vulnerable. There is no doubt the best way out of poverty for a family is to have a job. The creation of jobs and the managing of the economy are the best supports we can give families. The support services we are offering throughout the country, the money that is going to the voluntary sector to support these families, is very important. Vital work is being done in parenting courses, support services and in the ECCE programme, in which we are investing €160 million. That is a huge support to the families the Deputy mentioned but clearly the financial situation has huge consequences for all families and we must be mindful of the vulnerability of young children and must try to intervene and support families as much as possible.
