Written Answers Nos. 658-681
658. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the breakdown of level 7 funding between the 10 and 15 hours options allowed within the AIM programme; the amount provided for the total 10-hour allocation and total 15-hour allocation nationally; and the number of children each of those total amounts provide for. [24167/17]
View answerAIM is a model of supports designed to ensure that children with disabilities can access the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme. Its goal is to empower pre-school providers to deliver an inclusive pre-school experience, ensuring that every eligible child can fully participate in the ECCE programme and reap the benefits of quality early years care and education. AIM is a child-centred model, involving seven levels of progressive support, moving from the universal to the targeted, based on the needs of the child and the pre-school setting. The degree of support provided depends on the needs of the child in the context of the pre-school setting they are attending.
A pre-school provider, in partnership with a parent, can apply for AIM Level 7 - additional capitation. Where the AIM Early Years Specialist (a support provided under AIM Level 4) considers that a Level 7 support is critical to a child's participation in the ECCE programme, they will further consider the degree of Level 7 support required having regard to whether the child has complex or highly complex needs. Where a child is deemed to have complex needs, payment of Level 7 capitation at the lower rate will enable the setting to supplement their staffing by 10 additional staff hours per week. Where a child is deemed to have highly complex needs, payment of Level 7 capitation at the higher rate will enable the setting to supplement their staffing by 15 additional staff hours per week. This can be used to reduce the adult to child ratio in the pre-school room or can be used to buy in additional assistance.
Pobal has provided the following breakdown of the value of contracts to date between Pobal and pre-school providers for AIM Level 7 capitation. This relates to the 2016/ 2017 ECCE programme year:
|
AIM Level 7 approvals |
Value of contracts |
No. of applications |
|
Lower Capitation rate |
€1,054,505.50 |
404 |
|
Higher Capitation rate |
€2,377,082.81 |
848 |
|
Total |
€3,431,588.31 |
1,252 |
AIM was launched in June 2016. Therefore, it is still in the first full year of operation. As awareness of AIM grows, it is expected that the demand for all levels of support under AIM, including Level 7, will increase.
659. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans for a review of the early years child care sector; and the Government body that will conduct the review. [24168/17]
View answerMy Department is very much aware of the current issues affecting the childcare sector and, in conjunction with Pobal and Childcare Committees Ireland, keeps these matters under constant review.
The issue of sustainability in childcare services is multifaceted and encompasses broad challenges – the rate of subvention funding received for the Department’s childcare schemes is at the core of this; but there are also issues relating to parental contributions; funding from Tusla and other sources for services related to childcare; and the scope of care offered by providers, particularly in the community sector, which often goes beyond the core childcare funded by the Department.
Given the urgency of the challenges faced by services, I asked officials in my Department to work in 2017 to address the most acute – the impact of the removal of unqualified CE workers from ratios; and funding for the administrative work done by services during non-contact time.
This does not mean that I do not recognise the broader sustainability challenges facing the sector but addressing these two strands should provide the most impact in the shortest timeframe. The process of arranging funding to childcare services to address the replacement of unqualified CE scheme workers took intensive work by Childcare Committees Ireland, and has now proceeded to payment, with services having received the first payments under this scheme in April, and payments continuing until September.
Non-contact time:
My Department will also be making €14.5m available in 2017 to provide an additional payment to childcare providers to recognise the increasing volume of work done outside of direct contact hours with children. This funding will make an additional payment of 7 days' funding available to all ECCE Services and an equivalent level of payment to CCS and TEC services.
Independent Review of the Cost of providing Quality Childcare in Ireland: Given the importance of financial sustainability for the provision of quality childcare, the Irish Programme for Government commits to conducting and publishing an independent review of the cost of providing quality childcare in Ireland. This commitment aligns closely with work on the design and development of the Affordable Childcare Scheme and is currently being progressed in that context. Work on preparing a Request for Tenders (RFT) for this 'Independent Review of Cost' is currently underway and it is envisaged that this RFT will be published in the coming months.
