Wednesday, 29 Jun 2016

Written Answers Nos. 215-217

Preschool Services

Questions (215)

Willie O'Dea

Question:

215. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will re-examine regulations recently introduced by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency which will compel childminders to complete Fetac level 5; if she is aware that this change in regulations may compel many persons who are providing childminding services in their own homes to discontinue this practice; if she is further aware that this will be a serious inconvenience to parents who prefer this arrangement rather than sending their children to a crèche; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18574/16]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

When the Early Years Quality Agenda was introduced in 2013 to further improve quality in early years services, one of the items to be progressed was the introduction of a requirement that all staff working with children in pre-school services must hold a qualification in early childhood care and education at a minimum of Level 5 on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) or equivalent. Under the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016, this requirement will come into effect on 30 June 2016 for newly-registering services and on 31 December 2016 for existing services.

Under the Child Care Act 1991, childminders who care for more than 3 children of different families in the childminder's own home must be registered with Tusla and will be required to meet the minimum qualification requirement under the Child Care Regulations. Childminders who care for 3 or fewer children of different families, who care for one or more children of the same family and no other children, or who work in the child's own home, are exempt from the provisions of the Act and from the Regulations.

Existing registered childminders may access the Learner Fund, which was introduced to support childcare staff seeking to upskill to meet the new regulations.

The new qualification requirement is based on international evidence that says that increasing the qualification levels of staff in childcare increases the quality of the service and therefore improves the outcomes for children using the service. I have no plans, therefore, to review the Regulation governing minimum qualifications.

The Regulations include provision for an exemption for persons who intend to retire from the sector within the next few years and who do not wish to complete a course of study leading to a major award at Level 5. Persons who are granted this exemption will not be permitted to work in the pre-school sector after 1st September 2021. Registered childminders are entitled to apply for this exemption. Any such applications must be made through the local City/County Childcare Committee before 30th June.

Area Based Childhood Programme

Questions (216)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

216. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans to continue to fund a programme (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18659/16]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

The Area Based Childhood (ABC) Programme is a joint prevention and early intervention initiative led by my Department and The Atlantic Philanthropies. It is a time bound co-funding arrangement with resources of €29.7m from 2013 to 2017. The aim of the ABC Programme is to test and evaluate prevention and early intervention approaches to improve outcomes for children and families living in poverty in 13 areas of disadvantage.

The ABC Programme was preceded by the Prevention and Early Intervention Programme (PEIP) (2007-2013) in which three sites participated: Preparing for Life Programme, Darndale, Youngballymun and the Childhood Development Initiative Tallaght. Preparing for Life received €6m as a participant in the Prevention and Early Intervention programme. The total funding for Preparing for Life under the ABC programme is €3.34m bringing the total funding received by Preparing for Life under both programmes to €9.34m.

I want to acknowledge the excellent research undertaken by Preparing for Life in recent years including in respect of its home visiting programme which is showing promising results. I should emphasise that each of the ABC sites are engaged in research and evaluation of their programmes, approaches and interventions. A number of sites who were previously funded under PEIP, National Early Years Access Programme or other philanthropic-funded programmes have produced detailed high quality evaluations with many promising results being identified across the sites and individual programmes. My Department is working to ensure that we take full account of the learning from all the interventions across the 13 ABC sites including Preparing for Life. This will offer a clear illustration of the interventions that work best, and will inform our plans to embed prevention and early intervention in services for children.

The current contract for Preparing for Life was due to conclude in August 2016. My Department worked with Preparing for Life in April to agree the extension of this contract together with that of the two other PEIP sites to July 2017. This will bring them in line with the other 10 ABC sites. To ensure continued provision, my Department and The Atlantic Philanthropies have sanctioned an additional €400k to each of the three original sites. Preparing for Life welcomed the additional funding and have indicated that it allows them to embed their work in mainstream services and contribute to the learning and evaluation of the ABC Programme.

I look forward to the continued engagement of the 13 ABC sites with my Department as we work towards the implementation of quality prevention and early intervention initiatives in order to achieve our shared goal of improving the lives of children and families throughout the country.

Departmental Programmes

Questions (217)

Joan Burton

Question:

217. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the skills training and the selection of participants under the Defence Forces' linked programme with his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18732/16]

Written answers

Taoiseach and Minister for Defence

In line with the Government’s commitment to a strengthened approach across the economy to social responsibility, the Programme for a Partnership Government includes a commitment to introduce a pilot employment support scheme with the direct involvement of the Defence Forces. This commitment was also reflected in the White Paper on Defence, published in August 2015, which sets out the policy framework for the Defence Organisation for the next ten years and beyond.

The scheme and the programme content have been developed through detailed consultation involving the Department of Defence, the Defence Forces, the Department of Social Protection and the Dublin and Dun-Laoghaire Education and Training Board. A work group which includes representatives from each of the aforementioned organisations has developed the detail of the initiative with key stakeholders.

The objective of this Scheme is to help develop a path to economic independence for participants, aged between 18 and 24 years, who are at a serious disadvantage owing to their current socio-economic situation. The Scheme is designed with the specific aim of equipping participants with life and other marketable and certifiable skills which will assist them both in their capacity to participate fully in society as well as their ability to enter the workforce and or to pursue further education for this purpose.

The Department of Social Protection identified suitable participants for participation in the pilot scheme. The basic selection criteria applied were that the person must:

- be aged between 18 and 24,

- be unemployed,

- want to take part in the programme, and

- be healthy and physically able to take part in outdoor activities.

Potential candidates were then interviewed by a member of the Defence Forces and an official from Department of Social Protection. Candidates who were successful at interview were then required to pass security vetting and be medically certified as fit to undergo the programme of training by their own civilian GP, prior to the commencement date of the pilot scheme.

The pilot scheme commenced on Monday 20th June 2016 for 28 participants in Gormanston Camp for 10 weeks. On successful completion of the programme, participants will receive some certificates which should improve their prospects of securing employment. These will include:

- A joint certificate from the Defence Forces and the Department of Social Protection that the participant has successfully completed the course;

- A reference from the Defence Forces Officer leading the course outlining the participant’s performance on the course;

- A Basic Medical Training certificate;

- A Manual Handling Training certificate;

- A Certificate on Food Safety Management;

- A City and Guilds Credit for Word Processing, Using the Internet and for Using E-mail;

- A SOLAS Safe Pass. Safe Pass is a one-day safety awareness programme which is required of all construction site workers.

The following revision was received from the Department on 14 July 2016

The written reply stated that there were 28 participants taking part in the pilot scheme. The Department would like to clarify that in fact the number of participants is 25.