Wednesday, 5 Apr 2017

Written Answers Nos. 346-357

Consultancy Contracts Data

Questions (346)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

346. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of private investigation firms hired by statutory agencies and or semi-State bodies under the aegis of her Department in the past five years to date in 2017; the names of the firms; the amount they were paid; if they supplied her Department with a report on completion of their work; if she will provide copies of reports submitted to her from these firms as a result of this engagement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16987/17]

Written answers

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

The hiring of private investigation firms by agencies under the aegis of my Department is a day-to-day operational matter for the agencies concerned. I have asked the agencies to provide details of any such contracts and I will forward these to the Deputy once received.

The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 42A

In my reply I undertook to provide details of any private investigation firms hired by agencies under the aegis of my Department. I can now confirm that no such firms were hired by any of the agencies in the past five years or to date in 2017.

Brexit Issues

Questions (347)

Joan Burton

Question:

347. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if there is a senior official with designated responsibility for Brexit matters in her Department; if so, the grade of the designated official; the funding allocated to the said Brexit unit; the cost to date; the anticipated cost; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17005/17]

Written answers

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

The work of very many Business Units is impacted by Brexit and the Department as a whole has prioritised the Brexit challenges in its work plans for 2017 across all its Divisions. A dedicated Brexit Unit was established in 2016 and is led at Assistant Secretary level within the EU Affairs, Trade Policy and Safety and Chemicals Policy Division, to coordinate and represent the Departmental and Agencies response to Brexit and to support me in my position at the Cabinet Committee on Brexit. The designated official, at Assistant Secretary level, is supported by 1 Principal, 1 Assistant Principal, 1 Higher Executive Officer and 1 Clerical Officer. Additional staffing resources are being recruited to support the Brexit Unit, and other areas of the Department impacted by Brexit in the immediate period ahead, on foot of a recently completed workforce planning exercise for the Department in respect of the period 2017-2019. The full year salary costs for the Brexit Unit, including the additional staffing resources to be recruited, is estimated at approximately €500,000. In addition to this, funding is available to undertake appropriate research, and in light of the substantial programme of visits ongoing and planned at Ministerial and Official level to other capital cities as part of our outreach to our European partners, there will be associated travel and subsistence costs.

Brexit Issues

Questions (348)

Joan Burton

Question:

348. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of staff deployed full time in her Department in respect of Brexit; if there is a designated section or unit to deal with Brexit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17021/17]

Written answers

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Staffing levels of my Department reflect the requirement to manage the pay bill and staff numbers in accordance with Government pay policy with staff resources deployed in the most effective and efficient manner as appropriate to business needs and key priorities at any given time.

An additional €3 million was secured in respect of Pay in Budget 2017 and is being targeted specifically to assist in our response to the evolving Brexit scenario. It is enabling the Department and, primarily, our Agencies recruit some 40 to 50 additional staff to supplement existing staffing numbers. These numbers may grow as Agencies allocate additional Own Resource Income, by agreement with the Department, to recruit further staff to work on "Brexit-related" activity.

The additional €3m has been allocated across:

- Enterprise Ireland

- IDA Ireland

- Science Foundation Ireland

- The Health and Safety Authority, and

- The Department itself (€250,000)

The Department as a whole has prioritised the Brexit challenges in its work plans for 2017 across all its Divisions. Brexit Unit staffing has been set at a team of 4 full-time staff for now as follows: 1 Principal, 1 Assistant Principal, 1 Higher Executive Officer and 1 Clerical Officer. In addition, the work of very many Business Units across the Department is impacted by Brexit. These Units have finalised their business plans for 2017 and the impact of Brexit for their work has been fully factored in. In addition, a workforce planning process spanning the years 2017-19 has recently been concluded. This process was coordinated by my Department's HR Unit and reviewed the level of resources assigned across all Divisions of the Department in relation to our current strategic priorities, and, naturally, responding to Brexit features heavily in the plan. In this regard additional staffing resources will be recruited to support the Brexit Unit and other areas of the Department impacted by Brexit in the immediate period ahead.

