Written Answers Nos. 296 - 308
296. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will provide, in tabular form, a list of all professional fees, including but not limited to legal, consultancy, IT-related, advisory, capital, advertising and accountancy; the company name and the amount invoiced between 1 May 2011 and 31 December 2013. [1915/14]
View answerI would like to inform the Deputy at the outset that it is the policy of my Department to minimise to the greatest extent possible, professional fees.
For the purposes of this response I have taken professional fees to refer to accountable persons from whom Professional Services Withholding Tax has been deducted in respect of professional services provided. The list provided contains a wide range of services provided to the Department which includes but is not limited to legal, consultancy, advisory, capital, advertising and accountancy costs. The list, for example, includes payments related to research, consultation with children, interview board participation, industrial relations mediation, expert evidence, national and international expert participation in groups, investigations and publication. I would further note that in line with the aforementioned policy to minimise external professional costs, IT support for my Department is provided by the Department of Health.
The information which you requested is outlined in tabular form excluding VAT. As my Department was established on 2 June 2011 information is provided from that date.
Departmental Expenditure
|
Payee |
Payee Totals 2011 |
Payee Totals 2012 |
Payee Totals 2013 |
|
Ailbhe O'Neill BL |
€16,380 |
||
|
Alan Nolan |
€5,500 |
||
|
Angela O'Connell |
€5,750 |
||
|
Astrid Frederike Schrader |
€1,520 |
||
|
Behaviour and Attitudes Ltd. |
€83,700 |
||
|
Bernard Davies |
€1,952 |
||
|
Brenda A Dooley |
€1,038 |
||
|
Burtenshaw Kenny Associates |
€4,990 |
€2,480 |
€3,920 |
|
Capita Business Services Ltd. |
€19,350 |
||
|
Carmel Corrigan |
€12,600 |
||
|
Cnag an Doras |
€46,886 |
€14,717 |
€56,906 |
|
Conal Devine & Associates |
€11,159 |
||
|
CPD Ireland |
€2,850 |
€4,800 |
€3,275 |
|
Deloitte & Touche |
€6,295 |
€7,365 |
€6,088 |
|
Diana L Montemayor |
€739 |
||
|
Dr Eoin O'Malley |
€4,050 |
||
|
Dr. Claire Hayes |
€2,250 |
||
|
Eliza Popper |
€1,533 |
||
|
Elliott & Fitzgerald |
€1,000 |
||
|
Elzbieta Maria Jakubek |
€1,565 |
||
|
Francis Kieran BL |
€3,000 |
||
|
Frontier Engineering Group Ltd |
€6,235 |
||
|
Fusio |
€7,150 |
||
|
HV McELfatrick |
€2,974 |
||
|
Jane Clarke |
€4,800 |
||
|
Janet Hughes |
€1,850 |
||
|
John C Malone |
€500 |
€1,600 |
|
|
John Fanning |
€23,750 |
||
|
KDNINE LTD |
€18,472 |
||
|
Kevin Rafter |
€4,200 |
||
|
Likongwe & Company |
€1,080 |
||
|
Liz Harper |
€7,417 |
€8,020 |
€4,900 |
|
Marko Paunovic |
€1,545 |
||
|
Martin Fischer |
€1,589 |
||
|
Mazars |
€180,907 |
||
|
McGuinness Killen Partnership |
€5,460 |
||
|
MKC Communications |
€26,301 |
€5,000 |
|
|
Muse Akgul |
€1,666 |
||
|
Nerijus Miginis |
€1,517 |
||
|
Niall Watters & Associates |
€5,996 |
€3,998 |
|
|
Penhouse Design |
€41,505 |
€73,645 |
€37,180 |
|
Prof Ann Sanson |
€23,002 |
€3,807 |
|
|
Quality Matters Ltd |
€1,760 |
||
|
Richard Sinnott |
€8,000 |
||
|
Roger Jupp |
€33,600 |
||
|
Ronan Tierney (Internal Audit) |
€12,725 |
€52,239 |
|
|
Sandra Roe |
€12,000 |
||
|
Satya Brink |
€32,508 |
€15,471 |
|
|
Second Nature TM Ltd |
€1,502 |
||
|
Shane Murphy SC |
€3,000 |
||
|
Simona MURSEC |
€350 |
€1,565 |
|
|
Sven Retore |
€1,516 |
||
|
The Change Exploratory Ltd |
€800 |
297. Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of quangos, State agencies or organisations under the remit of her Department that have been merged, reformed or abolished since 2011; the details of each of these measures in tabular form; the cost saving or service delivery improvement which has resulted; how many more she expects to be merged, reformed or abolished and the timeline for same; if she will provide a full list of all agencies and organisations under her remit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1972/14]
View answerI would like to inform the Deputy that there are three agencies which are currently funded by the Exchequer through my Department's Vote. These are the Adoption Authority of Ireland (AAI), the Child and Family Agency (CFA) and the Ombudsman for Children's Office (OCO). Up to 31 December, 2013, my Department also funded the Family Support Agency (FSA) and the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB). The new Child and Family Agency which was established on 1 January, 2014 now has responsibility for the provision of these services along with children and family services previously delivered by the HSE.
