Wednesday, 8 Jun 2016

Written Answers Nos. 678-688

Children and Young People’s Policy Framework

Questions (678)

Willie Penrose

Question:

678. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the steps he will take pursuant to the programme for Government to implement the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People 2014-2020, Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures; the objectives of the National Youth Strategy 2015-2020; to reverse the reductions in financial support afforded to various organisations which are dedicated to enabling and empowering young persons to realise their full potential such as Scouting Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14595/16]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures: The National Policy Framework for Children and Young People (2014-2020) was launched by Government in April 2014. It sets out 163 key policy commitments, and outlines five national outcomes we seek to achieve for all children and young people:

1. Active and healthy with physical and mental wellbeing

2. Achieving full potential in all areas of learning and development

3. Safe and protected from harm

4. Economic security and opportunity

5. Connected, respected and contributing to their world.

While not explicitly mentioned in the Programme for Government, the Government remains fully committed to continuing the implementation of Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures. The role of my Department is to lead this implementation on behalf of government.

Effective implementation is ensured by the robust whole of government implementation infrastructure. These structures include the Children and Young People’s Policy Consortium, which has overall responsibility for cross government implementation and oversight, the Sponsors Group, which brings together the Departments with responsibility for the five national outcomes and the Implementation Team in my Department, which supports the process.

The Advisory Council for Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures brings together key members of the community and voluntary sector as well as independent experts and individuals with experience working with and for children and young people, ensuring that they are actively involved in the implementation process.

An implementation plan for Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures covering 2014-2017 was developed, including actions under each of the 163 commitments from across government, as well as details on cross-sectoral priorities. The first annual report on implementation was published in June 2015. Both the implementation plan and annual report are available to the public on my Department’s website. Work on the second annual report is ongoing in my Department.

The National Youth Strategy (2015-2020), published last October was developed in close consultation with statutory youth interests and the voluntary youth organisations and services that work with young people.

The strategy sets out Government’s aims for young people, aged 10 to 24 years, aligned with the five national outcomes in Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures. The Strategy identifies some fifty priority actions to be delivered by Government departments, state agencies and by others, including the voluntary youth services over 2015 to 2017. They include actions to address issues which are a high priority for young people themselves. Priorities include: reform of the youth funding programmes in line with the recommendations in the Value for Money and Policy Review of Youth Programmes to ensure improved outcomes for young people, opportunities for those young people furthest from the labour market through measures such as the Youth Employability Initiative and the National Strategy on Children and Young People’s Participation in Decision-making.

My Department is in the process of setting up a National Youth Strategy (2015-2020) lead team to support the coordination, progression and monitoring of its implementation. The structures established by my Department under Better Outcomes Brighter Futures, will oversee the roll out of its implementation.

I am pleased to advise the Deputy that Budget 2016 provided an additional €1.1m in current youth funding to my Department bringing the total allocation for the youth services to €51m in 2016. Scouting Ireland has been allocated €834,607 in 2016, an increase of more than €20,000 on their 2015 allocation.

In addition, Scouting Ireland has been allocated some €200,000 in 2016 for the ‘Operation Lelievlet’ programme. This programme, which is funded under the Dormant Accounts Disbursement Scheme links a direct employment/training initiatives for disadvantaged youth in areas of Limerick with the development of Scouting in marginalised communities and the development of recreational facilities on the Shannon for more young people. Operation Lelievlet is built on a partnership between Scouting Ireland and local agencies, including Limerick City Build and Limerick City Council.

Domestic Violence Services Funding

Questions (679)

Eoin Ó Broin

Question:

679. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the annual spend on domestic violence services for households experiencing homelessness from 2012 to 2016 to date in tabular form. [14633/16]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, has statutory responsibility for the care and protection of victims of domestic, sexual and gender based violence whether in the context of the family or otherwise. At all times, Tusla’s key priority is to ensure that the needs of victims of domestic and sexual violence are being met in the best way possible.

A network of 60 organisations provide services to victims of domestic, sexual and gender based violence in Ireland, including 20 services providing emergency refuge accommodation to women and children and 24 community-based domestic violence services.

The Agency has established a more co-ordinated approach for provision of these services with a dedicated national budget of €20.6m in 2016. This includes an additional €200,000 to support implementation of obligations under the Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention).

In 2015, particular priority was given to protecting frontline services, and in that context, funding for services for victims of domestic and sexual violence survivors was protected. Continuing with this commitment, in 2016, funding to domestic violence services has been protected at the same level as 2015 overall, with some additional provision for emergency accommodation in the greater Dublin area for an extra eight family units of emergency accommodation and also enhanced access to community based outreach services for victims.