Early Childhood Care and Education Staff

Questions (349)

Kathleen Funchion

Question:

349. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of early years practitioners currently registered and working across the State in early years services, private and community, with qualification five and qualification six respectively. [16893/17]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

I understand that the Deputy is referring to the relevant qualifications (in Early Years or Early Childhood Care and Education) which are placed at Levels 5, 6, 7 and 8 on the NFQ. I would like to bring it to the Deputy's attention that there is no professional registry for early years professionals, however, qualifications of staff members are verified through regulatory inspections (Tusla) for all providers and regulatory and contractual inspections (Pobal) for ECCE providers. For figures, the best indicator is last year's The Early Years Sector Profile Report 2015-16 which was published in November 2016. It is a survey which was administered by Pobal in conjunction with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs with the aim of providing a national picture of services providing early childhood care and education in Ireland. The survey on which the Report is based was completed by 79 per cent of childcare providers in April 2016. Pobal have extrapolated the figures provided in the Report in order to establish the qualification levels for early years practitioners at a national level. It is estimated that there are 23,291 early years practitioners currently employed in private and community services. Of these, 7,418 hold a level 5 on the National Qualification Framework (NFQ) while 8,926 hold a level 6 NFQ qualification.

A breakdown of qualifications by private/community services using the extrapolated figures was not carried out by Pobal and, as such, are not available presently.

The Early Years Sector Report 2015-2016 can be found on Pobal's website, www. pobal.ie.

Early Childhood Care and Education Staff

Questions (350)

Kathleen Funchion

Question:

350. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of early years practitioners currently registered and working across the State in early years services with qualification seven and qualification eight respectively. [16894/17]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

I understand that the Deputy is referring to the relevant qualifications (in Early Years or Early Childhood Care and Education) at which are placed at Levels 5, 6, 7 and 8 on the NFQ. I would like to bring it to the Deputy's attention that there is no professional registry for early years professionals, however, qualifications of staff members are verified through regulatory inspections (Tusla) for all providers and regulatory and contractual inspections (Pobal) for ECCE providers. For figures, the best indicator is last year's The Early Years Sector Profile Report 2015-16 which was published in November 2016. It is a survey which was administered by Pobal in conjunction with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs with the aim of providing a national picture of services providing early childhood care and education in Ireland. The survey on which the Report is based was completed by 79 per cent of childcare providers in April 2016. Pobal have extrapolated the figures provided in the Report in order to establish the qualification levels for early years practitioners at a national level. It is estimated that there are 23,291 early years practitioners currently employed in private and community services. Of these, 1,215 hold a level 7 on the National Qualification Framework (NFQ) while 2,687 hold a level 8 NFQ qualification.

The Early Years Sector Report 2015-2016 can be found on Pobal's website, www. pobal.ie.

Early Childhood Care and Education

Questions (351)

Kathleen Funchion

Question:

351. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the amount of funding allocated to the learner fund for 2016-2017; the number of practitioners who availed of places available; and if all the funding allocated to the fund was availed of. [16895/17]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

The amount of funding allocated to the learner fund in 2016 was €1.5m. In 2017, there is €3m allocated to the Learner Fund.

In 2016 the number of applications received under the Learner Fund was 1,032 and is broken down as follows:

- The third round of the Learner fund received 169 applications.

- The fourth round of the Learner fund received 863 applications.

In 2017, my Department made funding available to provide a bursary to childcare staff who have undertaken higher level courses at their own expense. 863 bursaries have been paid to date via the City/County Childcare Committees (CCCs). This number may change pending the appeals process.

Finally, I can confirm that all of the funding allocated to the Learner Fund in 2016 was not availed of. My Department is currently reviewing the Learner Fund in respect of 2017 and will release information on the next iteration shortly.

Departmental Funding

Questions (352)

Tony McLoughlin

Question:

352. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which she remains satisfied regarding the availability of adequate resources to meet the growing challenges in terms of rapid response, youth support services, social services, and investigative programmes throughout Ireland and especially in counties Sligo and Leitrim; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16901/17]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

The Revised Estimate for my Department for 2017 provides a gross funding provision of €1.311 billion. This represents an increase of €173 million, or 16%, over my Department’s 2016 allocation.