Cost of childcare/pay and conditions:
Staff in the childcare sector have a critical role to play in delivering high quality childcare services and they deserve to be valued and respected for the important role they play in the lives of our children. Because childcare costs to parents in Ireland are one of the highest in the OECD, we need to address affordability and quality at the same time. My Department is not an employer of childcare workers but it is a significant funder of childcare services. My Department is conscious that there is an issue with regard to the pay and conditions of workers in the sector and is engaging with the early years sector to explore how this can be addressed in the short, medium and long term.
Workforce plan for the Early Years Sector:
As part of the Action Plan on School Age Childcare (March 2017) my Department is working with the Department of Education and Skills (DES) in developing a new workforce plan for the Early Years sector which will provide objective evidence and analysis regarding supply and demand issues to inform future capacity planning by both Departments. The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs have undertaken to carry out a workforce planning exercise for the sector and DES and DCYA are now working with the secretariat in the initial stages of the analysis.
It is intended that the workforce planning exercise will include:
- An environmental analysis of current and forthcoming policy and regulatory drivers on the sector and future demographic trends and demand for ECEC service;
- A skills forecasting exercise with a comprehensive analysis to assess future needs of the sector (supply and demand for staff at different levels of qualifications) and taking into account attrition and turnover in the workforce;
- Policy implications for Government to consider in future policy for the sector.
The development of a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) infrastructure for the sector workforce will be considered taking into account the recommendations of the workforce plan. Currently the commitment by the two Departments is to deliver the workforce plan by the first quarter of 2018 (School Age Childcare Report).
660. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the cost per year of the ACS in the event that the wage rate for educators is revised from the current proposed wage rate for level 5 educators to €11.50 an hour, €13.00 an hour for level 6 educators and €14.75 an hour for level 7 educators. [24169/17]
View answerWages in the early years sector are unacceptably low and working conditions are poor. This affects the quality of service offered to children. Addressing these issues is a priority for me as Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. As my Department is not the employer, however, I have no direct control over wages or working conditions. Similarly, as my Department is not the employer, there is no proposed wage rate for educators delivering the Affordable Childcare Scheme. Educators’ wages will be determined by their employers.
The Affordable Childcare Scheme aims to make childcare more affordable, particularly for families with low incomes, supporting labour market participation and the reduction of child poverty. As a scheme to make childcare more affordable, it cannot in itself address all the challenges that face the early years sector. If we are to tackle the issues of wages and poor working conditions in the early years sector, we will need a variety of policy tools.
That said, the Affordable Childcare Scheme will significantly increase the level of public investment in the sector and it will create a framework for further future investment.
The subsidy rates proposed for the Affordable Childcare Scheme reflect the current cost of delivering childcare, including current wage rates. If wage rates were to rise, my Department would have to examine the possible need for subsidy rates to rise to reflect the higher cost of delivery for childcare providers. Subsidy rates are a matter for Government decision – they would not rise automatically in line with changes in wages.
If, however, we assume that a decision was made to raise subsidy rates proportionally to reflect a rise in wages to €11.50 to educators qualified to Level 5 on the National Framework of Qualifications, €13.00 for Level 6 educators, and €14.75 for Level 7 educators, and if we assume that there were no change in the proportion of educators at each of these qualification levels, and if we also assume that managers earn the same wage as Level 7 educators, then it can be estimated that the full year costs of the Affordable Childcare Scheme would rise from approximately €150 million to approximately €172 million.
To help support the future development of the Affordable Childcare Scheme, as well as the ECCE programme, I will shortly be commissioning an Independent Review on the Cost of Quality Childcare. Among other things, this review will examine the link between wages, the quality of provision, and public funding. Its conclusion will be of great assistance to my Department as we consider the policy tools available to us to address the issues of wages and working conditions.
661. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of children who will be eligible to participate in the single affordable child care scheme in 2017. [24219/17]
View answer662. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of children who are already eligible for subsidised child care who will be eligible to participate in the single affordable child care scheme in 2017. [24220/17]
View answer663. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of children who are not currently eligible for subsidised child care who will be eligible for a universal subsidy under the single affordable child care scheme in 2017. [24221/17]
View answer664. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of children who are not currently eligible for subsidised child care who will be eligible for a targeted subsidy under the single affordable child care scheme in 2017. [24222/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 661 to 664, inclusive, together.
