Written Answers Nos. 24 - 32
26. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if community employment scheme workers are to be considered supernumerary to core child care staff under the new CFA standards; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14204/14]
View answerThe Community Employment (CE) programme is a labour market activation measure designed to help people who are long-term unemployed and other disadvantaged people to get back to work by offering part-time and temporary placements in jobs based within local communities. After placement, participants are encouraged to seek permanent part-time and full-time jobs elsewhere based on the experience and new skills they have gained while in a Community Employment scheme. The CE programme is administered by the Department of Social Protection. CE workers are not currently regarded as supernumerary staff and the introduction of the Standards will not change this.
New qualification requirements, being introduced under the Pre-School Quality Agenda, will mean that all staff employed to work directly with children in pre-school settings must hold as a minimum a FETAC Level 5 qualification. This new requirement will apply to new services from September this year and for existing services from September 2015. The child/adult ratios currently set out in the Explanatory Guide to the Child Care (Pre-School Services ) (No 2) Regulations 2006 can only be met by those who hold the required qualifications. Following the introduction of these changes CE workers on placement will not be in position to meet this requirement. My Department is aware of the difficulties that these changes will present to community childcare facilities and will later this year be considering how best to address this issue.
27. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if it is her intention to ensure that the principle and provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is fully reflected in all Ireland’s laws, policies and practice; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14202/14]
View answerIreland ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1992. The Convention includes provision for State parties to submit to the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child reports on the measures they have adopted which give effect to the rights recognised in the Convention.
The State's consolidated 3rd and 4th Report to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, was submitted to that Committee on 2 August 2013. The report outlines the most significant developments for children and how Ireland has been implementing the main aims of the UN Convention during the period 2006 to 2011 inclusive. While, for Constitutional reasons, successive Governments have not formally incorporated the Convention into Irish law the report sets out the progress made in implementing legislation and policies that are rooted in the principles and goals of the Convention. A copy of the report submitted can be accessed under the "publications" link on my Department's website, www.dcya.gov.ie.
It is clear from my reply earlier in the week to the Deputy relating to the Children's Referendum that the core principles of the U.N. Convention are being reflected in current initiatives by Government.
28. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will extend the terms of reference of the children's ombudsman's inquiry into the circumstances of the two Roma children being taken from their parents last year, to include the broader issue of racial profiling within An Garda Síochána in view of the allegations that Traveller children were being routinely assigned criminal intelligence PULSE numbers, and the very serious impact that this will have on those children in later life. [14001/14]
View answerI can inform the Deputy that I have no plans to extend the terms of the inquiry by the Ombudsman for Children into the circumstances of the two Roma children being taken from their parents in 2013, for the reasons described in the question. I have previously informed the House that the Ombudsman for Children Ms Emily Logan has initiated an investigation of the actions of the HSE in relation to these cases under provisions of the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002. The Minister for Justice and Equality appointed Emily Logan in a personal capacity to undertake the inquiry into the taking into care of two children from two Roma families. In accordance with Section 42 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended by the Criminal Justice Act 2007) the report will be submitted to the Minister for Justice. The Ombudsman for Children is an independent officer of the State and reporting is a matter for the Ombudsman for Children. I look forward to the conclusion of the process and to the independent findings of the Ombudsman for Children, once she reports on her investigations.
29. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will extend the early childhood care and education programme to two years free preschool in circumstances where local schools change their admission criteria resulting in a child who had a reasonable expectation of starting their primary education being denied that opportunity. [14003/14]
View answerThe Early Childhood Care and Education programme was introduced in January 2010 and provides a free pre-school year to all eligible children before commencing primary school. Approximately 66,000 children are expected to avail of the provision in the current academic year. The objective of the ECCE programme is to ensure that each child is in a position to avail of one free pre-school year prior to commencing primary school. Despite the challenging budgetary situation, I have succeeded in maintaining the pre-school year as a universal and free programme, ensuring that a significant number of children can avail of quality pre-school services who would not otherwise be in a position to do so.
There are no circumstances where a second free pre-school year can be provided for under the ECCE programme. I would advise the Deputy that the Educational Welfare Service of the Child and Family Agency (EWS) is the statutory agency which can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child. The EWS may be able to offer assistance and advice on securing a school placement within the pupil's area. Contact details for the EWS are Educational Welfare Service, Child and Family Agency, 16-22 Green Street, Dublin 7 or by phone 01-8738623.
30. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which her Department has been in a position to strategically examine and assess any specific deficiencies in respect of child care, youth support and-or development services with particular reference to identification of any problems arising at the earliest possible stage; if she is in a position to put in place adequate supports to assist children or teenagers who might be vulnerable; the extent to which she and her Department continue to liaise with specific groups in this regard; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14010/14]
View answerThe recent establishment of the Child and Family Agency represents a central pillar of our strategy to support children, young people and their families. It delivers on a key Programme for Government commitment and represents one of the largest and most important public sector reforms undertaken by this Government, bringing together some 4,000 staff and a budget of some €609 million to provide a dedicated focus on services for children & families. The formation of the Agency brought together key services relevant to children and families including child protection and welfare services, and services previously provided by the Family Support Agency and the National Educational Welfare Board.
My Department supports a range of education welfare services which are delivered through the Child and Family Agency to support children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage and early school leaving. The Agency has a statutory remit to support children and young people to participate in and benefit from the education system.
