Written Answers Nos. 350 - 359
350. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of young persons who were accommodated under section 5 of the Child Care Act 1991 in 2013 and 2014; the number of these young persons who had a combined total of 12 months in the care of the State, including time accommodated under section 5, before attaining 18 years of age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39562/15]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy on the number of children accommodated under Section 5 of the Child Care Act 1991 can be found in the Review of Adequacy. This is the annual report compiled and published by the HSE (now Tusla) which reviews the adequacy of the child and family services provided as required under Section 8 of the Child Care Act 1991. Under Section 5, the children provided with accommodation are not in care, but have presented as out of home to social work services or emergency personnel. The following table shows the number of children accommodated for more than four consecutive nights (or 10 separate nights over a year).
|
No. of Children Accommodated under Section 5 of the CCA 1991 |
|||
|
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
|
|
No. of Children accommodated for more than 4 consecutive nights |
131 |
99 |
41 |
Tusla's operational policy for children accommodated under Section 5 is to provide them with the same supports and safeguards as children in care. In some instances, they may not wish to be taken into care and will take up services only on the basis of receiving support under Section 5 of the Act. Those that are not provided with accommodation under Section 5 are returned home, received into care or are placed in Supported Lodgings. As these figures are released on an annual basis, figures for 2014 and 2015 are not yet available.
I have requested further information on this subject from Tusla, and will revert to the Deputy when this is to hand.
351. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs why he did not include representatives of adoptees or natural parents in his appointments to the board of the Adoption Authority of Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39579/15]
View answerSection 98 of the Adoption Act 2010, sets out particular requirements for membership of the Adoption Authority of Ireland. In addition to the legislative requirements for Board members contained in the Act, consideration is also given to particular knowledge, skills and experience that would strengthen the capacity of the Board.
A person with personal experience of adoption may apply for a position on the Board provided that they also meet the particular requirements for membership set out in section 98 of the Adoption Act 2010.
However the issue of including a member from the adoptive community on the Board of the Authority has been raised with me previously and I will ask my Department to consider this issue as part of a review of the Adoption Act 2010 in the future.
352. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the reason he re-appointed members to the board of the Adoption Authority of Ireland who had worked in agencies which had poor records regarding adoption (details supplied). [39580/15]
View answerSection 98 of the Adoption Act 2010, sets out particular requirements for membership of the Adoption Authority or Ireland. In addition to the legislative requirements for Board members contained in the Act, consideration is also given to particular knowledge, skills and experience that would strengthen the capacity of the Board.
My decisions on appointments to boards are subject to the relevant governing legislation, and take into account the particular responsibilities of the agency in question. At all times I seek to ensure that the agency is best served by an appropriate mix of skills and experience.
353. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs his views on the provision of a tax credit to assist with the cost of child care; if his Department has researched the international experience of such credits and their merits and demerits, as well as ascertaining the views of child care providers on the matter. [39618/15]
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 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 those, which 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 parent's average annual childcare costs by a further €1,500 approximately.
354. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the reason for delaying the introduction of the expanded preschool programme; if he is aware that the delay will exclude some families whose children will have commenced primary school before its introduction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39619/15]
View answerAt present, children qualify for the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme when they are within the qualifying age range which is 3 years and 2 months to 4 years and 7 months in the September of the relevant year. This means, for example, that children born between 2 February 2011 and 30 June 2012 qualified for free pre-school from September 2015. Children who turn 3 from 1 July 2012 are below the age range for eligibility for ECCE in the 2015/2016 programme year but will qualify for the 2016/17 programme year.
The recent Budget decisions, which introduced an extended provision under the ECCE programme that allows children to access the free pre-school programme from the time they are 3 years of age until they start primary school, come into effect from September 2016. This extended provision, when fully rolled out, will mean that children will have access to free education - either in pre-school or primary school - from the age of three. The start up date for the introduction of this new measure was decided so as to allow pre-school providers an adequate timeframe to make any necessary infrastructural or service changes and to put in place extra staff resources to accommodate the additional numbers benefitting from the programme, which are estimated to increase to approximately 127,000 per year from the current average of around 67,000 per year.