Tusla has advised that it does not hold the details of annual spend on domestic violence services for households who experience homelessness within the totality of domestic violence services.

Domestic violence refuge services can provide services for women and children fleeing domestic violence who are temporarily homeless. However, this is only a subset of the total number of households experiencing homelessness and domestic violence, and many of these families do not appear in homeless data if they return to the family home or find other accommodation solutions.

Details of total Tusla funding for domestic violence services is set out in the following table. Tusla has further advised that it does not hold funding details for domestic violence services prior to 2014 as these services were previously funded by the Health Service Executive.

Tusla funding for Domestic Violence Services 2014	Tusla funding for Domestic Violence Services 2015	Tusla funding for Domestic Violence Services January - end June 2016
€13,356,008.12	€15,644,044.44*	€7,475,707.33

*Includes funding transferred from the Department of Environment Community and Local Government.

Youth Justice Strategy

Questions (680)

Thomas P. Broughan

Question:

680. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans to collaborate with the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality on addressing youth criminal behaviour and sanctions; if she has examined the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice, Developing Inside Transforming Prison for Young Adults report, given that the Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures national policy framework defines young person as under the age of 25 years; if she will be the responsible Minister for young adult offenders aged 18 to 24 years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14770/16]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

Statutory provision in relation to young offenders in terms of persons under the age of 18 years is set out in the Children Act 2001. The elements of the Children Act relating to the operation of the Garda Youth Diversion Programme, matters relating to criminal proceedings against children, criminal law issues and the operation of the Children Court under the Act come within the remit of the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality. The operation of the children detention school system under Part 10 of the Act is under the remit of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. The Irish Youth Justice Service, based in my Department and staffed by officials working on an interagency basis from both Departments concerned, oversee the operation of the Act, youth crime policy and all relevant projects and programmes. A Youth Justice Action Plan was agreed in 2014 for the period up to 2018 and this is implemented by the Irish Youth Justice Service in conjunction with all relevant agencies, including An Garda Síochána, the Probation Service, the Oberstown Detention Campus, the Irish Prison Service and Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. The aim of the Action Plan is to create a safer society by working in partnership to reduce youth offending through appropriate interventions and linkages to services.

The Deputy's question refers to the recent report issued by the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice, entitled "Developing Inside - Transforming prison for young adults". This report makes a range of recommendations in relation to the operation of prison and custodial regimes for young adults in the age range of 18 - 24 years. These recommendations include assigning responsibility for this age cohort to the Irish Youth Justice Service, achieving a significant reduction in the number imprisoned, accommodating such persons in separate facilities from older prisoners, ending the use of restricted prison regimes and enhanced training for prison staff. All of these recommendations have implications for the operation of the adult prison system and some of them have implications for the wider criminal justice system, which is under the remit of the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality.

While the Irish Youth Justice Service is based in my Department, I must inform the Deputy that my political priority in this field must continue to be the ending of the practice of detaining children in adult prison facilities. A programme of investment in the Oberstown campus, combined with necessary legal and operational reforms, has been underway in recent years to this end. It is my aim to assign responsibility for 17 year old boys who are serving a sentence of detention to the Oberstown campus at the earliest date possible this year, subject to the progress of a recruitment programme which is ongoing at present. This will end the practice of detaining children in adult prison facilities, which has been called for since at least the 1980s.

Youth Services Expenditure

Questions (681)

Thomas P. Broughan

Question:

681. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to report on the resources she is making available for parenting support as part of an early intervention and prevention initiative for anti-social and-or criminal behaviour; the linkages that will be made with the Department of Education and Skills in these respects; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14771/16]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

Statutory provision in relation to young people involved in crime is set out in the Children Act 2001. The Irish Youth Justice Service, based in my Department and staffed by officials from my Department and the Department of Justice and Equality, oversee the operation of the Act and all relevant policies and programmes.

There is significant investment in community based programmes which are directed at diverting young people from further involvement in criminal or anti-social behaviour. In 2016, just under €17 million has been allocated by the Department of Justice and Equality to the Irish Youth Justice Service to administer Garda Youth Diversion Projects, Young Persons Probation Projects and a number of other youth diversion community-based projects. These projects also benefit from support under the European Social Fund.