The coming together under one Agency of services previously delivered across three separate organisations provides a platform for the delivery of a more efficient and effective service to vulnerable children and families. The range of responsibilities under the remit of the Agency will contribute to achievement of the overall vision for the Agency which is seeking to bring about greater integration of services with a focus on early intervention and community engagement.
In July 2011, the Government decided that the Family Mediation Service should transfer from the Family Support Agency to the Legal Aid Board. This is in line with the Government’s commitment to facilitate the use of mediation in family disputes in order to speed up the legal process, reduce costs and ameliorate the stress of contested court proceedings. On 26 October 2011, the Minister for Justice and Equality signed the commencement order for Part 16 of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011 which gave effect to the transfer from 1 November 2011. At this stage it is not possible to quantify the actual savings to date as a direct result of these developments.
It should be noted that following enactment of the Child Care Amendment Act 2011 the Children's Act Advisory Board was subsequently dissolved by means of the commencement by the Minister of Health of Part 6 of the Child Amendment Act 2011. Following this most comprehensive reform of child protection, early intervention and family support services, I do not anticipate any further merger, reformation or abolition for the foreseeable future. As requested, the position is summarised in tabular form.
|
Agency/Organisation |
Date of Merger/Abolition/Reformation |
Date of Creation (applicable post 2011) |
|
National Educational Welfare Board |
December 31st 2013 |
- |
|
Family Support Agency |
December 31st 2013 |
|
|
Children’s Act Advisory Board |
July 31st 2011 |
|
|
Child and Family Agency |
January 1st 2014 |
|
|
Adoption Authority of Ireland |
n/a |
n/a |
|
Ombudsman for Children’s Office |
n/a |
n/a |
298. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the money being provided for the provision of the preschool year; the number of children being catered for; the number of these preschools being operated through Irish and the number being operated through English; the number of children in each category; her policy regarding same in view of the 20 year strategy for the Irish language; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1995/14]
View answerThe Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programe was introduced in January 2010 and provides a free pre-school year to all eligible children before commencing primary school. Approximately 68,000 children availed of the free pre-school year in the 2012/2013 academic year and €175 million funding was made available to support the provision. It is expected that similar numbers will avail of the programme in the current year. All documentation relating to the ECCE programme, including application forms and parent declaration forms, are available in Irish as required under the Official Languages Act and can be accessed through my Department's website or directly from the Department. The contract is also available in Irish and service providers may submit their electronic returns in Irish.
There are approximately 4,300 childcare services providing the free pre-school programme with 234 of these providers using the term Naíoraí in the title to their service. However, only a handful of service providers requested the Irish version of the contract and only 60 services this year submitted their electronic returns using the Irish version of the electronic return form. The free pre-school year is provided by both commercial and community providers and it is a matter for the service provider to determine the medium through which the pre-school provision is delivered.
299. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will provide details of each allocation from her Department’s expenditure budget to registered charities in each of the past three years. [2096/14]
View answerThe Department of Children and Youth Affairs provides funding directly to a wide range of community, voluntary and other organisations who have charitable status that are engaged in the provision of specific services to children and young people. The most significant share of the funding, which amounted to €249 million in 2011, €262 million in 2012 and €250 million in 2013 is targeted at implementing three major childcare programmes that include the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) programme, the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme, and the Community Education and Training CETS) programme. My Department also provides annual funding to seven National Voluntary Childcare Organisations to enable them to provide a support service to their members in the context of these programmes. The individual amounts paid to the organisations in each instance over the last three years are set out in the following table.
