Martin Heydon
Question:180. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when he expects the TAMS2 scheme to be opened up for applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4765/14]
View answerTAMS Applications
Questions (180)
Written answers
The new EU policy framework setting out the broad principles in relation to rural development for the 2014-2020 period has now been finalised. My Department has prepared a consultation paper in relation to the proposed measures for inclusion in Ireland’s Rural Development Programme and the consultation process with relevant stakeholders is currently underway. Following completion of the consultation process, the draft Programme will be submitted to the EU Commission.
The dates of introduction of any new investment schemes will be dependent on a number of factors, including the requirement to obtain EU Commission approval for the Programme concerned.
Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Payments
Questions (181)
Dara Calleary
Question:181. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the options available to a person (details supplied) in County Mayo who has had their disadvantaged area payments suspended for the past two years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4766/14]
View answerWritten answers
Applications were received from the person named under both the 2012 and 2013 Disadvantaged Areas Schemes, processing of which has only recently been finalised. Payment is due to issue shortly to the nominated bank account of the person named in respect of both years.
Child Care Services Funding
Questions (182)
Jack Wall
Question:182. Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if the community grant afforded to those in community childcare facilities includes training for staff in first aid and other child care courses; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4658/14]
View answerWritten answers
I assume that the Deputy is referring to the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) programme which is implemented by my Department. The CCS programme provides funding to community childcare not-for-profit services to enable them to charge reduced childcare rates to parents in receipt of social welfare payments or on low to middle incomes.
Community childcare services qualify for grant aid on the basis of the level of service they provide and the profile of the parents benefiting from their service. The objective of the funding provided under the programme is to ensure that disadvantaged and low income families can have access to quality childcare support. Parents qualifying for subvention support under the programme can have up to €95 per week deducted from the overall charge. The weekly difference between the subvention support and overall cost of providing the service must be met by the parent.
Services participating in the programme are subject to the Child Care (Pre-School Services) (No 2) Regulations 2006 and must satisfy the requirements of these regulations in relation to first aid and staffing issues. It is a matter for the childcare provider to ensure the staff employed in their service is sufficiently trained and there is no specific provision in the CCS programme to support these or other training requirements.
Departmental Contracts
Questions (183)
Shane Ross
Question:183. Deputy Shane Ross asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the way her departmental contracts for taxi companies for the purposes of taxis for the use of departmental staff are decided and allocated; if there is a public tender process for taxi companies wishing to apply for these contracts; the process for allocating the contracts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4639/14]
View answerWritten answers
My Department has engaged a single taxi company to provide essential transport for official purposes. The DCYA travel and policy guidelines state ‘Every effort should be made to use public transport (bus, rail). Taxis should only be used where there is no suitable public transport available. Public transport, including designated airport buses/trains where conveniently available, should be favoured over taxis’. Where use of a taxi is required for official purposes the DCYA ‘Taxi Request From’ must be completed in full (including ‘Journey Details’) at the time the taxi is ordered. Taxi use must be approved at senior management level. A public procurement of taxi services for DCYA is due for re-issue in mid-2014.
National Educational Welfare Board Staff
Questions (184)
Robert Dowds
Question:184. Deputy Robert Dowds asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of staff, in terms of whole-time equivalents, employed at the National Education Welfare Board as education welfare officers nationally and within the city and county of Dublin; and her views on whether the numbers are adequate. [4700/14]
View answerWritten answers
As the Deputy may be aware the functions and operational responsibilities of the former National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) are now part of the new Child and Family Agency, which was established on 1 January 2014. Since this date the staff of the former NEWB, including its Education Welfare Officers, have transferred to the new Agency. The three service strands formerly under the remit of NEWB – the statutory Educational Welfare Service and the School Support programme services (Home-School Community Liaison Scheme and the School Completion Programme) under the DEIS strategy – collectively form the Educational Welfare Services of the new Agency.