My Department administers a range of funding schemes and programmes to support the provision of youth services to young people throughout the country. Targeted supports for disadvantaged, marginalised and at risk young people are provided through the Special Projects for Youth Scheme, the Young Peoples Facilities and Services Fund, Rounds 1 and 2, Local Drugs Task Force Projects and certain other programmes including the Local Youth Club Grant Scheme and Youth Information Centres. The funding schemes support national and local youth work provision to some 400,000 young people and involve approximately 1,400 youth work staff in 477 projects and 40,000 volunteers working in youth work services and communities throughout the country. In 2014, funding of €50.530m including €750,000 capital funding is being provided by my Department for these schemes.
My Department is undertaking a comprehensive Value for Money Review of youth funding schemes that support services to disadvantaged or at-risk young people. The findings of this review will shape the future direction of youth funding provided by my Department and will aim to ensure quality effective value-for-money services that secure best outcomes for young people.
My Department is also developing a new youth strategy. The new youth strategy will take into account the changes in the demographic situation and in the profiles of young people and the evidence about what works best in the provision of youth services to meet young people's needs. It will, inter alia, promote co-ordination between government departments and youth sector organisations with a view to maximising the effectiveness of the State funding available to support services for young people in future years.
The Area Based Childhood (ABC) Programme 2013-2016 is being implemented by my Department, in partnership with Atlantic Philanthropies who are co-funding the programme's total allocation of €29.7m. The programme will deliver the Programme for Government commitment to adopt an area-based approach to child poverty, drawing on best international practice and existing services to break the cycle of child poverty where it is most deeply entrenched and improve the outcomes for children and young people. A total number of 13 areas have been approved to participate in the ABC programme.
Following on from consultations with 211 children and young people living in the care of the State in a number of locations around the country, I launched Listen to Our Voices: A Report of Consultations with Children Living in the Care of the State (2011). I invited children and young people who had taken part in the consultations to sit on a Voice of Children in Care Implementation Group and 18 children and young people became involved in the Group. They have met with my Department on a regular basis since May 2012 and last year the Group renamed itself TACTIC - Teenagers and Children Talking in Care.
The Irish Youth Justice Service (IYJS) based in my Department since January 2012, is responsible for leading and driving reform in the youth justice area by focusing on diversion and rehabilitation, including greater use of community-based interventions, promotion of initiatives to deal with young people who offend, providing a safe and secure environment for detained young people and supporting their early re-integration into the community.
31. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the additional steps she will take to address the availability and affordability of regulated child care services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14017/14]
View answerI am very much aware of the relatively high cost of childcare in this country. Significant investment, totalling more than €260m, is being provided this year by my Department to provide for a number of childcare programmes that assist parents with the cost of childcare. These programmes include the Free Pre-School Year, from which approximately 68,000 children benefit annually. The financial benefit to the parent of a child participating in the free pre-school year is about €2,500.
The Community Childcare Subvention programme, which provides targeted benefit primarily to lower income and disadvantaged families, is also accessible to parents who have relatively average incomes on the basis of their entitlement to hold a GP visit card. About 25,000 children each year benefit from this programme. Parents who qualify for the highest rate of support can have the weekly charge reduced by up to €95 for each child.
Funding is also provided by my Department to support the Childhood Education and Training Support programme which targets funding to support parents seeking to return to the workforce who are participating in Solas or Education and Training Boards education and training programmes. About 2,500 childcare places are provided each year under this initiative. Parents qualifying under this programme can have the overall charge reduced by as much as €145 per week for each child. A further 1,800 part-time childcare places are available under the CETS programme to Community Employment scheme participants. In addition, 600 places are available under the School Age Childcare programme, which targets social welfare recipients availing of employment opportunities.
I have succeeded, despite the challenging budgetary situation, in maintaining these childcare programmes, ensuring that a significant number of children can avail of quality childcare services who would not otherwise be in a position to do so. 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.
32. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the action that has been taken to speed up advancement in the bilateral agreements on adoption from Russia and Ethiopia while there are over 537 declarations of eligibility of adoption in existence, but only 11 post-Hague adoptions completed since 2010 and while over 700,000 children remain in state care in the Russian Federation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13996/14]
View answerEfforts are ongoing in my Department in relation to a bilateral agreement on intercountry adoption between Ireland and the Russian Federation. Following my invitation to the Russian Ministry of Education and Science in August 2013, a delegation of Russian officials travelled to Ireland in October 2013 for discussions on a bilateral agreement on intercountry adoption between Ireland and the Russian Federation. The meeting of the 22nd October 2013 was very positive and detailed discussions took place between the Russian officials and officials from my Department, the Adoption Authority of Ireland, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the HSE.
At the meeting significant progress was made and my Department, in early November 2013, forwarded to the Russian side further detailed proposals based on the discussions which took place. Following this my Department prepared revised draft wording on a number of specific points which were recently forwarded to the Russian Authorities. In transmitting these revisions to the Russian authorities it was suggested that should these revisions be acceptable to the Russian Federation, it would be useful for both sides to meet again for further discussions.
The Adoption Authority delegation visit to Ethiopia in April of 2012 was an initial part of the Authority's deliberations on the feasibility and suitability of entering into discussions with Ethiopia on a bilateral adoption agreement. The Authority has also sought and received advice on the legal compatibility of Irish adoption law with that of Ethiopia. The AAI legal advisors have considered this advice and certain clarifications are being sought. The Authority is also trying to establish the position of the Ministry of Women's Affairs in Ethiopia with regard to the desire of the Ethiopian authorities to enter into talks in relation to a bilateral agreement with Ireland. The Authority will advise me of the position when all the information is available. It is not possible to provide a timeframe for when the Authority's deliberations will be finished.
The Adoption Authority is currently engaging with a number of Hague countries, such as China, India, the USA, Bulgaria, Thailand and the Philippines and is currently seeking to expand the number of Hague countries with which it engages.