|
Organisation |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
|
Barnardos |
€0.582m |
€0.582m |
€0.553m |
|
Border Counties Childcare Network |
€0.253m |
€0.253m |
€0.252m |
|
Childminding Ireland |
€0.358m |
€0.358m |
€0.340m |
|
Forbairt Naionraí Teo |
€0.254m |
€0.254m |
€0.241m |
|
Irish Steiner Kindergarten Association |
€0.053m |
€0.053m |
€0.050m |
|
St Nicholas Montessori |
€0.073m |
€0.073m |
€0.069m |
|
Early Childhood Ireland |
- |
€1.273m |
€1.205m |
|
Irish Pre-School Playgroup Association* |
€0.808m |
- |
- |
|
National Children`s Nursery Association* |
€0.537m |
- |
- |
* merged as Early Childhood Ireland in 2012
My Department also provides funds to support organisations through a number of other programmes that include the following -
- Funding for the support of voluntary youth work is made available on an annual basis to 32 national and major regional voluntary youth organisations through the Youth Service Grant Scheme which is intended to ensure the emergence, promotion, growth and development of youth organisations with distinctive philosophies and programmes aimed at the social education of young people. €11 million was paid to the organisations under the Scheme in each of the years 2011 to 2013.
- Support for Barnardos and Early Childhood Ireland who act in the role of authorised signatory in accordance with the Child Care (Pre-School Services) (No. 2) Regulations for the vetting of childcare providers. The Department of Children and Youth Affairs has facilitated these organisations in this regard through the provision of funding which amounted as follows for each of the years:
|
Organisation |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
|
Barnardos |
€0.133m |
€0.133m |
€0.121m |
|
Early Childhood Ireland |
- |
€0.100m |
€0.100m |
|
Irish Pre-School Playgroup Association* |
€0.050m |
- |
- |
|
National Children`s Nursery Association* |
€0.050m |
- |
- |
* merged as Early Childhood Ireland in 2012.
- The provision of €87,631 in 2013 and €50,240 in 2012 to the ISPCC towards the running costs associated with the operation of the Missing Children Hotline. The funding provided in this instance is in respect of the provision of a service.
- The provision of €311,000 to Foróige in 2013 to provide contractual services for a range of children and young people's participation initiatives that include supporting Comhairle na nÓg, Dáil na nÓg and consultation with children and young people on behalf of my Department and other Government Departments and agencies. Participation services provided by the organisation in 2012 amounted €131,235.
- Grants are also made available to groups and organisations involved in the provision of services to children and young people through the provision of €500,000 from the application based National Lottery Funding Scheme. The provision of lottery funding is essentially once off and details of the organisations that were allocated funds over the period 2011 to 2013 are published on my Department`s website - www.dcya.gov.ie.
300. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Health if there is a proposed package being considered to encourage Health Service Executive staff to retire; if there is a cut-off point for persons to signal their intent to leave the service before August to avail of the existing pension arrangements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1940/14]
View answerThere is currently no package being considered to encourage staff to retire early. The Government has decided that the numbers employed across the public service must be reduced in order to meet its fiscal and budgetary targets. The health sector must make its contribution to that reduction. This policy requires the health service to reduce its workforce to 94,209 wholetime equivalent employees (WTE) by the end of 2014. This employment ceiling is net of some 4,000 staff who moved to the new Child and Family agency from 1st January 2014. The ceiling represents a further reduction of 983 posts in 2014 compared with the end 2013 ceiling for the HSE. However, as the end 2013 ceiling was exceeded by 1,026 the total reduction required in 2014 is 2,009.
The Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2013 provides for a "grace period" from 1 July 2013 to the end of August 2014. This is not an early retirement package. During this period those retiring and who were subject to the pay reductions under the Act will have their superannuation benefits calculated by reference to the salary scales which applied on 30 June 2013 and will have the revised increment position disregarded. It is envisaged that this will act as an incentive in encouraging staff to retire in advance of the deadline.
In 2013 my Department authorised the introduction of a Targeted Voluntary Redundancy Facility in the HSE and in organisations funded by the HSE under Section 38 of the Health Act 2004. The purpose is to achieve a permanent reduction in numbers and to facilitate ongoing health sector reform. Voluntary Redundancy will give many managers greater flexibility in implementing the measures needed to remain within reduced budgets and staff ceilings. It will provide scope to reduce employee numbers in the context of changing health sector structures and health reforms. The Voluntary Redundancy Facility has been made available from 1st January 2014.
The Voluntary Redundancy Facility will be implemented on a rolling basis as appropriate areas and functions are identified. It is important to emphasise that there is no automatic right to voluntary redundancy; staff may be offered Voluntary Redundancy in the context of current and future business needs and service provision priorities. The HSE will operate the employees Targeted Voluntary Redundancy Facility in 2014 and subsequent years as a key element in the reform of the health service. It will enable the HSE and other service providers to maximise the quantum and quality of services provided with the resources available. The period of notice required for persons to signal their intent to retire is dependent on the individual's contract of employment.
301. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the progress to date in the determination of eligibility for a medical card in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1830/14]
View answerThe Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible. The Health Service Executive operates the General Medical Services scheme, which includes medical cards and GP visit cards, under the Health Act 1970, as amended. It has established a dedicated contact service for members of the Oireachtas specifically for queries relating to medical cards and GP visit cards, which the Deputy may wish to use for an earlier response. Contact information has issued to Oireachtas members.
302. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the position regarding a medical card in respect of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1838/14]
View answerThe Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible. The Health Service Executive operates the General Medical Services scheme, which includes medical cards and GP visit cards, under the Health Act 1970, as amended. It has established a dedicated contact service for members of the Oireachtas specifically for queries relating to medical cards and GP visit cards, which the Deputy may wish to use for an earlier response. Contact information has issued to Oireachtas members.
303. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health if home help will be offered to a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1840/14]
View answerAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply.
304. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Health if he will detail, in tabular form, the total photography costs for his Department since coming to office inclusive of costs incurred from use of the ministerial allowance; the list of occasions for which photographers were booked; the photographers used; the breakdown of costs associated with each occasion that a photographer was used; if there is a policy regarding the booking of photographers within his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1853/14]
View answerIt is the policy of my Department to keep costs in relation to the use of photographers to a minimum. The information requested by the Deputy up to June 2013 is displayed below. I will forward to the Deputy details from July 2013 when it is available.
|
Occasion for which photography was booked |
Name of photographer |
Costs |
|
Seminar: Parental Substance Misuse – Addressing its Impact on Children A review of the Literature (2011) |
Mr. Conor Healy |
€800.18 |
|
2nd National Patient Safety Conference (2012) |
Mr. Derek Speirs |
€317.80 |
|
Launch of European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations (2012) |
Tommy Clancy Photography |
No cost to the Department (costs will be paid for by a communications company engaged by the European Commission) |
|
Consultation Day on Rare Disease Plan for Ireland (2012) |
Conor McCabe Photography |
€430.50 |
|
Total Cost |
€1,548.48 |
305. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Health if he will detail, in tabular form, the use of external public relations firms employed by his Department since coming to office; the list of uses of the external public relations firm; his internal Department policy regarding employing external groups; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1868/14]
View answerThe Press and Communications Office of my Department liaise with the media on behalf of the Department as well as all Ministers and do not use the services of a PR company. My Department did not spent any money on public relations or communications consultants from March 2011 - January 2014. It is the policy in my Department only to engage the services of external consultants where it is felt to be appropriate and cost-effective, taking account of Government decisions and policy on the matter. All projects involving the engagement of external consultants are approved by me before any decision can be taken by any division of the Department to go to public tender. Once initiated, the spend profile of each project is monitored by my Department on a monthly basis.
306. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Wexford will receive an appointment for a hip replacement procedure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1875/14]
View answerThe management of inpatient and daycase waiting lists for patients awaiting public health care is based on the principle that after urgent and cancer patients are treated, then clinically assessed routine patients should be seen in chronological order (i.e. longest waiter first). Should the patient's general practitioner consider that the patient's condition warrants an earlier appointment, he/she would be in the best position to take the matter up with the consultant and hospital involved. In relation to the specific query raised by the Deputy, as this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.
307. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the level of financial support available for a person (details supplied) in County Kildare who suffers from Crohn's disease, who no longer has a medical card or general practitioner card, who is not eligible for the long-term illness card as Crohn's disease is not one of the illnesses covered by the long-term illness scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1913/14]
View answerUnder the Drug Payment Scheme, no individual or family pays more than €144 per calendar month towards the cost of approved prescribed medicines. The scheme significantly reduces the cost burden for families and individuals incurring ongoing expenditure on medicines. In addition, people who cannot, without undue hardship, arrange for the provision of medical services for themselves and their dependants may be entitled to a medical card. In the assessment process, the Health Service Executive can take into account medical costs incurred by an individual or a family. Those who are not eligible for a medical card may still be able to avail of a GP visit card, which covers the cost of GP consultations.
308. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health if he will provide in tabular form a list of all professional fees, including but not limited to legal, consultancy, IT-related, advisory, capital, advertising and accountancy; the company name and the amount invoiced between 1 May 2011 and 31 December 2013. [1914/14]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is not immediately available within my Department. The information is being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as possible.