Within the Child and Family Agency, the statutory Education Welfare Service (EWS) has specific responsibility for the Agency’s general function to ensure that each child attends a recognised school or otherwise receives a certain minimum education. The EWS has a current staffing complement of 74 officers delivering front line services, 2 of whom have duties in relation to the assessment of education in places other than recognised schools.
The Agency has advised me that nationally there are 70.86 whole time equivalent Educational Welfare Officers employed in the Educational Welfare Service (12 of whom are Senior Educational Welfare Officers and 3 are Regional Managers), while there are 21.88 whole time equivalent Educational Welfare Officers employed within the Greater Dublin Area (3 of whom are Senior Educational Welfare Officers and 1 is a Regional Manager). Vacancies that arise in staffing front line services for children and young people at risk of early school leaving will be prioritised by the Agency, in consultation with my Department, in so far as possible working within Government policy on public service numbers and the moratorium on recruitment.
I am advised by the Agency that the EWS worked with over 20,000 children in 2012, of which 2,420 were intensive interventions which required sustained support from an Education Welfare Officer and a multidisciplinary approach in order to address the complex barriers to school attendance.
The Child and Family Agency will deliver an integrated approach to educational welfare services through the continued reform of work practices in its three service strands, namely; the Education Welfare Service (EWS); Home School Community Liaison Programme (HSCL – 402 school-based co-ordinators); and School Completion Programme (SCP – €26.456m in funding provided to support 124 school cluster projects and related initiatives). This integrated model of service will provide an enhanced response to the needs of children, families and schools. Education welfare interventions will also be aligned with the overall assessment processes under the National Service Delivery Framework. As part of this process the Agency is also reviewing the basis on which the EWS is configured and a consultation process is underway with staff to reconfigure services based on the needs of children and young people. This strategic national approach is a crucial reform in our efforts to improve school attendance, participation and retention.
The decision by Government to amalgamate the NEWB and its services into the new Child and Family Agency broadens the focus of the Agency and tackles educational welfare as a key outcome for children in its own right and as a positive contributor to other outcomes. It will provide opportunities for more effective working amongst the range of professionals involved in directly supporting children and their families.
Child and Family Agency Staff
Questions (185)
Robert Dowds
Question:185. Deputy Robert Dowds asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if reports in the press by the Children's Rights Alliance earlier in the year that there are no child psychologists employed by the new Child and Family Agency are correct; and her plans to change same. [4701/14]
View answerWritten answers
The Child and Family Agency was formally established on 1 January, 2014. The functions of the Agency as set out in the Child and Family Agency Act, 2013 include responsibility for the provision of services relating to the psychological welfare of children and their families.
Detailed discussions have taken place with the Department of Health and the HSE in order to determine the most effective mechanism for the delivery of psychology services by the Child and Family Agency in accordance with its statutory remit. Lead psychologists, appointed to the Child and Family Agency and the HSE are preparing final proposals for consideration by the Chief Executive of the Child and Family Agency and the Director General, HSE.
Clinical Psychologists are already employed by the Child and Family Agency in the Assessment, Consultation and Therapy Service (ACTS) which operates across special care and high support settings, as well as the children's detention schools. They provide assessment and focused interventions for children and young people with complex clinical needs and high risk behaviours in the context of multi-disciplinary teams. They also provide support to other professionals in order to guide interventions with children and families.
It should be noted that the HSE will continue to have responsibility for a range of other child and adult psychological services including;
- psychological services associated with the provision of specialist mental health services to children,
- adult psychological services other than services which relate to the effective functioning of families and the improvement of relationships between parents and children, including effective parenting,
- psychological services to a child in respect of a disability, or
- psychological assessments in accordance with section 8 of the Disability Act 2005 or with section 4 of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004.
Medical Card Data
Questions (186)
Michael Healy-Rae
Question:186. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the number of medical cards that were removed from persons from February 2011 to February 2012, from February 2012 to February 2013 and from February 2013 to date in 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4656/14]
View answerWritten answers
The information sought by the Deputy is not readily available. However, I have asked the Health Service Executive to supply this information to me and I will forward it to the Deputy as soon as possible.