Written Answers Nos 93-97
93. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which the 2016 budget is likely to positively impact on the welfare and well-being of children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36764/15]
View answerI am pleased to be able to inform the Deputy that I have been able to secure a gross funding allocation of €1.138bn under Budget 2016 for the provision of services under my Department’s Vote. This includes a provision of €1.113 billion in current expenditure and €25 million in capital expenditure. The net funding allocation for the Vote amounts to €1.112 billion when Appropriations-in-Aid receipts of €25.450 million in current funding are taken into account. This level of funding represents an increase of 11% on the 2015 Revised Estimate.
The resource allocation includes financial provisions for a range of key services in respect of children and young people including:
- an additional €85 million towards a suite of measures, which will improve the affordability, accessibility and quality of childcare. In particular, the budgetary decisions will provide for:
- An extension to the free pre-school year, which will now allow children to avail of the free pre-school provision from age three until they make the transition to primary school; thereby increasing current provision (i.e. 38 weeks) by up to a further 50 weeks;
- A suite of supports, which will ensure children with a disability can meaningfully participate in, and fully reap the benefits of, pre-school education;
- An extension of the Community Childcare Subvention Programme by up to 8,000 places and, for the first time, making this Programme available through private childcare providers throughout the country;
- A resource which will allow important work to commence on consolidating existing targeted childcare support programmes, including the Community Childcare Subvention Programme, into a new simplified targeted childcare support programme that will be available through community and private childcare providers from 2017.
- A range of measures to improve the quality of early years and school-aged childcare, including an audit of quality, a programme of continuing professional development and training for childcare providers and enhanced inspection; and
- A range of measures to improve the provision of after-school childcare, including a once-off capital fund to develop after-school services using existing school (and other community) facilities in conjunction with both community/not-for-profit and private childcare providers.
- An allocation of €676 million for Tusla, The Child and Family Agency representing an increase of €33 million or 5% over the 2015 allocation of €643 million. This includes €662m in current expenditure and €14m in capital expenditure. The additional resources are intended to alleviate service pressures in child welfare and protection services, in particular pressures being faced in the areas of unallocated cases, private residential and foster care and Domestic Sexual and Gender Based Violence Strategy. The increased capital provision will allow for a range of projects to be initiated and progressed including the development of new and improved special care facilities at Portrane and Ballydowd.
- €54 million (an increase of €3.350m) to support the provision of youth services throughout the country including services for young people at risk of disadvantage. This will benefit 380,000 young people involving 30 national youth organisations and other local services supported by 40,000 volunteers and communities throughout the country.
- €4.604 million (an increase of €2.104m) towards the Intervention Programme for Children and Young People which supports a number of specific measures to support children and disadvantaged young people through the Dormant Accounts Fund.
- €3.283 million (an increase of €1.383m) to support the implementation of Phase 2 of Growing Up in Ireland - the National Longitudinal Study of Children.
- An additional €1.613 million for the Children Detention Schools to support operational costs of the National Children Detention Facility at Oberstown as well as the introduction of a new initiative in the area of Bail Support that is intended to reduce the demand for detention beds. [The capital allocation for the Oberstown Complex is reducing by €12.674m in 2016 reflecting the completion of the project].
- Increased resources of €443,000 for the Adoption Authority of Ireland and €205,000 for the Office of the Ombudsman for Children to support their statutory requirements.
94. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which he remains satisfied regarding the adequacy of places of detention for juvenile offenders; rehabilitative training is available in such circumstances; if augmentation is required; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36765/15]
View answerThe 3 children detention schools, all located at Oberstown, Lusk, Co. Dublin, currently provide a total of 54 detention places for children ordered to be remanded or committed by the courts, with 48 places for boys and 6 places for girls. The detention schools cater for boys up to the age of 17 years who are serving a sentence, boys up to the age of 18 years who are remanded in custody and all girls up to the age of 18 years.
In line with the Programme for Government commitment to end the detention of children in the adult prison facilities, boys aged 17 newly remanded in custody are being accommodated in the children detention schools since 30 March 2015, where places are available. Boys aged 17 ordered to serve a sentence of detention are currently accommodated in the adult prison system. This practice will cease on the recruitment of sufficient numbers of new residential care staff to work in the expanded detention facilities which have been provided in Oberstown.
There continues to be a high demand for children detention places from the courts, with the Oberstown campus operating at or near full capacity on most occasions for boys. The consistently high demand for remand places for boys, at approximately half of the overall operating capacity on the campus, is a significant factor in this regard. However, the children detention system continues to be in a position to meet the demand for places from the courts on most occasions. The bed management service which is overseen by the Irish Youth Justice Service, based in my Department, continues to operate on a 24 hour basis and can provide updated information on the availability of places to the criminal justice system at any time.
The Deputy will be aware that the children detention schools based in Oberstown, Lusk, Co Dublin provide appropriate education, training and other programmes and facilities for children referred to them by the courts. The delivery of children detention services is focused on education and rehabilitation of all young people detained in order to address offending behaviour and support their early re-integration into the community. I am advised that the development project currently nearing completion in Oberstown includes a new purpose - built education, training and recreation facility which came into use in the past month. Along with the existing services already being provided, these new facilities will ensure sufficient age and ability appropriate facilities to support the delivery, by the Dublin and Dun Laoghaire Education and Training Board (DDLETB), of the necessary education and training services to young people in detention.
