Thomas P. Broughan
Question:1939. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the projects her Department is prioritising in Budget 2017; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26138/16]
View answerFriday, 16 September 2016
Questions (1939)
Written answers
The responsibilities of my Department encompass a wide range of policy and service activity, both direct and indirect, for children and young people in Ireland. It has a complex mandate, comprised of a number of separate, but interrelated strands including:-
- the direct provision of a range of universal and targeted services;
- ensuring high-quality arrangements are in place for focused interventions dealing with child welfare and protection, family support, adoption, school attendance and reducing youth crime;
- the harmonisation of policy and provision across Government and with a wide range of stakeholders to improve outcomes for children, young people and families.
Funding requirements and how resources should be prioritised and allocated across each area of Government spending are generally considered as part of the annual estimates cycle and budgetary process. I am sure the Deputy will appreciate that it would be inappropriate for me to comment at this time on any future decisions that may be taken by Government in the context of Budget 2017 on the expenditure allocations for programmes and services falling within the Vote of my Department. However, my overall objective will be to realise funding allocations that reflect expenditure policy priorities and that sufficient resources are directed towards those areas of greatest impact on children and young people.
The State funded services provided by my Department span across three main programme areas in the Vote and I would like to briefly outline for the information of the Deputy the nature and extent of the programmes and services that are administered through the available resource allocations.
Programme A provides for the Children and Family Support Programme which includes the funding allocations for the Child and Family Agency and the Irish Youth Justice Service. The overall objective of this Programme is to integrate and improve the existing service delivery arrangements to protect and support the welfare of children, young people and their families.
Programme B , Sectoral Programmes for Children and Young People, contains many of the major expenditure areas of the Department that include a range of childcare programmes including the free Pre-School Year in Early Childhood Care and Education and provision for youth programmes and services. The overall objective under the Programme is to continue to support the provision of both universal and targeted services for the care, development and well-being of children and young people.
Programme C, the Policy and Legislation Programme of the Department supports a range of programmes that include the National Longitudinal Study of Children in Ireland, the National Children’s Strategy, the application based National Lottery Funding Scheme, provision for the Office of the Ombudsman for Children, the Adoption Authority of Ireland and the Commission of Investigation in to Mother and Baby Homes.