As I have previously announced, the Affordable Childcare Scheme (ACS) will not be introduced in September 2017, but will be introduced at the earliest possible date.
However, I do not want to delay the benefit of higher childcare subsidies for families. I am pleased to confirm that major improvements in childcare subsidies will therefore come into effect this September, including increases of up to 50% in targeted childcare subsidy rates and a new universal childcare subsidy for children aged between 6 months and 36 months. September’s changes will be delivered through existing childcare schemes, pending the introduction of the ACS.
The take-up of childcare subsidies depends not just on eligibility, but on parental demand for childcare, and on the availability of childcare places in local childcare settings that are taking part in the relevant subsidy schemes. Estimates of the number of beneficiaries of childcare subsidies are estimates of take-up of the scheme. A level of uncertainty must therefore remain, as take-up will depend on choices to be made by parents and childcare providers over the coming months.
It is estimated that up to 70,000 children will benefit from childcare subsidies from this September, which would more than double the number of beneficiaries of existing schemes. Of these, approximately 30,000 children who will benefit are already benefitting from existing targeted childcare schemes (i.e. Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) and the Training and Employment Childcare (TEC) Schemes). In addition, it is estimated that 40,000 children may benefit from subsidies from this September who did not previously benefit from subsidies. Of this number, up to 33,000 children will benefit from the new universal subsidy that will be provided under the CCS Scheme, and there will up to 7,000 additional children benefitting from targeted subsidies provided under this Scheme.
An information campaign in the coming weeks will aim to maximise take-up through raising awareness among parents about eligibility.
665. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she is satisfied that there is equal treatment of private and State residential care services for foster children in view of recent changes to payment of overnight staff; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24288/17]
View answerTusla has advised me that all residential care services are operated to the same standard. Recent changes in the payment of overnight staff has had no impact on the continued equal treatment of private and State residential care services for foster children.
666. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the reason her Department has not published a national strategy on youth work. [24289/17]
View answerThe National Youth Strategy 2015-2020 was published in October 2015 and 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, so that they are active and healthy, achieving their full potential in learning and development, safe and protected from harm, have economic security and opportunity and are connected and contributing to their world. 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.
667. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her Department's expenditure on youth service by receiving organisation in each of the years 2011 to 2016 and to date in 2017. [24290/17]
View answerThe information requested relates to funding schemes that annually support national and local youth work provision to some 380,000 young people and involve approximately 1,400 youth work staff in 477 projects throughout the country. I am pleased to confirm that I have allocated an extra €5.5m in current funding to support the provision of youth services in 2017. This will bring the total youth funding by my Department to €57.4m, an increase of 10% over last year's allocation. The additional funding is being used for programmes that target disadvantaged young people and to assist national youth organisations in their work to support local voluntary youth services.
These schemes include the Youth Service Grant Scheme under which funding is made available on an annual basis to thirty national and major regional youth organisations. In 2017, some €10.65m has been allocated under this scheme, a 5% increase over 2016. This funding is intended to ensure the emergence, promotion, growth and development of youth organisations with distinctive philosophies and programmes aimed at the social education of young people.
Information on the funding provided to youth services by receiving organisation in each of the years 2011 to 2016 has been forwarded to the Deputy. The 2017 allocations also forwarded to the Deputy provide for an increase of up to 5% to all existing youth projects. My Department is at present engaged in the distribution of this funding which is an ongoing process. Grants are generally paid to recipients in four quarterly instalments subject to receipt of the required documentation. It is expected subject to the receipt of this documentation that 50% of the 2017 Allocations will be released to all funding intermediaries by 30 June 2017.
668. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs when sections 6 to 17 of the Children First Act 2015 will come into order; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24399/17]
View answerSince the Children First Act 2015 was signed into law on 19 November 2015, a number of provisions of the Act have already been commenced as follows: Sections 1 to 5 (Part I) and section 28 (Part V) of the Act were commenced on 11 December 2015 and Section 18 (Part III) and Sections 20-26 (Part IV) were commenced on 1 May 2016. My intention is that the remaining provisions of the Act, including sections 6-17 will be commenced by end 2017.
669. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her views on a matter (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24403/17]
View answerIn 2017, I made €4m in funding available under the Early Years Capital Programme and a separate €3 million in capital funding for services providing school age childcare. The application process for both funds has now closed. Pobal is responsible for administering capital programmes on behalf of my Department. In addition to providing the online application system, Pobal support the application process with a range of dedicated materials including application guidelines, user videos and a dedicated client services helpdesk. In addition, County Childcare Committees (CCCs) are available to support childcare providers at a local level.
Pobal have advised my Department that approximately *1800 applications across both capital programmes have been submitted and assured my officials that the application process was satisfactory from a technical and applicant support perspective. In particular, with regard to the IT system, the system did not experience downtime throughout the duration of the application process and no issues presented with how the IT system was operating and processing applications.
As with all funding programmes a deadline is required for receipt of applications. Late applications are not accepted, in fairness to more than 1,800 applicants who made their applications on time.
Pobal are dealing with a small number of complaints in relation to programme design and one in relation to a late application. All complaints are dealt with under Pobal's complaint procedure detailed on the Pobal website.
*tentative figure and subject to change.
670. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans to ensure children can continue to avail of vital services (details supplied) that are in fact helping to reduce child poverty within very disadvantaged areas of the country as evidenced through poverty deprivation scores. [24411/17]
View answerI want to ensure a balanced approach to eligibility for childcare subsidies under the Affordable Childcare Scheme. While people will qualify for a subsidy based purely on income, parents’ participation in work or training will determine the number of hours of subsidy available. When parents are engaged in work (including part-time work and labour market activation programmes) or in education or training, they will be eligible for an enhanced subsidy of up to 40 hours per week. When parents are not in work or training, childcare will be subsidised on a standard basis of up to 15 hours per week. I believe that this is a reasonable approach.
It will mean that this Scheme is open – albeit for standard hours rather than enhanced hours – to parents who are not taking part in work or training, but who choose to avail of up to 15 hours of childcare per week. In the case of school-going children, the child development objectives are met through school-going hours and, as such, the 15 standard hours of childcare applies to non-term time.
I acknowledge that, where a parent is at home and not engaged in work or study, the family will not benefit from subsidised after-school childcare. However, I believe it is important that the Scheme should actively support labour market participation through linking the number of hours of subsidy to a family’s need for childcare for the purpose of work, education or training.
There is also a small but important group of families for whom childcare is needed on child welfare grounds or for whom childcare is a necessary early intervention support and where there is a referral to the Community Childcare Subvention Scheme by Tusla. For the Affordable Childcare Scheme, it is proposed that, where such a referral is made, families would automatically qualify for a subsidy without having to satisfy any income or work/study test. Tusla would recommend the hours of childcare needed, i.e. whether an enhanced or standard subsidy is required. The Scheme would then provide the maximum rate of subsidy in respect of those hours of care, and no payment would be asked of the parents in these circumstances. This approach is consistent with current practice under the Community Childcare Subvention Scheme and is critical to supporting strong child welfare and protection practices. My officials are currently in discussion with Tusla in relation to the way in which this referral process will operate in the Affordable Childcare Scheme.
671. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the way she will protect the rights of children to ensure that they are not further marginalised through the enactment of new legislation (details supplied). [24412/17]
View answerIt is not clear from the Deputy’s question the exact legislation being referred to. My Department is arranging to follow up on this matter with the Deputy.
672. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her views on establishing a national network of supervised contact centres in order that access to children can be continued in a safe environment for children (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24471/17]
View answerMy Department is committed to supporting and promoting the development, welfare and protection of children, and the effective functioning of families. It is recognised that the dynamics of domestic violence and the safety needs of both children and non-abusing parents must be considered in making appropriate arrangements for children's contact with abusive parents in the case of family breakdown.
