Written Answers Nos. 239-251
239. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the procedures to be followed to facilitate an upgrade of stamp 2 to stamp 4 for a person (details supplied) in County Westmeath who is in continuous employment along with the person's spouse, whose children were both born here, and whose circumstances and responsibilities have changed since the award of stamp 2 status; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37107/15]
View answerI am informed by the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (INIS) of my Department that the persons referred to by the Deputy have not made applications to INIS to change their immigration status. The persons were registered as Students in the State in 2009 and this permission expired in 2014.
All non-EEA students resident in the State are subject to the student immigration rules set out under the "new immigration regime for full time non-EEA students" which was published in September 2010 and has been in effect since 1 January 2011. These rules stipulate that non-EEA nationals may reside in Ireland as degree students, subject to the provisions of the new regime, for a maximum period of seven years. Three years are permitted at non-degree level. The persons referred to by the Deputy arrived in the State in 2009 as students. As such they do not qualify for Stamp 4 status. They are advised to look at the "student pathway" on the Department's website www.inis.gov.ie to see whether there are any post-study pathways available to them.
The Deputy will be aware that queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up-to-date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process.
240. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the position regarding a youth service (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36853/15]
View answerYouth Cafés offer young people a safe, alcohol and drug free space, for recreation, non-formal learning and youth activities and they make an important contribution to facilities for young people at local level.
In recent years capital funding has been made available to my Department for the development of youth café facilities. Some 100 new youth café facilities have received support under the scheme since 2011 when the Department was established. Recent research undertaken by my Department indicates that there are now more than 150 youth cafés throughout the country. In the main, these have been developed, over the years, by local communities with the support of different funding sources.
My Department does not have a capital programme available for youth cafés at this time.
The development of youth café facilities is a priority for my Department should further capital funding become available for this purpose, in future years.
I am advised that The Cove Youth Café was allocated €600 this year from Kerry Education and Training Board under the Local Youth Club Grant Scheme. This scheme supports youth work activities at a local level. These grants are made available to all youth clubs and groups through the local Education and Training Boards. The scheme is open to some 1,600 youth groups and clubs, with an estimated 89,000 club members around the country. Each year, some 600 local youth clubs benefit from the scheme.
241. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 181 of 24 June 2015, when a response will issue; if he will provide the timeframe for which parliamentary question responses from Tusla Child and Family Agency should be expected, in general, for example as is given in parliamentary question replies by the Department of Health for the Health Service Executive. [36871/15]
View answerWith regard to the specific question raised by the Deputy, I expect to be in a position to furnish a complete reply very shortly. My Department has, in recent days, received additional information and clarification requested from Tusla, the Child and Family Agency to allow for a complete response to issue. We are in the process of compiling this information for issue to the Deputy. I apologise for the delay in responding to the Deputy.
I hope the Deputy would agree that as Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, I make every effort to respond directly, on the day, to the many questions raised by members of the House relating to the work of Tusla.
In situations where the information requested is not readily available, I will always seek to ensure that a response is issued as quickly as possible.
242. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the funding his Department provided to an organisation (details supplied) in 2014; and in 2015; the portion of its budget this makes up; and if his Department will be providing ongoing funding support to the organisation in 2016. [36888/15]
View answerThe establishment of the Centre for Effective Services (CES) as a charitable organisation in 2008 reflected agreement, including a commitment to joint funding, by Atlantic Philanthropies, the Office for the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs to support the organisation. The purpose of which was to improve outcomes for children, young people, families and communities by working with a range of organisations in the not-for-profit sector, including government departments, statutory agencies and community organisations, to connect and support the implementation of effective policy, research and practice. CES operates on an all-island basis, with offices in Dublin and Belfast.
CES has been involved in a number of initiatives led by my Department since the Department’s commencement. CES provides support in a range of areas such as research, evaluation, implementation support and technical expertise in relation to the development of evidence informed policy and practice. My Department provides CES with an annual grant and agrees an output focused annual work plan in line with this funding provision.
The funding provided by my Department was agreed to cover the period from 2014-2016. As such, allocations are in place to cover 2016.
It should be noted that my Department is but one funder of the CES and that the organisation is actively diversifying in other areas outside children and young people and developing these revenue and funding streams accordingly.
My Department provided €481,000 in funding of CES for 2014, and has allocated €463,000 for CES funding in 2015. As well as this, my Department provides funding to Pobal for implementation, support, governance and evaluation of the Area Based Childhood (ABC) Programme. Pobal in turn provides funding to CES for their support in implementing and evaluating the ABC programme.
The total funding to CES from my Department, including direct payments and payments from Pobal, represented 33% of CES funding in 2014, and is estimated to be 28% of CES funding in 2015.
243. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the reasons for not introducing demand-side measures for making child care more affordable, such as child care tax credits or direct child care subsidies; for a list of the research studies that his Department has considered, as evidence that such child care tax credits or cash subsidies to parents and guardians for child care have led to systematic cost inflation in child care in other jurisdictions. [37078/15]
View answerI am aware of the relatively high cost to parents of childcare in this country and of the difficulties that this presents, particularly where both parents are in employment outside of the home.
Prior to Budget 2016, my Department provided funding of more than a quarter of a billion euro annually to support the implementation of a number of childcare support programmes that assist parents in accessing quality childcare. This funding, which is in addition to the direct support provided to all parents in the form of Child Benefit, provided support to more than 100,000 children each year.
In Budget 2016, I announced an €85 million package of additional investment for the childcare sector which will provide for a range of significant enhancements to the childcare support programmes. These include an expansion of the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme and increased provision under the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) programme that supports low income and disadvantaged families.
The question of tax allowances for parents was considered prior to the introduction of the childcare support programmes. A number of issues emerged at that time which did not favour the introduction of a childcare tax credit. For example, the introduction of a tax credit would not help to support quality improvements within the early years sector and would not help those families on low pay who may not have any tax liability. There was also concern at that time that the application of tax credits could lead to increased prices and therefore have limited impact in terms of savings to parents.
Experience in other countries has shown that demand side supports such as subsidies and tax relief can result in increasing cost for parents. This was the case in both Australia and the Netherlands, where childcare costs continued to rise despite the introduction of tax reliefs and/or subsidies. The policy trend in most European countries is to provide support through supply side measures such as have been implemented in Ireland over the last number of years.
The Inter-Departmental Group, which I established earlier this year to consider options for future investment in childcare, did examine both supply and demand side measures. The report of the Group, which included an evaluation of the value of the introduction of tax relief measures, outlined concerns that the value of the tax credit would be capitalised into the cost of childcare and that little or no benefit would accrue to the parent. The Group concluded that investment in supply side measures was strategically optimal in achieving the combined objectives of affordability, accessibility and quality.
The additional investment in the childcare sector which I announced will have a significant impact on the affordability of childcare services with the extended provision under the free pre-school year programme reducing on average parent's annual childcare costs by a further €1,500 approximately.
244. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the projected cost of the early childhood care and education programme in 2016; and in 2017, following the proposed changes to the programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37128/15]
View answer245. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the cost of increasing the number of weeks covered by the early childhood care and education programme from 38 weeks to 40 weeks; and to 42 weeks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37129/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 244 and 245 together.
The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme currently provides a free pre-school year to all eligible children before commencing primary school. Funding of over €170 million is provided for the ECCE programme annually in which some 67,000 children participate.
This programme is delivered for three hours per day, five days per week, over 38 weeks (183 days per year), and capitation fees are paid to participating services on the basis of this provision. The standard capitation fee is currently €62.50 per week per eligible child with a higher capitation fee of €73 per week for services with more highly qualified staff. The cost of increasing the number of weeks from 38 to 40 and 42 respectively (under the current programme and capitation rates) would be an additional €10 million and €20 million per annum approximately.
In Budget 2016, I announced an €85 million package of additional investment for childcare. This includes funding for:
- An extension to the ECCE programme so that children can enrol in the ECCE programme at age three and continue in the programme until they make the transition to primary school. This will reduce childcare costs by an additional €1,500 and will increase the current 38 weeks of free pre-school provision by an average of 23 weeks, and up to 61 weeks depending on the child's date of birth and the age at which they subsequently start primary school;
- A suite of supports to help children with a disability to participate fully in the ECCE programme. This delivers on my commitment to address these children’s particular needs in mainstream pre-school settings;
- 8,000 extra places in 2016 under the CCS programme to help low income and disadvantaged families access quality childcare. These 8,000 places are in addition to a further 5,000 CCS places I announced recently with savings achieved in 2015;
- A range of measures to improve the quality of early years and school-aged childcare, including an audit of quality; an extended Learner Fund to support professionalisation of the sector; and an enhanced inspection regime.
The extension to the ECCE programme will be introduced from September 2016 and will cost an additional €47 million in 2016. The full year additional costs of this extended provision, which is estimated to be €112 million, will not be realised in until 2017. The extension to the ECCE programme includes the cost of restoring capitation rates to providers to pre-2012 levels from September 2016 which were €64.50 per week per eligible child standard payment with a higher capitation fee of €75 per week for services with more highly qualified staff.
