Written Answers Nos. 206-216
206. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding the early childhood sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5188/15]
View answerI am aware of the relatively high cost of childcare in this country and to help address the issue my Department supports a number of childcare programmes that assist parents in accessing quality and affordable childcare. These programmes are, of course, in addition to the support provided to all parents in the form of the Children's Allowance, which is a key Government support to help families with ongoing costs.
The support programmes implemented by my Department include the free pre-school year provided under the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme, the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) which provides support to low income and disadvantaged families, the Childcare Education and Training Programme (CETS) providing support to Solas and Education Training Board students and trainees, the Community Employment Childcare that supports Community Employment workers and the Afterschool Childcare Programme (ASCC) which provide childcare supports to eligible parents returning to work.
The above programmes represents an annual investment of approximately €260 million and provides support each year to more that 100,000 children. Despite the difficult budgetary situation in recent years this funding has been maintained. My Department will continue to fund the childcare support programmes, with an emphasis on improving the quality of the services provided, and as funding becomes available I would hope that the capitation rates for all programmes could be increased to provide further support.
To ensure that all the benefits of childcare investments are fully realised, future public investment in childcare must be evidence-based and strategically co-ordinated. I am establishing a cross-Departmental group to look at the provision right across the 0 to 6 age group as well as to consider the after-school needs of older school-going children. It is crucial that we develop a coherent whole-of-Government approach to investment in childcare services. This new group will include representatives of the Departments of Education and Skills, Social Protection, Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Public Expenditure and Reform, Finance and the Department of the Taoiseach and will be led and supported by my Department.
207. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if a club (details supplied) in Dublin 17 will be eligible for national lottery funding through his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5198/15]
View answerMy Department will not be administering a National Lottery scheme in 2015. In framing the Department's Estimate for 2015, regard had to taken of the many competing demands facing the sector and the overall budgetary envelope available. A number of other Departments are in receipt of National Lottery funding in 2015, including the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. The specific club mentioned by the Deputy may wish to make inquiries as to whether that Department is running any appropriate schemes this year.
208. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if he will provide the details of the more than €180 million spent on youth services, of which there is a lack of evidence to show that it aided better outcomes for disadvantaged young persons; the action that will be taken to ensure that better quality data will be recorded; the further action that will be taken to ensure that any programme is based on evidence and best practice; if his Department will initiate a compliance structure with clear and measurable outcomes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5207/15]
View answerMy Department is responsible for the administration of funding for the provision of youth services. The funding schemes support the delivery of a range of universal and targeted youth work programmes and services for young people throughout the country, including those from disadvantaged communities. Three of these targeted funding schemes, the Special Projects for Youth scheme, the Young People's Facilities and Services Fund, and the Local Drug Task Force projects scheme, were the subject of a recently completed Value for Money and Policy Review. The review covered the period 2010 to 2012. In 2012, expenditure on the schemes amounted to €39.7m.
The review involved an in-depth scrutiny of a complex area to do with the impact youth service provision has in young people’s lives. Overall, the review found that the youth programmes can provide a significant contribution to improving outcomes for young people, and should be considered for ongoing public funding.
The review encountered problems with the availability of accessible data and administrative information deriving from the complexity of the historical development of the schemes and the governance arrangements under which they had been operated. It noted that it was not possible to secure robust evidence of improvement in young people’s lives, especially as these changes are subtle and can be hard to measure and-or to attribute to one intervention.
The review makes a number of recommendations for the future operation of the youth schemes and their development in the years ahead. It recommends that the three existing schemes be replaced with a single, targeted, evidence-based and outcomes-focused scheme designed to secure the optimal outcomes for young people and their communities.
The findings and recommendations of the review are being discussed by stakeholders in the consultations, which are under way at present, on the new proposed new National Youth Strategy. I intend that the reforms recommended in the review will be progressed in the context of the new Strategy. This work has been prioritised by my Department together with the development of the data management systems that will support good performance oversight of the youth programmes and provide assurance about efficiency and effectiveness in the provision of services for young people. A project team, comprising youth service providers, funding administrators and other youth experts is being established in my Department to oversee the development and introduction of the new scheme over 2015 and 2016.
209. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of children who are waiting in the constituency of County Louth to be allocated a social worker; the number of these that are high priority and emergency; the length of time they have been on a waiting list; the number of social workers employed; the number of vacancies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5260/15]
View answerAs of November 2014 a total of 778 children in Louth-Meath were waiting to be allocated a social worker and 464 of these cases were deemed to be high priority. I am assured by Tusla that emergency cases continue to be dealt with immediately, for instance, that a child who has been abandoned or is in immediate physical danger or at immediate risk of sexual abuse, and that high priority cases are kept under review.
The most recent information from Tusla indicates that in late 2014 there were 85.25 social work Whole Time Equivalents in Louth-Meath, with 15 vacancies being filled.
The Agency is taking a number of initiatives to address staff shortfalls:
- Continuing recruitment, with 164 social workers recruited since the Agency was established, and a further 219 posts currently at various stages of recruitment;
- The introduction of a pilot Maternity Leave Scheme whereby temporary staff can be offered a 12 month contract to cover maternity leave;
- In recognition of the challenging nature of this work, new entrants and graduates have a reduced workload for their first year, with opportunities for regular supervision with experienced practitioners;
- The roll out of a caseload management system to ensure caseloads are manageable and prioritised appropriately.
I have set out in tabular format data relating to unallocated cases for Louth-Meath. I am advised by the Agency that separate data for County Louth is not available.