In addition to Garda Youth Diversion Projects, there are 109 communities supported through the Family and Community Services Resource Centre Programme (FRC programme) which is operated by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency and which provides services and supports to local communities. Tusla provides core funding to its established network of 107 Centres nationwide, and two outreach Centres. Tusla is providing funding of approximately €13m this year. The primary role of the Family and Community Services Resource Centre Programme has been, and will continue to be, prevention and early intervention. The main the role of Tusla is to provide family support, the same way as it does for families in the general community, by providing guidance and parenting supports through its locally based services such as the provision of parenting programmes. The Centres emphasise the involvement of local communities in tackling the problems they face, and creating successful partnerships between voluntary and statutory agencies at community level. Family Resource Centres involve people from marginalised groups and areas of disadvantage at all levels of the organisation.

The Educational Welfare Services of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency operate under the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000, which emphasises the promotion of school attendance, participation and retention. The statutory and school support services of the Child and Family Agency's Educational Welfare Services work together collaboratively and cohesively with schools and other relevant services to secure better educational outcomes for children and young people.

Schools are obliged by law under the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000 to submit reports on school attendance to the Educational Welfare Services of the Child and Family Agency.

Children in Care

Questions (682)

Mattie McGrath

Question:

682. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of children received into care over the past three years on the basis of a court order under the provisions of the Child Care Act 1991; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14775/16]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

The Child and Family Agency, Tusla, has a statutory duty under the Child Care Act 1991 to promote the welfare of children who are not receiving adequate care and protection and, if necessary, to receive a child into the care of the State. As of the 31st March 2016, there were 6,405 children in care. Of these 93% were in foster care, with 4,162 in general foster care and 1,790 in foster care with relatives.

As the majority of children in care are in foster care family settings in the community, indicators of stability of the placement and participation in education are useful in monitoring the performance of Tusla in relation to overall welfare. Figures from Tusla show that at the end of December 2014, 14% of children had been in care less than a year, with 48% in care for between 1 to 5 years and 38% had been in care for longer than 5 years.

A care order, in the case of emergency, interim or full care orders, can only be issued by a member of the judiciary sitting in the District Court, which may be part of a special sitting as the Children Court, as indicated in the Child Care Act 1991. In the case of special care orders, an application must be made to the High Court. Decisions on the variation or discharge of a care order are also a matter for the relevant Court and lie outside the powers of Tusla. If a person is unhappy with a care order then an appeal can be lodged with the Courts, which, normally, in the case of an order from the District Court is to be lodged within 14 days of the order being made. Under the Act, it is possible for a child to be placed with Tusla in care on a voluntary basis but this is not a care order and can be rescinded by the parent or guardian at any time.

Information on admissions to care, and the legal reasons for being in care, is available on an annual basis and is reported in the Annual Review of Adequacy which is published by Tusla. Such data for 2015 is currently going through extensive validation and is not yet ready for publication. Table 1 shows the number of admissions to care both voluntarily and under a Court ordered care order for 2012, 2013 and 2014. It should be noted that the number of admissions does not equate to the number of children admitted to care, as some children can be readmitted to care throughout the year.

Table 1: Legal Reasons for Admissions to Care

Year	Total Admitted into Care	No. admitted under an Emergency Care Order	No. admitted under an Interim Care Order	No. admitted under a Care Order	No. admitted under a Detention Order of the High Court	No. admitted under Another Court Order	No. of Voluntary admissions into care
2014	1,632	163	198	280	1	62	928
2013	1,896	255	280	98	2	42	1,219
2012	2,070	261	281	123	0	94	1,311

I have also included Table 2 for the Deputy's information. It is evident that while the majority of admissions to care throughout the year are on a voluntary basis, the majority of children in care at the end of the year were under a Court Order.

Table 2: Legal Reasons a Child is in Care

Year	Total In Care on the 31st December	Legal Reason for Being in Care:  Emergency Care Order	Legal Reason for Being in Care:  Interim Care Order	Legal Reason for Being in Care: Care Order	Legal Reason for Being in Care: Detention Order of the High Court	Legal Reason for Being in Care: Other Court Order	Number of Children in Care Voluntary
2014	6,454	154	592	3,068	18	70	2,552
2013	6,469	160	528	3,046	8	62	2,665
2012	6,332	155	536	2,927	8	40	2,666

Child and Family Agency Funding

Questions (683)

Mattie McGrath

Question:

683. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 927 of 31 May 2016, the projects or organisations that have received funding from the Atlantic Philanthropies in 2015 and those forecast to receive the proposed funding for 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14984/16]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

In May 2014 Tusla applied to Atlantic Philanthropies (AP) for a grant to support the intensive implementation of the Prevention, Partnership and Family Support programme (PPFS). The objective of this grant application was to seek funding to support the implementation of previous Atlantic funded work in the area of Prevention, Partnership and Family Support. In particular the grant provides the means through which Tusla is able to provide intensive implementation of a nationwide programme to enhance area based approaches to PPFS and a national practice model for all agencies working with children, young people and families. The AP grant is designed to enable Tusla to build better intra agency and inter agency capacity to implement key practice and process changes to ensure Tusla's prevention and early intervention system is operating effectively and delivering a high quality, standardised and nationally consistent service to children and families.