In 2017, youth services have an overall budget of €60 million, an additional €5.5m over their 2016 allocation. This funding supports the delivery of a range of youth work programmes and services for all young people, including those from disadvantaged communities. Over 380,000 children and young people engaged with these services in 2016.

My Department is currently undertaking an exercise to map youth service provision across the State. This mapping exercise will assist my Department in developing a detailed socio-demographic profile in terms of both population numbers and deprivation levels, and will inform future development and investment in youth services in counties such as Sligo and Leitrim.

Tusla, the Child and Family Agency is receiving an additional investment of €37 million this year. In 2017, Tusla has an overall allocation of some €713 million which allows it to standardise, streamline and improve its services to children and families. The extra funding in 2017 allows Tusla to further alleviate service pressures in the areas such as unallocated caseloads, private residential care, foster care and domestic, sexual and gender based violence services.

In conclusion, the significant additional resources secured for 2017 will allow my Department and its agencies build on the good work by all involved in working with children and families to deliver on this Government’s commitment to fundamentally reform the delivery of services.

Child Protection Services Provision

Questions (353, 357)

Tony McLoughlin

Question:

353. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the availability of adequate placement facilities for children at risk or deemed to be at risk in counties Sligo and Leitrim; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16902/17]

Tony McLoughlin

Question:

357. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of children in foster care or protective residential care in counties Sligo and Leitrim; the demand arising from the need to ensure the welfare and well-being of such children; the availability of the required personnel and resources; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16906/17]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

I propose to take Questions Nos. 353 and 357 together.

The latest figures from Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, indicate that, at the end of January 2017, there were 6,323 children in care. Of these, 5,844 (92%) were in foster care and 341 (5%) were in residential care. Foster care is the main form of alternative care for children in need of care and protection, and it is the preferred option for children who cannot live with their parent(s)/guardian(s). Of the 5,844 children in foster care, there were 4,130 (71%) in a general foster care placement and 1,714 (29%) were in care with relatives. Residential care is the placement of choice for older children who have needs that are best met by this placement type. In general, residential care is based in domestic style homes, catering for between 1 and 4 or 5 older children.

All children in care should have an allocated social worker but it is important to note that if a child has not been allocated a social worker, the cases are reviewed regularly by the principal social worker and are managed by duty social work teams to support the child's needs. At the end of January 2017, 93% of all children in care had an allocated social worker (5,885/6,323) nationally.

At the end of 2016, there was a total of 103 children in care in the Sligo/Leitrim/West Cavan area. Of the 103 children in care, 78 were in general foster care, 16 in foster care with a relative, 8 in a residential care placement and one child was in an other care placement. At the end of January 2017, there was a total of 101 children in care in the Sligo/Leitrim/West Cavan administrative area and all had an allocated social worker. Tusla has advised that there are 9 registered residential care centres in the Sligo/Leitrim/West Cavan area. Children placed in these centres include children from other geographic locations, especially from the greater Dublin area.

Tusla currently has 1,467 WTE social workers and an end of 2017 target of 1,520 WTE. This target is short of the target set in Survival to Sustainability by approximately 100 WTE and reflects the constraints of the social work labour supply. Funding is in place to address the issue of unallocated cases, however, the recruitment environment for social workers is very challenging. However, Tusla is also focusing on intervening at an early stage of a family difficulty through social care and family supports. Accordingly, Tusla is prioritising the recruitment of an additional 100 Family Support Practitioners, 166 social care staff and an additional 25 administrative staff to allow social workers to focus on their core work with children and their families.

Child Protection

Questions (354, 356)

Tony McLoughlin

Question:

354. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the resources available to her Department to meet the anticipated demands of children at risk here, especially in counties Sligo and Leitrim; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16903/17]

Tony McLoughlin

Question:

356. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the average time taken to investigate cases of children at risk of the various forms of abuse; the degree to which a systemic response is in place to deal with such issues here, and especially in counties Sligo and Leitrim; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16905/17]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

I propose to take Questions Nos. 354 and 356 together.