Table 1: Breakdown of Unallocated cases by Priority Louth-Meath, November 2014
|
Open Cases by Priority |
Unallocated |
|
High |
464 |
|
Medium |
220 |
|
Low |
94 |
|
TOTAL |
778 |
Table 2: Breakdown of Unallocated cases by length of time of Priority Louth-Meath, November 2014
|
Open Cases Unallocated at the end of the Month |
High Priority |
Medium Priority |
Low Priority |
Total |
|
<1 week |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
1-2 weeks |
16 |
8 |
3 |
27 |
|
2-3 weeks |
20 |
0 |
0 |
20 |
|
3-4 weeks |
32 |
6 |
2 |
40 |
|
1-2 months |
51 |
20 |
2 |
73 |
|
2-3 months |
51 |
0 |
0 |
51 |
|
>3 months |
294 |
186 |
87 |
567 |
|
TOTAL |
464 |
220 |
94 |
778 |
210. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs his plans in 2015 to deal with the child care crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5306/15]
View answerThere are more than 4,300 preschool childcare service throughout the country providing a range of childcare services to children in the 0 to 6 age group. I am aware that some parents have problems in accessing affordable childcare services and my Department is supporting the implementation of a range of childcare programmes to help support these parents.
The support programmes implemented by my Department include the free pre-school year provided under the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme, the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) programme which provides support to low income and disadvantaged families, the Childcare Education and Training (CETS) programme providing support to Solas and Education Training Board students and trainees, the Community Employment Childcare (CEC) programme that supports Community Employment workers and the Afterschool Childcare (ASCC) programme which provide childcare supports to eligible parents returning to work.
The above programmes represent an annual investment of approximately €260 million and provide support each year to more that 100,000 children. Despite the difficult budgetary situation in recent years this funding has been maintained. My Department will continue to fund the childcare support programmes, with an emphasis on improving the quality of the services provided, and as funding becomes available I would hope that the capitation rates for all programmes could be increased to provide further support.
To ensure that all the benefits of childcare investments are fully realised, future public investment in childcare must be evidence-based and strategically co-ordinated. I am establishing a cross-departmental group to look at the provision right across the 0 to 6 age group as well as to consider the after-school needs of older school-going children. It is crucial that we develop a coherent whole-of-Government approach to investment in childcare services. This new group will include representatives of the Departments of Education and Skills, Social Protection, Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Public Expenditure and Reform, Finance and the Department of the Taoiseach and will be led and supported by my Department.
211. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of staff from his Department or agency under his remit working out of a Government building at a location (details supplied) in County Laois; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5585/15]
View answerThere are no staff from my Department or agencies under the aegis of my Department working out of the Government building at the location in County Laois which was specified by the Deputy.
212. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the nature of the relationship between his Department and An Bord Altranais; if he has an oversight role in regard to the financial spending of the board; his views on the need to raise the registration fee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5222/15]
View answerThe Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (previously known as An Bord Altranais) is governed by the Nurses and Midwives Act 2011 and is a legal entity in its own right. Its accountability lies in the main to the Minister for Health. Having regard to the relevant sections of the Act, there is a certain amount of accountability to the Houses of the Oireachtas but in the most part the Minister for Health has the greater role in this regard.
The Minister for Health can require the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (the NMBI) to provide him with information in relation to the performance of its functions. He can give general policy directions in writing to the NMBI in relation to the performance of the NMBI's functions and it shall comply with such directions. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) under the direction of the NMBI shall keep on a continuous basis proper books of accounts of all income and expenditure of the NMBI and of the sources of such income and the subject matter of such expenditure, and of the property, assets and liabilities of the NMBI. The CEO shall keep, and account to the Board for, all such special accounts as the Minister or the Board, with the consent of the Minister, may from time to time direct should be kept. The NMBI has recently published Annual Reports for 2012 and 2013, including the accounts that have been signed off by the Comptroller and Auditor General.
The NMBI has a statutory responsibility to ensure that it discharges its legal obligations within the financial resources available while also maximising efficiencies and income generation, in keeping with best practice in financial governance.
I, with the Chief Nursing Officer, met with the President, Vice-President and Chief Executive of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland on 29th January 2015 to discuss the current dispute over the increased registration fee. I again requested that the NMBI re-engage in discussions with the staff associations, as a matter of urgency. I expressed my concern regarding the potential implications for the health service and patient safety should the current impasse over the annual retention fee increase continue. I appreciate the registration fee is set by the NMBI which is a self-funding organisation. It is facing considerable costs arising from changes to the way the laws regulating the professions operate, and also from handling fitness to practice complaints.
I encouraged the NMBI to find an outcome which secures the Board’s minimum financial operating requirements but avoids a potential scenario where nurses and midwives may be removed from the Register for non-payment of fees with potential consequences for service availability. Taking nurses off the register in a few months time would create huge problems for hospitals and community facilities which need nurses to function, and for nurses themselves who would not be able to work or get paid if they were not registered. Since that meeting the Board has agreed to engage in discussions with the staff associations, facilitated by a third party, on the means by which the board and staff associations might come to an agreement on the fee structure for the future.
I will continue to monitor the situation closely in the interests of patient safety and continuity of care.
213. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health if he will support a family (details supplied) in Dublin 1; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5238/15]
View answerAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive (HSE) for direct reply to the Deputy. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
214. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding provision of an emergency ambulance service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5240/15]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.
215. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health the reason there are no long-term residential home facilities for mental health patients who are homeless; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5241/15]
View answerAs this is a service issue this question has been referred to the HSE for direct reply. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
216. Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Health when an assessment of needs will be carried out in respect of a child (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5242/15]
View answerAs the particular issue raised by the Deputy relates to an individual case, this is a service matter for the Health Service Executive. Accordingly, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the HSE for direct reply to the Deputy. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