I wish to acknowledge the valuable work of the child contact centres which were set up under a pilot project operated by Barnardos and One Family from October 2011 to December 2013. The final evaluation report on the Child Contact Centres, published by One Family in March 2014, recommended that an integrated response by my Department and the Department of Justice and Equality, supported by our relevant agencies (i.e. The Child and Family Agency, the Courts Service, the Probation Service, the Legal Aid Board, the Family Mediation Service, and COSC) would be the best approach to implementing the recommendations.
I have made contact previously with the Minister for Justice and Equality regarding the final evaluation report of the pilot project, suggesting that our two Departments would jointly review the evaluation report in light of changing infrastructural arrangements such as the establishment of the Child and Family Agency and the proposed Family Courts Service. I wish to assure the Deputy that I am committed to examining the potential for advancing further consideration of the final evaluation report’s recommendations in that context and that I will raise this matter again with the Minister for Justice and Equality immediately.
673. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the status of a new family resource centre (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24512/17]
View answerTusla has advised that the Family Resource Centre (FRC) referred to by the Deputy is now established. A Board of Management is in place and the Centre is in receipt of a budget of €115,000 from Tusla under the Family Resource Centre Programme.
The centre in question is the new hub for family support in the region. To date, the centre has received approximately €85,000 in core funding from Tusla. In December 2016, a small grant of €27,500 was also provided by Tusla for the provision of equipment.
The centre is currently operating from temporary accommodation. A building has been identified in the area which is considered suitable for the centre to operate from. Communications are ongoing with a view to securing a long-term lease at a nominal rent. The Board of Management is hopeful that a lease will be agreed shortly.
674. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 368 of 12 April 2017, the costs of the Tusla early years inspections, the Department of Education and Skills early years inspections and the Pobal compliance visits per year, in tabular form. [24564/17]
View answerOfficials in my Department have liaised with Tusla, Pobal and the Department of Education and Skills on this matter. The cost of inspections in 2016 are outlined in a table:
|
Organisation/Department |
2016 Cost |
|
Tusla |
€3,348,931 |
|
Early Years Inspectorate, Department of Education and Skills |
€1,020,084.82 |
|
Pobal |
€1,383,296 |
675. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the research in the area of gender recognition for children that her Department has undertaken; the position regarding the research or consultation process that is being undertaken and if she will name the relevant NGOs or other organisations that are a part of the consultation process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24749/17]
View answerThe Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) conducted consultations with transgender children and young people in November 2016 in cooperation with the Transgender Equality Network of Ireland (TENI), who collaborated with BeLongTo. A research team from Trinity College Dublin was contracted to write a report of the consultations, a draft of which was submitted to the DCYA in March 2017. Since the November 2016 consultations were conducted, I launched a wider consultation process to inform the development of a National Youth LGBTI+ Strategy. Consultations are currently being conducted on LGBTI+ issues with young people in many parts of the country and the findings from the November 2016 consultation will be incorporated into and inform the National Youth LGBTI+ Strategy.
676. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the definition of a child that the policy of her Department is guided by; her views on whether such a definition must include the unborn child; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24750/17]
View answerIn the development and implementation of its policies, my Department considers a child to be an individual under the age of 18 years.
The Deputy may be aware that there are matters currently before the courts regarding the rights of the unborn child. Accordingly, it would be not be appropriate for me to comment on this matter at this time.
678. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of children under three years of age her Department estimates will take up both private and community crèche-based child care in September 2017; and the number of children under three years of age that attended both private and community crèche-based services from September 2016 to date in 2017. [24762/17]
View answerData on the number of children attending centre-based early years services is gathered by Pobal annually through the Early Years Sector Profile. The most recent available data are from April 2016. At that time, it was estimated that approximately 38,000 children under-3 were attending centre-based early years services.
The figures for 2017 will become available in the coming months, when this year’s data has been gathered and analysed. While there may be a change in the number of under-3s in centre-based early years services, it is not anticipated that the change will be large.
