Dara Calleary
Question:38. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her views on the impact that Budget 2013 has had on children and youth affairs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7318/13]
View answerWednesday, 13 February 2013
Questions (38, 188)
Robert Troy
Question:188. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she considers Budget 2013 to have been coherent in its measures that impact on children and youth affairs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7480/13]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 38 and 118 together.
Budget 2013 provides for an allocation of €443 million for my Department. This level of funding represents an increase of €16m over 2012 allocation and consists of €417 million in current expenditure and €26 million in capital expenditure. In addition, Budget 2013 provides for €546 million in the Health Service Executive Vote (HSE) for 2013 in respect of Children and Family Services. This consists of €545 million in current expenditure and €1 million in capital.
The maintenance of the budgetary provision for child welfare and protection services at a time of wider curtailment in public expenditure reflects the priority attached by Government to this area. The potential provided by these resources will be further strengthened in 2013 through reform and the establishment of the new Child & Family Support Agency. This will involve moving the child welfare and protection services out of the HSE and creating a new statutory body which will also encompass both the National Educational Welfare Board and the Family Support Agency. Under the Government’s reform programme, we are moving to a situation where child and family welfare is the sole focus of a single dedicated State agency, overseen by a single dedicated Government Department
The funding allocated to my Department is providing for the retention of schemes and services during 2013, including retention of the universal free Pre-School Year, as well as the introduction of a number of important new initiatives and developments. These include: a new School Age Childcare initiative with full year funding of €14 million, which will provide over 6,000 after-school places for children in primary school to support parents in low-income families to take up employment; a new ‘Area Based Approach to Child Poverty’ initiative with a funding allocation in 2013 of €2.5 million; and the provision of €20.4 million in capital funding to further develop the National Children Detention Facility at Oberstown and end the practice of detaining 17 year old boys in St Patrick’s Institution.
The initiative relating to School Age Childcare is a joint initiative with my colleague the Minister for Social Protection. It is hoped to pilot the scheme in the coming months with a full roll-out from September 2013. The new scheme will augment my Department’s existing programme of childcare supports for low income parents, which with this additional funding will now amount to over €88 million. This programme includes the existing Childcare Community Subvention (CCS) and Childcare Education and Training Support (CETS) schemes. These are in addition to the universal free pre-school year which has a separate budget of €175 million. Extending childcare provision has been a key priority for me and this initiative shows how Departments are working together to deliver on this Government’s agenda to promote employment and to support children’s development.
The new Area Based Approach to Child Poverty initiative will build on and continue the work of the Prevention and Early Intervention Programme (PEIP) which supported projects in Tallaght, Ballymun and Darndale. These projects involve a range of pilot programmes to improve outcomes in areas such as literacy, speech and language, parenting, health and pro-social behaviour. We know that early intervention improves life chances for children and families. This is even more true in communities with high levels of disadvantage and joblessness.
I particularly welcome the provision in Budget 2013 of €20.4 million in capital funding, to enable the National Children Detention Facility project in Oberstown to proceed. Since assuming responsibility for the children detention system in January 2012, I have worked with my colleagues in Government on a range of actions to end the practice of detaining children in St Patrick’s Institution. The provision of new the facility in Oberstown, which is expected to be completed in 2015, will deliver all detention services for children in a single location which will maximise the scope for ensuring best practice standards and improving operational efficiency.