The Galway University Foundation (NUIG) is the recipient of the Atlantic Philanthropies funding in the first instance which is then allocated to Tusla in instalments over the life of the grant (2015 - 2018) against an agreed national programme. The majority of the AP funding received is spent within Tusla on items such as staff training on the PPFS programme. In 2015 the funding was also partly utilised by Tusla to commission work from EPIC (Development of Children's Fora ); IFCA ( Development of Peer Support groups ); Investing in Children (Quality Assurance in Participatory Practice) and Keenaghan Collaborative (Development of National Train the Trainers programme in Participatory Practice with Children and Young People). In 2016 Tusla will continue to commission this work as outlined. In addition in 2016 Tusla will commission work from Dr. Carmel Corrigan (Development of National Children's Charter) and Quality Matters (Development of the provision of support to carers). Furthermore a small seed funding grant will be made available to each of the seventeen areas to support initiatives in Participation & Parenting. This is at an early stage and the recipients have not yet been selected.

Child and Family Agency Staff

Questions (684)

Mattie McGrath

Question:

684. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of persons in Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, who are or were being paid over the recommended public sector salary cap over the past three years in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14985/16]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

I understand that the Deputy is referring to a 2011 Government Decision which introduced a general pay ceiling of €200,000 for future appointments to higher positions across the public service and a general pay ceiling of €250,000 for future appointments of CEO posts within Commercial State Companies. I can confirm that over the past three years no employee of Tusla has received a salary in excess of this general pay ceiling.

Child and Family Agency Staff

Questions (685)

Mattie McGrath

Question:

685. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the total staff complement of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency; the numbers assigned to Tusla from the Health Service Executive, children and family services, the Family Support Agency and the National Educational Welfare Board in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14986/16]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

Tusla was established on 1 January 2014 and operational arrangements were completed in advance of this date to ensure the smooth transition of service provisions, staff and service management. This included the transfer of staff from the Health Service Executive (HSE), the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) and the Family Support Agency (FSA). Provision was made for the transfer of 3,859 whole-time equivalent positions for Tusla, not all of which were in place at the time of transfer. This was made up as follows:

Transfer from	Whole-time Equivalent (WTE)
HSE	3,746
NEWB	97
FSA	16
Total	3,859

At the end of April 2016, there were 3,636 whole-time equivalents in place across Tusla and they are currently recruiting for 187 positions.

Ministerial Correspondence

Questions (686)

Éamon Ó Cuív

Question:

686. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of representations she has received from Members of the Oireachtas and the number of these to which she had not issued a substantive reply by 31 May 2016, by month of initial receipt, from 1 January 2015 to 30 April 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15032/16]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

It is not possible for my Department to provide data in a manner that would allow the Deputy's question to be fully answered within the time-frame available. During the period in question a total of 2,059 representations were received in my Department, including from members of the Oireachtas. In the same period, 1,969 representations were finalised, leaving a total of 90 representations not issued with a substantive reply.

Ministerial Responsibilities

Questions (687, 688)

Micheál Martin

Question:

687. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the role his Department has with the Department of Defence now that the Minister of State is located within his own Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14454/16]

Micheál Martin

Question:

688. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the procedures he has in place to receive briefings in his role relating to the Department of Defence and the nature and scope of delegation orders he has signed or intends to sign; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14517/16]

Written answers

Taoiseach and Minister for Defence

I propose to take Questions Nos. 687 and 688 together.

There is no change in the position as regards the relationship between the Department of Defence and the Department of the Taoiseach. Subject to finalisation of the necessary statutory instruments, the Minister of State at the Department of Defence, Minister Paul Kehoe, will undertake the associated delegated functions. As such, he will brief me on a regular basis on developments in the defence area, as will the Secretary General of the Department of Defence and as the need arises.

Work is underway in relation to the preparation of a Delegation of Ministerial Functions Order under the Minister and Secretaries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1977. This Order will be finalised as soon as possible in conjunction with the office of the Attorney General.