Written Answers Nos. 184-190
184. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the reason the age limit cut-off for the early childhood care and education scheme forces children born after 1 July to wait another year; her plans to amend the eligible age range so that children born in July and August can access same (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7108/14]
View answerThe Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme provides a free pre-school year to all eligible children in the year before commencing primary school. Approximately 68,000 children availed of the ECCE programme in the 2012/13 school year.
Children qualify for the free pre-school provision when they are within the qualifying age range which is 3 years and 3 months to 4 years and 7 months in the September of the relevant year. Children born between 2 February 2010 and 30 June 2011 will qualify for the free pre-school provision in September 2014. Children born between 1st July and 31st August 2011 will qualify in the school year commencing in September 2015. There is no provision under the programme to enrol children who are below the qualifying age.
The objective of the ECCE programme is to make early learning in a formal setting available to eligible children in the year before they commence primary school. To achieve this, services participating in the pre-school year are expected to provide age-appropriate activities and programmes to children within a particular age cohort. For this reason, it is appropriate to set minimum and maximum limits to the age range within which children will qualify. I am satisfied that the qualifying age range for entry to the programme provides the optimum opportunity for children to participate in pre-school education and there are no plans to amend the age range at this time.
When evaluating the most appropriate age range for eligibility for the pre-school programme, consideration must be given to the significant body of evidence provided by international research, which points to the fact that children who start school at a younger age perform at a lower level than children whose entry into the education system is at a later age. The enrolment patterns must also be considered and these show that most parents choose to enrol their children in primary school when they are aged between 4 years 6 months and 5 years 6 months.
Situations will arise where children qualifying for the free pre-school provision are also eligible to commence primary school, and in such situations it is a matter for parents to decide on which option they wish to avail of.
185. Deputy Anne Ferris asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her response to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child report on the Vatican's child protection procedures; her views on the level of co-operation between church authorities here and the relevant civil agencies under the new child protection reforms; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7152/14]
View answerI have noted the concerns raised by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in its concluding observations on the second periodic report of the Holy See. Reports such as these remind us once again of the scale of historical abuse and of past failures to protect children.
As regards the issue of cooperation between the Irish church authorities and the relevant civil agencies I would like to acknowledge the ongoing work being done by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church of Ireland (NBSCCCI) in ensuring that appropriate safeguarding and reporting measures are in place and operating properly across the Catholic Church.
On 10 December, 2013, the NBSCCI published its fourth tranche of reviews into safeguarding practices at both diocesan and Religious Congregation level. The publication of these review reports brings the Board closer to completing a national picture of how Catholic dioceses and Religious Congregations are currently engaging with the issue of child protection, and the regimes in place in order to ensure that proper safeguarding arrangements are being applied and complied with. I am pleased to note that the reviews highlighted generally high levels of compliance by dioceses and orders currently with respect to best practice in child protection. However, it is imperative that the standards are fully implemented across the Church and that compliance continues to be validated by the Safeguarding Board.
I would also like to acknowledge the strong and positive working relationship between the NBSCCCI and the new Child and Family Agency including with respect to ensuring ongoing compliance with the Children First Guidance on child protection. Officials from the Child and Family Agency will continue to liaise on an ongoing basis with the NSBCCCI in this regard.
186. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she is proposing any large-scale capital grants for child care, especially for the community sector. [7166/14]
View answerConsiderable capital funding was made available to community and commercial mainstream childcare providers for the development and refurbishment of childcare facilities under the National Childcare Investment Programme (NCIP) 2006-2010, and previously under the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme (EOCP). Because of the economic situation, a review of capital expenditure was undertaken in 2009 and following this a decision was taken not to approve any further capital grant applications under the NCIP programme.
I did secure capital funding totalling €6m in Budget 2012 to provide for the refurbishment of services in which substantial Government capital and support funding had already been invested. I was also successful in securing €2.75m in capital funding in Budget 2013 to support the ongoing improvement of established childcare services participating in one or more of the childcare support programmes implemented by my Department.
While I hope to be in a position to provide further capital funding to childcare providers, I do not expect to be in a position to provide capital grants which for large scale developments.
188. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the role that will be played by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, in helping to deliver on the Youth Justice Action Plan 2014-2018 to tackle and prevent youth crime; if she envisages a preventative role for Tusla in the proposed national anti-crime strategy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7172/14]
View answerOn 3 February 2014, in conjunction with my colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality, I launched the Youth Justice Action Plan 2014-2018. The overall mission statement of the Action Plan is to create a safer society by working in partnership to reduce youth offending through appropriate interventions and linkages to services. It is focused on continuing the downward trends in high volume crime and reduce the necessity for detention. The Youth Justice Action Plan 2014-2018 will form part of the Children and Young People’s Policy Framework (CYPPF) currently being developed in my Department, with its focus on better outcomes for children and families. The Action Plan will also form part of the National Anti-Crime Strategy currently being developed by the Department of Justice and Equality as part of the White Paper on Crime process, with its focus on crime reduction and safer communities.