I am conscious that, depending on their date of birth, some children enrolling in the ECCE programme in September 2016 will not benefit from this extended free pre-school provision. I am also aware that, when the programme is fully in place (i.e. from 2017), there will be some children who will benefit for a shorter extra period of free pre-school than others. Again, this will depend on the child's date of birth and the age at which they make the transition to primary school. Ultimately however, when this extended programme is fully in place, all children will be better off than in the present programme. Indeed, the net effect of the improvements for children overall will be an increase of an average of 23 weeks over the current programme. I think that this is a significant step forward for children and their families.
355. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health when the replacement to the mobility transport grant is likely to be delivered, with particular reference to the fact that this has been suspended now for a period of two years and has led to enormous isolation among those who would traditionally have benefitted from it. [39758/15]
View answer374. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health when the motorised transport grant replacement will be in place; the reason for the delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39095/15]
View answer411. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for Health his plans to announce the details for an alternative scheme that is being devised to replace the motorised transport grant, which was suspended in February 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39329/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 355, 374 and 411 together.
Conscious of the reports of the Ombudsman regarding the legal status of both the Mobility Allowance and Motorised Transport Grant Schemes in the context of the Equal Status Acts, the Government decided to close both schemes on 26 February 2013. The schemes are not suspended. They are closed.
The Government decided that the detailed preparatory work required for a new Transport Support Scheme and associated statutory provisions should be progressed by the Minister for Health. The Department is seeking a solution which would best meet the aim of supporting people with severe disabilities who require additional income to contribute towards the cost of their mobility needs, while remaining within the available budget and satisfying all legal and equality concerns.
Payments of up to €208.50 per month are continuing to be made by the Health Service Executive to 4,700 people who were in receipt of the Mobility Allowance at the time the scheme closed. Any proposals put to Government will seek to take account of this group.
Work is ongoing on the policy proposals to be brought to Government for the drafting of primary legislation for a new scheme. The proposals seek to ensure that:
- There is a firm statutory basis to the Scheme's operation;
- There is transparency and equity in the eligibility criteria attaching to the Scheme;
- Resources are targeted at those with the greatest needs; and
- The Scheme is capable of being costed and it is affordable on its introduction and on an ongoing basis.
Heads of Bill have now been developed in draft form and are currently subject to detailed legal examination. The approval of a General Scheme and Heads of Bill by the Government will be followed by publication and pre-legislative scrutiny by the Oireachtas Health and Children Committee. The Health (Transport Support) Bill is included in the Government Legislation Programme.
356. Deputy Regina Doherty asked the Minister for Health for details of the baby-friendly hospital initiative; the background to it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38972/15]
View answerAs the Deputy's question relates to service matters, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive 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.
357. Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor asked the Minister for Health the reason a person (details supplied) in Dublin 18 has to wait 18 months to have a cataract operation in Saint Vincent's University Hospital in Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39006/15]
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.
358. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health the position regarding an application (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39017/15]
View answerThe HSE has statutory responsibility for decisions on pricing and reimbursement of medicinal products under the community drug schemes in accordance with the provisions of the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013. Prior to reimbursing any medicine, the HSE considers a range of statutory criteria, including clinical need, cost-effectiveness and the resources available to the HSE.
The decisions on which medicines are reimbursed by the taxpayer are made on objective, scientific and economic grounds by the HSE on the advice of the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics. They are not political or ministerial decisions.
Sapropterin (Kuvan®) was previously considered under the national pricing and reimbursement processes in 2009. At that time, insufficient evidence was available to support the pricing and reimbursement application submitted by the manufacturer, Merck Serono.
Merck Serono recently submitted a new application for pricing and reimbursement of Kuvan; this application will now be considered in line with criteria set out in the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013 and using the processes outlined in national pricing framework agreements.
As the application process is still at a very early stage, it is not possible to discuss potential outcomes or comment further at this time.
359. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health if a medical card will be reinstated for persons (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39022/15]
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.
