Tuesday, 16 Jan 2018

Written Answers Nos. 1488-1509

Early Childhood Care and Education

Questions (1488, 1493)

Timmy Dooley

Question:

1488. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the reason for the removal of the over age exemption from the early childhood care and education scheme from September 2018; the assessment that was made in advance of this decision with respect to the impact it will have on children with special needs, their classmates, teachers and all aforementioned groups (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54691/17]

Charlie McConalogue

Question:

1493. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if a reply will issue to correspondence from a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55077/17]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1488 and 1493 together.

It is important to be clear that there has been no withdrawal, or proposal to withdraw, any ECCE provision for children with disabilities. All children will be eligible to 76 weeks or 2 academic years of ECCE from September 2018. On Wednesday 6th December I announced that I have paused a decision on the upper age limit exemption for ECCE so that further consultation with parents can occur. This means that for the 2018/2019 ECCE year the overage exemption will continue to be available.  Since ECCE was introduced in 2010, approximately 500 children availed of the exemption each year, although for reasons set out below, it is expected that much fewer than this would have applied in 2018.  I hope that my decision of December 6th will bring the parents who planned to apply for this overage exemption from September 2018 some relief and I encourage them to make sure their views are represented in the consultation that will occur over the coming months, the details of which I will publish shortly.

It is important that I set out the rationale for the original decision. The recent announcement of changes was designed to support the achievement of better outcomes for children with disabilities. No child would have lost out as a result of the overage exemption being removed. 

Overage exemptions were introduced at the onset of the ECCE programme in 2010. At that time, the ECCE Programme only operated for a 38 week period, or one programme year.  For some children with special/additional needs, attending preschool five days a week was not feasible and so an allowance was made to enable them split ECCE over 2 years, for example, a child may have availed of 3 days ECCE provision in year one and 2 days in year two. Their total ECCE provision remained at 38 weeks.

In order to facilitate this, in the cases where the child would have been over the age limit for ECCE (5 years and 6 months when finishing ECCE) an overage exemption was approved. This flexibility was never intended to conflict with the legislative requirement to start school by age six. The law and policy on school start-age is clearly established in Ireland. Children should be in school by the time they are six and the primary school system has a variety of resources to support children with disabilities. If children are not in school by the age of six, under the Educational Welfare Act, the Educational Welfare service of Tusla must be satisfied that the child is receiving a minimum standard of education in a place other than a recognised school. Tusla does this by sending Educational Welfare Inspectors out to the place of the child's education. Should this be required, this would be in addition to the Early Years Inspectorates funded by my Department.

Since ECCE was first introduced, DCYA has worked, with some success, to improve the pre-school experience for children with disabilities and to optimise their early development. The two main enhancements are:- 

- ECCE provision currently averages at 61 weeks, up from 38 weeks, and it will expand further to 76 weeks from September 2018. This is in keeping with good international practice.

- The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) has been introduced with 7 different levels of support for children with disabilities. Over 4,000 children have so far benefitted from targeted supports and many multiples of this from universal supports available under AIM.

Purely in the best interests of children, and for no other reason, a proposal was considered to remove the overage exemption to the upper age limit to the Programme. This was signalled last year, but in order to give longer notice to parents and providers, the planned introduction was delayed until September 2018. The motivation underpinning this development is entirely evidence based. Children with a disability benefit from early intervention, high quality early childhood care and education and high quality primary school education.  In this regard my Department is complementing the work of the HSE's role in early intervention and the Department of Educations and Skill's role in high quality primary school education by:- 

- expanding the ECCE programme so that all children have access to a full 76 weeks, double what was available in 2010. 

- providing access to the comprehensive suite of resources under the Access and Inclusion model (AIM), introduced in September 2016. 

The evidence is that children with a disability should start school with their peers once they have access to high quality and inclusive primary school education. The evidence is also that they should become teenagers with their peers and transition to secondary school with their peers. 

The original decision to remove the overage exemption was made with the Department of Education and Skills (DES) and in close collaboration with members of the AIM Cross-Sectoral Implementation Group, which includes representatives from the National Council for Special Education, the National Disability Authority, the HSE, a representative of parents of children with special needs and a representative of early years providers. There was broad agreement that, in light of the very significant developments and improvements to free pre-school education, both in terms of the two year duration of ECCE and the range of supports available, and the very significant supports that are in place for children in primary schools, the overage exemption would no longer support the overarching policy aim that children should transition to primary school with their peers. The decision acknowledged the  supports provided by the relevant primary school, the National Council for Special Education and other bodies as required.

Notwithstanding the strong evidence base underpinning this proposal as being in the best interests of the children concerned, and the significant enhancements to the ECCE scheme in terms of two years duration and access to AIM supports; measures which effectively address the reasons for introducing the overage exemptions in the first place, I am also conscious of the need to listen further to those with concerns. To this end, as stated above, I have paused the proposed change and committed to consulting more widely with parents of  children with disabilities. I have also committed to having this consultation completed by mid 2018.

Early Childhood Care and Education

Questions (1489)

Clare Daly

Question:

1489. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 458 of 12 December 2017, if consideration will be given to overturning the decision regarding the over age exemption in view of the fact that the decision will result in children with special needs starting primary school at a younger age than children who do not have special needs. [54730/17]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

It is important to be clear that there has been no withdrawal, or proposal to withdraw, any ECCE provision for children with disabilities. All children will be eligible to 76 weeks or 2 academic years of ECCE from September 2018. On Wednesday 6th December I announced that I have paused a decision on the upper age limit exemption for ECCE so that further consultation with parents can occur. This means that for the 2018/2019 ECCE year the overage exemption will continue to be available.  Since ECCE was introduced in 2010, approximately 500 children availed of the exemption each year, although for reasons set out below, it is expected that much fewer than this would have applied in 2018.  I hope that my decision of December 6th will bring the parents who planned to apply for this overage exemption from September 2018 some relief and I encourage them to make sure their views are represented in the consultation that will occur over the coming months, the details of which I will publish shortly.