Children First National Guidance (2011) gives advice for notifying Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, of situations where abuse is suspected. A range of professionals including teachers, nurses, early years educators, Gardaí and other health professionals, who see children regularly, are in a good position to identify children at risk. Where someone has reasonable grounds for suspecting a child is being, or has been, abused, they are expected to immediately contact Tusla. The Children First Act, 2015, once it is fully commenced, will place a statutory obligation on key professionals (mandated persons) to report concerns of harm above a defined threshold to Tusla without delay. It is my intention that these provisions will be commenced by the end of 2017.

The latest breakdown of referrals available relate to quarter 3, 2016 and there was a total of 181 referrals received in the Sligo/Leitrim/West Cavan administrative area during that period. Each referral received by Tusla is assessed and dealt with on an individual basis by the relevant social work team. Approximately 60% of referrals to Tusla are of a child welfare concern with the remaining 40% related to child protection concerns. Tusla's policy is to refer child welfare referrals to relevant family and community support services. At any stage, if a determination is made that there is abuse, whether physical, emotional, sexual or neglect, from which there is an ongoing risk of significant harm, the child protection pathway is followed. In a minority of cases this may lead to the child being placed on the Child Protection Notification System (CPNS) or the child being received into care. At the end of 2016, there was a total of 42 children listed as active on the CPNS in the Sligo/Leitrim/West Cavan area.

At the end of January 2017, there were 101 children in care in the Sligo/Leitrim/West Cavan administrative area. I am pleased to advise that every child in care in Sligo/Leitrim/West Cavan had an allocated social worker. Tusla has advised that there are 9 registered residential care centres in the Sligo/Leitrim/West Cavan area. Children placed in these centres include children from other geographic locations, especially from the greater Dublin area.

Tusla provides me with information on a monthly and quarterly basis outlining the increasing demands for their services, and how they are dealing with children awaiting services. This information provides me with the information needed to assess how well we are supporting vulnerable children. Also, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), inspects Tusla child welfare and protection services, statutory children’s residential care centres and foster care services while Tusla inspects children’s residential centres run by the private and voluntary sectors.

This valuable and detailed information continues to inform the Department and Tusla in the business planning needed to maintain and further enhance the range of services for the care and protection of children. Tusla is currently engaged in the second year of a three year recruitment programme to expand the cohort of social workers, social care workers and business support staff. I have secured additional funding for Tusla to enable this to happen and the current and capital Exchequer funding provided for Tusla is some €713 million in 2017.

Child Protection

Questions (355)

Tony McLoughlin

Question:

355. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the support services available to children who may be at risk as result of being undocumented non-nationals here with special regards to counties Sligo and Leitrim; the measures taken to protect such children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16904/17]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

The Child Care Act, 1991 applies to all children resident in the State, irrespective of their immigration status. Under the Child Care Act, 1991 and the Child and Family Agency Act 2013, Tusla has a duty to promote the welfare of children who are not receiving adequate care or protection. The Agency is obliged to provide care for these children for as long as their welfare requires it.

Children living in direct provision are in the care of their parent(s). Concerns about the welfare, safety or well-being of a child in direct provision are reported to Tusla in line with Children First guidelines. Tusla seconded an experienced social worker to the Reception and Integration Agency, in the Department of Justice and Equality, to liaise directly between Direct Provision and Tusla services.

Children First National Guidance (2011) gives advice for notifying Tusla of situations where abuse is suspected. A range of professionals including teachers, nurses, early years educators, Gardaí and other health professionals, who see children regularly, are in a good position to identify children at risk. Where someone has reasonable grounds for suspecting a child is being, or has been, abused, they are expected to immediately contact Tusla.

If a child is taken into care, their needs are given priority. A social worker is assigned to a child placed in State care and has a duty to prepare and regularly review the care plan for the child. Intrinsic to this process is ensuring that the wishes of the child are listened to, and if appropriate, Tusla may assist them in establishing residency.

Unaccompanied asylum seeking children are placed in care and have their needs assessed, and are allocated a social worker.

Question No. 356 answered with Question No. 354.

Question No. 357 answered with Question No. 353.