Written Answers Nos. 197-201
199. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which her Department continues to engage with juvenile offenders with a view to providing rehabilitative or educational supports; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7183/14]
View answerI refer the Deputy to my response to Parliamentary Question No. 411 of 12 November 2013 for background information on the extent of my Department's engagement with the issue of juvenile offending and youth justice issues in general.
In addition, I wish to advise that on 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, the Child and Family Agency and the Department of Justice and Equality.
201. Deputy Joanna Tuffy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will consider, in consultation with the Department of Social Protection, the implementation of any of the tax relief or tax credit options suggested in the Right from the Start report for reducing the costs of child care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7190/14]
View answerTax incentives for working parents who incur childcare costs were previously proposed, and the issue of tax allowances or credits was considered, prior to the introduction of the targeted childcare supports which are now in place to support parents with the cost of childcare. A number of issues emerged at that time which did not favour the introduction of childcare tax relief.
Tax relief or tax credits would not, for example, support parents working in the home and could therefore, as opposed to the targeted approach, be seen by some as discriminatory. Also these reliefs would favour the better paid and those on the minimum wage or in part time work or student parents would not be in a position to benefit to the same extent as higher income families. Many parents use childminders or relatives to meet their childcare needs and might not be in a position to obtain receipts making it impossible for them to establish their entitlement to such benefit.
I am very much aware of the relatively high cost of childcare in this country and of the difficulties that this presents, particularly where both parents are in employment outside of the home. To help address the issue, funding of €260 million is provided annually by my Department to support a number of targeted childcare support programmes that assist parents in accessing quality and affordable childcare.
For example, the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) programme provides funding to community-based childcare services to enable them to provide childcare at reduced rates to parents in receipt of social welfare payments or parents in employment who are on low or relatively modest incomes. My Department also implements the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme which provides one free pre-school year to all eligible children before they commence primary school.
I am happy to advise the Deputy that a review of the childcare support programmes will be undertaken by my Department in the coming year with a view to identifying areas where they could be enhanced and improved to ensure the best use of the investment which is currently being made in this area. All proposals relating to childcare supports will be considered as part of this review.
The recommendations by the Expert Advisory Group on the Early Years Strategy, detailed in the report to which the Deputy refers, will also be considered prior to finalising the Strategy later this year.