I am also advised that an individual management plan is put in place for each child, irrespective of his or her background, on admission to the children detention schools which includes an assessment using a mental health screening tool to determine the need for more specialist assessment or intervention from specialists within the Assessment, Consultation and Therapy Service (ACTS). This is a national service provided by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency that provides clinical services to children in detention and in special care, as well as short term interventions when the child returns to the community. There are also a number of other therapeutic and education programmes delivered on the Oberstown campus as part of the child focused model of detention which are aimed at addressing offending behaviour patterns by children and ensuring their reintegration into society.
95. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which he expects to be in a position to target areas of child poverty in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36766/15]
View answerThe Area Based Childhood (ABC) Programme is an innovative prevention and early intervention initiative which uses evidence-informed interventions to improve the long-term outcomes for children and families living in disadvantaged areas. The ABC Programme is a time-bound joint investment of €29.7m by my Department and The Atlantic Philanthropies which is in place until 2017.
A key purpose of the ABC Programme is to mainstream the learning from the ABC Programme to promote improvements, not only in specific areas, but across the wider system. A Task Group was also established to explore how best to mainstream the learning from the ABC programmes and activities.
The ABC Programme is currently being evaluated under the guidance of an Expert Advisory Group. The evaluation will consider the implementation of the ABC Programme from both local and national perspectives. It will focus on how the outcomes for children and families in Area Based Childhood areas have changed during the course of the programme. National interim reports will be provided from mid-2016. The final national evaluation reports will be produced in 2018.
This evaluation will provide an indication of the impact of the ABC Programme, and along with the work of the Task Group will inform considerations regarding the mainstreaming of the learning from this programme.
96. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which adequate counselling remains available to vulnerable children and adolescents; if improvement is warranted and likely; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36767/15]
View answerTusla, the Child and Family Agency, provides funding to voluntary organisations offering a range of counselling and support services to children and families including:
- Marriage and relationship counselling;
- Child counselling;
- Rainbows Peer Support Programme for children;
- Bereavement counselling and support on the death of a family member.
This year Tusla is providing funding of €5.8 million to support 330 counselling services, the majority of which are voluntary. The organisations that are funded vary enormously in size and approach; some are dedicated counselling bodies, others provide counselling as part of a wider range of social and family services. These services provide support to families, children and young people. The funding provided by Tusla focuses on the development of support services in the community for families to enhance stability in family life and to assist children and families and their members in dealing with difficult periods in their lives.
Counselling services funded by Tusla are specifically targeted at children who have been affected by parental separation or who have suffered family bereavement. Tusla’s marriage and relationship counselling funding is instrumental in assisting parents to deal with difficulties they experience in their personal relationships.
The funding provided aims to make counselling available to those who could not otherwise afford it.
As the Deputy will be aware, I announced a significant increase in the funding allocation to Tusla for next year. Tusla will have available to it some €676 million in funding, representing an increase of €38 million over 2015.
The precise level of funding to be provided to counselling and support services will now be considered by Tusla in developing its Business Plan for 2016, which will be sent to me for consideration.
The Government, since its establishment, has attached particular priority to supporting vulnerable children and families and the significant increase in funding being made available to Tusla next year represents further evidence of our delivery on this ambition.
97. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which statutory and voluntary child support services continue to have adequate resources available to them to meet their current and ongoing requirements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36768/15]
View answerThere is a wide range of child and family support services available through both the statutory and non statutory sectors. These include services provided by Government Departments, other state agencies and an extensive network of non-governmental organisations.
Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, allocates funding of approximately €100m to 700 voluntary organisations to provide services on its behalf. The organisations involved include large “not-for-profit” organisations, private providers and small groups.
In the area of child welfare and protection services we now have, with the establishment of the Tusla, the necessary structure to ensure the provision of a more responsive and integrated service to children, young people and families at risk. The Agency, in discharging its functions, places a strong emphasis on prevention, early intervention, family support, therapeutic and care interventions, all of which are key to the provision of integrated, multi-disciplinary services for vulnerable children and families.
All social work referrals are managed through the Standard Business Process and all reports of concern for the safety and welfare of a child come into the Duty/Intake team for assessment. All staff receiving such referrals are professionally qualified social workers who have been trained in the duty system. They are required to treat seriously all child welfare and child protection concerns regardless of the source. A rigorous system of risk analysis is in place in each area to ensure that staffing numbers do not fall to unsafe levels and gaps identified through this process are addressed with the additional resource of temporary staff as required.
As the Deputy will be aware, I announced a significant increase in the funding allocation to Tusla for next year. Tusla will have available to it some €676 million in funding, representing an increase of €38 million over 2015. This significant increase in funding will allow Tusla to address critical issues such as the number of children and families awaiting services.
It will also facilitate the improvement of special care facilities and will support further roll out of services such as the National Child Care Information System. It will also allow the organisation to modernise the current ICT infrastructure to support frontline work and data management. Improved services will have significant long-term benefits both for children and families, as well as the State, in terms of health and wellbeing, educational and economic outcomes.