The implementation of the Youth Justice Service Action Plan 2014-2018 will be driven by a steering group, chaired by the Director of the Irish Youth Justice Service, and comprising senior representatives from my Department, the Probation Service, the Courts Service, an Garda Síochána, Tusla - the Child and Family Agency and the Department of Justice and Equality. Tusla is one of the agencies consulted in the drawing up of the Youth Justice Service Action Plan 2014-2018 and is also on the steering group which will monitor the Youth Justice Action Plan 2014-2018.
It is important to note that Tusla will be one of a number of stakeholder agencies / Departments involved in the delivery of the Action Plan, which contains a major emphasis on interagency working based on agreed objectives. In particular, Tusla will work alongside other relevant agencies toward the following objectives in the Action Plan.
- Enhanced collaboration between partners through effective information-sharing and to promote best practice (Objective 1.1)
- Ensuring that Government investment in the youth justice system yields positive results (Objective 1.2)
- To improve and increase the availability of reliable and relevant research on youth crime and the youth justice system, via improved sharing of data and statistics between criminal justice agencies, partners and stakeholders (Objective 2.2)
- Exploring active means by which the views of young people can inform policy and improve performance of the youth justice system (Objective 2.4)
- Engaging with other youth service providers to promote the use of crime prevention supports and a standardised working ethos in delivery of youth services (Objective 3.2)
- Embedding pro-social development strategies towards preventing any young person from becoming involved in offending behaviour. In this respect the stakeholders will work to address the needs of those involved and/or at serious risk of involvement in crime. Relevant stakeholder agencies will also ensure that young people identified at risk of offending receive appropriate and adequate care (Objective 3.3)
- Provision of specialist therapeutic services to young people in the detention schools and the review of protocols for care of young people in detention (Objective 5.1)
- Inputting as necessary into a review of the appropriate governance structure for the integration of the detention schools (Objective 5.2).
By its input into the Youth Justice Action Plan, Tusla will also be directly impacting on all relevant goals of the proposed National Anti - Crime Strategy. I welcome the positive role that Tusla has committed to providing in the implementation of the Youth Justice Action Plan and by extension, the National Anti Crime Strategy.
189. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which her Department is in a position to monitor children at risk; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7173/14]
View answer190. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of reports received by her Department in respect of children and-or teenagers at risk in the past 12 months; the extent to which it has been found possible to offer assistance and follow-up support; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7174/14]
View answer195. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the position regarding the setting up of the Child and Family Agency; the degree to which it is expected to be in a position to engage with families or children at risk; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7179/14]
View answer196. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which children and teenagers deemed to be at risk for whatever reason continue to be brought to the attention of her Department; the extent to which the primary cause or causes contributing to their situations continue to be assessed; if such issues of social deprivation, health, depression or other reasons such as intimidation or bullying have been identified; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7180/14]
View answer198. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which she is satisfied regarding the ability of the relevant bodies to respond to calls in respect of children and young adults at risk; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7182/14]
View answer200. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which her Department remains in contact with child support services in the Health Service Executive with a view to determination of the best practice to be pursued in cases of children at risk that have been brought to the attention of the HSE and-or her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7184/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 189, 190, 195, 196, 198 and 200 together.
The Child and Family Agency was established on 1st January, 2014. Responsibility for promoting the welfare and protection of children at risk is a key function of the Agency. The context within which our child welfare and protection services operate today is very challenging. The number of child welfare and protection referrals to social work departments increased by nearly one third to over 40,000 in 2012.
It is my intention that the Child and Family Agency will bring a renewed focus on delivering safe and effective services for children and families who need a wide continuum of supports and interventions. The Agency will address the persistent issues which have been raised regarding the standardisation of services, communication, coordination and sharing of risk assessment, management and treatment for many children and families with the most complex needs. The Agency is tasked with developing a role in supporting families more universally by providing less complex, less intrusive, less expensive responses which have a preventive function.
The principles underlying this responsibility are outlined in the prevention, early intervention, family support and therapeutic and care interventions which are key to the provision of integrated multi-disciplinary services for children and families in need. A key policy objective for the Agency is to ensure that the fundamental principles of co-operation and co-ordination in the development and delivery of services are in place.
My Department has a range of systems in place to ensure it is informed of risk to children and the measures put in place to minimise these risks. Monthly, quarterly and annual reports are received from the Child and Family Agency in respect of all its functions, including detailed reporting of key performance indicators. Officials have a range of meetings with the Agency to review areas in need of improvement. There are protocols in place for the Agency to inform the Minister and the Department of specific issues where risk is identified and to enable a robust management response to be put in place.
Inspection reports are also received on an ongoing basis and meetings with HIQA managers and inspectors will be held on a regular basis to review key inspection findings in relation to children in detention schools, children in care in residential care including special care, foster care and children in receipt of child welfare and protection services in the community. Reports from the Ombudsman for Children and the National Review Panel where risk to children is noted are reviewed by Department officials to identify issues that require input and progress in the area of policy or of operational issues.
I am satisfied that in establishing the new Child and Family Agency we now have in place the necessary structure to ensure the provision of a more responsive and integrated service to children and young people at risk.