It is expected that the vast majority of children under three years of age who will benefit from the new universal subsidy provided under the Community Childcare Subvention Scheme in September will be children who are already participating in centre-based early years services.
It should be noted that, in addition to those children who benefit from the new universal subsidy from September, some children under three years of age will benefit from targeted subsidies within the Community Childcare Subvention Scheme or from one of the Training and Employment Childcare Schemes.
It should also be noted that the universal subsidy available from September will not only be open to children under three years of age but also to children who are 3 years of age already but who, because of their date of birth, do not yet qualify for free pre-school provided under the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme.
679. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the capacity of each of the Naval Service patrol vessels (details supplied) to board super trawlers to inspect their catch and methods and ensure their compliance with EU directives and quotas. [24205/17]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006 establishes the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) as the competent Authority for securing efficient and effective enforcement of sea fisheries protection legislation and the sustainable exploitation of marine fish resources from the waters around Ireland. To this end, the SFPA has a Service Level Agreement with the Department of Defence to secure efficient enforcement of sea-fisheries law through support provided by the Defence Forces.
I am advised that the Naval Service is empowered to board and inspect all fishing vessel and their cargoes in the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and, when necessary, to formally detain vessels and direct them to port for arrest by An Garda Síochána.
The White Paper on Defence (2015) sets out the equipment agenda for the Defence forces including investment priorities for the Naval Service and for the Air Corps. This will ensure that they retain the capacity to discharge all the roles assigned, including fishery protection. The recent additions to the Naval Service fleet are the LÉ Samuel Beckett, the LÉ James Joyce, the LÉ William Butler Yeats and a further ship of this class is scheduled for delivery in mid 2018.
The Naval Service and the Air Corps will continue to work closely supporting the SFPA in its work to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing by any vessel in Irish waters.
680. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the date the last survey was carried out on the LÉ Aisling; the survey’s findings regarding the seaworthiness of the vessel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24535/17]
View answer681. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the details of the agreement reached between his Department and Malta when the LÉ Aoife was gifted to the Maltese naval service; when the last survey was carried out on the LÉ Aoife; and the survey’s findings regarding the vessels seaworthiness. [24536/17]
View answer702. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if his Department or the Naval Service had received a request to donate the decommissioned LÉ Aisling to the Somali fisheries protection authority in the past year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24578/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 680, 681 and 702 together.
Naval vessels have a life expectancy of around 20 – 25 years. The three ships most recently due for replacement with the Naval Service were LÉ Emer, commissioned in 1978, LÉ Aoife, commissioned in 1979 and LÉ Aisling, commissioned in 1980.
Extensive surveys were carried out on these vessels given their age and service, and as the vessels has exceeded their design life an enhanced survey routine was in place prior to their decommissioning to reduce the risk of hull failure due to corrosion and to maximise the availability of the vessels for operational service until their decommissioning.
The current Naval Service ship replacement programme has seen the delivery of three new Naval Service vessels in the past three years to replace the LÉ Emer, LÉ Aisling and LÉ Aoife. LÉ Samuel Beckett was commissioned in May 2014, LÉ James Joyce was commissioned in September 2015 and LÉ William Butler Yeats was commissioned in October 2016.
The value of this three-ship contract with Babcock International was just over €199 million, inclusive of VAT. A contract for an additional sister ship was placed with Babcock International in June 2016 at a cost of €54.3m, bringing investment in the new ships programme to over €250 million since 2010. The fourth ship is scheduled for delivery in mid 2018.
Following her withdrawal from service in 2015, the former LÉ Aoife was transferred for a nominal sum to the ownership of the Maltese Armed Forces on humanitarian grounds following a request from the Maltese authorities, to endeavour to deal with the ongoing refugee crisis in the region. The donation of LÉ Aoife to the Maltese Armed Forces was an exceptional measure given the particular circumstances of the humanitarian requirements of the Maltese maritime patrol region.
Neither my Department nor the Naval Service received any formal request for the donation of the decommissioned LÉ Aisling to the Somali fisheries protection authority.