246. Deputy Michelle Mulherin asked the Minister for Health the member states in the European Union that fluoridate their public water supply; how Ireland's public health policy of adding fluoride to the public water supply compares with the policies in other jurisdictions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36941/15]
View answerWater fluoridation is the adjustment of a naturally occurring element found in water in order to prevent tooth decay. Many countries have water fluoridation schemes, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Australia and New Zealand. Water fluoridation is less common in Europe. However, fluoride is an essential part of oral health policy in all countries in Europe. In countries which do not fluoridate water this can mean fluoridation of salt or provision of community fluoridation through other means.
247. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health given the decision by members of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation to initiate industrial action at St. Vincent's University Hospital in Dublin 4, the steps he is now taking to address the real crisis across the hospital network here, specifically through the recruitment of additional staff, including consultants, nurses and midwives; and the provision of additional bed capacity through the re-opening of closed beds, and the introduction of new bed numbers, both within existing build and through planned expansion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36808/15]
View answerSignificant additional resources are being provided to address the current difficulties in acute hospitals and in particular the emergency departments. Additional funding of €74 million was agreed by Government in April this year. This funding was used to increase the number of long term nursing home care places and reduce the waiting time for places, as well as providing additional transitional care beds and home care packages to provide viable supports for those no longer needing acute hospital care.
Significant progress has been made to date on the overall Emergency Department Taskforce plan as follows:
- Delayed discharges are reducing steadily;
- The waiting time for Nursing Home Support Scheme funding has reduced from 11 weeks at the beginning of the year and is now between 2 to 4 weeks;
- Transitional care funding supported almost 2000 people who have been approved for Fair Deal to move from acute to non-acute care whilst awaiting their long-term care placement; and
- Over 1,200 additional home care packages will have been provided by the end of 2015.
Further additional funding of €18m was provided in July for a winter initiative which includes the provision of 300 additional hospital beds, to be made available in November and December.
The number of consultants has grown significantly in recent years to 2,700. This includes an additional 320 in the last five years, notwithstanding the economic crisis. The number of nurses employed has increased by over 500 in the past 12 months and there are many initiatives currently underway to improve nursing staff levels throughout the country. These include the retention of 2015 degree programme graduates, offering full time permanent contracts, the conversion of agency usage to permanent staffing and an international recruitment campaign.
It is expected that the measures undertaken by the Emergency Department Taskforce will alleviate the challenges facing the Emergency Departments and the factors that led to the industrial action taken by INMO membership at St Vincent's Hospital. The Government is providing significant additional resources to enable the health services address the difficulties in emergency departments. It is important that management and senior clinicians at national and hospital level engage proactively, supporting staff, utilising the resources provided and implementing the measures necessary to address the current difficulties.
248. Deputy Arthur Spring asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Kerry will have a decision on an application for a medical card; if the application will be expedited, given that the person submitted all relevant documentation in August 2015 and is still awaiting a decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36819/15]
View answerThe Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible.
The Health Service Executive operates the General Medical Services scheme, which includes medical cards and GP visit cards, under the Health Act 1970, as amended. It has established a dedicated contact service for members of the Oireachtas specifically for queries relating to medical cards and GP visit cards, which the Deputy may wish to use for an earlier response. Contact information has issued to Oireachtas members.
If the Deputy has not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days, please contact my Private Office who will follow up the matter with them.
249. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the number of medical cards and general practitioner cards as of 1 October 2015; and the number for each type of card issued on a discretionary basis on that date. [36822/15]
View answerThe medical and GP card figures at 1 October 2015, as requested by the Deputy, are outlined in the following table.
|
- |
1st Oct 2015 |
|
Card Type |
No. of Cards |
|
Medical cards |
1,729,559 |
|
of which granted involving discretion |
94,614 |
|
GP Visit cards |
391,451 |
|
of which granted involving discretion |
40,108 |
250. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will receive an appointment for a magnetic resonance imaging, MRI, scan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36832/15]
View answerUnder the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual.
The scheduling of appointments for patients is a matter for the hospital to which the patient has been referred. Should a patient's general practitioner consider that the patient's condition warrants an earlier appointment, he or she should take the matter up with the consultant and the hospital involved. In relation to the specific case raised, 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.
251. Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Cork will be provided with urgently required medical treatment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36850/15]
View answerUnder the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual.
The National Waiting List Management Policy, A standardised approach to managing scheduled care treatment for in-patient, day case and planned procedures, January 2014, has been developed to ensure that all administrative, managerial and clinical staff follow an agreed national minimum standard for the management and administration of waiting lists for scheduled care. This policy, which has been adopted by the Health Service Executive, sets out the processes that hospitals are to implement to manage waiting lists.
In relation to the particular query raised, as 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.