It is important that I set out the rationale for the original decision. The recent announcement of changes was designed to support the achievement of better outcomes for children with disabilities. No child would have lost out as a result of the overage exemption being removed. 

Overage exemptions were introduced at the onset of the ECCE programme in 2010. At that time, the ECCE Programme only operated for a 38 week period, or one programme year.  For some children with special/additional needs, attending preschool five days a week was not feasible and so an allowance was made to enable them split ECCE over 2 years, for example, a child may have availed of 3 days ECCE provision in year one and 2 days in year two. Their total ECCE provision remained at 38 weeks.

In order to facilitate this, in the cases where the child would have been over the age limit for ECCE (5 years and 6 months when finishing ECCE) an overage exemption was approved. This flexibility was never intended to conflict with the legislative requirement to start school by age six. The law and policy on school start-age is clearly established in Ireland. Children should be in school by the time they are six and the primary school system has a variety of resources to support children with disabilities. If children are not in school by the age of six, under the Educational Welfare Act, the Educational Welfare service of Tusla must be satisfied that the child is receiving a minimum standard of education in a place other than a recognised school. Tusla does this by sending Educational Welfare Inspectors out to the place of the child's education. Should this be required, this would be in addition to the Early Years Inspectorates funded by my Department.

Since ECCE was first introduced, DCYA has worked, with some success, to improve the pre-school experience for children with disabilities and to optimise their early development. The two main enhancements are:- 

- ECCE provision currently averages at 61 weeks, up from 38 weeks, and it will expand further to 76 weeks from September 2018. This is in keeping with good international practice.

- The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) has been introduced with 7 different levels of support for children with disabilities. Over 4,000 children have so far benefitted from targeted supports and many multiples of this from universal supports available under AIM.

Purely in the best interests of children, and for no other reason, a proposal was considered to remove the overage exemption to the upper age limit to the Programme. This was signalled last year, but in order to give longer notice to parents and providers, the planned introduction was delayed until September 2018. The motivation underpinning this development is entirely evidence based. Children with a disability benefit from early intervention, high quality early childhood care and education and high quality primary school education.  In this regard my Department is complementing the work of the HSE's role in early intervention and the Department of Educations and Skill's role in high quality primary school education by:- 

- expanding the ECCE programme so that all children have access to a full 76 weeks, double what was available in 2010. 

- providing access to the comprehensive suite of resources under the Access and Inclusion model (AIM), introduced in September 2016.

The evidence is that children with a disability should start school with their peers once they have access to high quality and inclusive primary school education. The evidence is also that they should become teenagers with their peers and transition to secondary school with their peers. 

The original decision to remove the overage exemption was made with the Department of Education and Skills (DES) and in close collaboration with members of the AIM Cross-Sectoral Implementation Group, which includes representatives from the National Council for Special Education, the National Disability Authority, the HSE, a representative of parents of children with special needs and a representative of early years providers. There was broad agreement that, in light of the very significant developments and improvements to free pre-school education, both in terms of the two year duration of ECCE and the range of supports available, and the very significant supports that are in place for children in primary schools, the overage exemption would no longer support the overarching policy aim that children should transition to primary school with their peers. The decision acknowledged the  supports provided by the relevant primary school, the National Council for Special Education and other bodies as required.

Notwithstanding the strong evidence base underpinning this proposal as being in the best interests of the children concerned, and the significant enhancements to the ECCE scheme in terms of two years duration and access to AIM supports; measures which effectively address the reasons for introducing the overage exemptions in the first place, I am also conscious of the need to listen further to those with concerns. To this end, as stated above, I have paused the proposed change and committed to consulting more widely with parents of children with disabilities. I have also committed to having this consultation completed by mid 2018.

Community Childcare Subvention Programme

Questions (1490)

Charlie McConalogue

Question:

1490. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 234 of 13 December 2017, if community child care subvention will be provided to the parents of children who have a medical card (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54740/17]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

Subvention funding is based only on the verification of the relevant parent’s CCS (Community Childcare Subvention) eligibility during the snapshot period. To be CCS eligible the parent/child must hold a valid medical card/GPVC and/or be in receipt of certain payments from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP).

It is current practice that when a DEASP payment and a medical card (parent’s or child’s) is received the system should automatically award the highest band due to a parent.

The eligibility criteria and subsequent childcare and subvention options are set out in the accompanying table;

CCS/CCSP Band Eligibility

Level of service	Band A (with medical card)	Band AJ (with medical card)	B and B	Band D
	- One Parent Family Payment
	- Widow’s/Widower’s Pension	- Job Seekers Benefit/ Allowance*
			- Medical Card	- GP Visit Card*** (6yrs+ only)
	- Pre-retirement Allowance	- Supplementary Welfare Allowance**
			- Parents who are in receipt of Social Welfare payments listed under Band A/AJ but have no medical card	- Parents who no longer qualify for Band A/AJ this year but who were verified as being on Band A/AJ at the end of the previous school year
	- Farm Assist /Fish Assist
	- State Pension
	- Blind Pension
	- Guardian’s Payment
	- Illness/Injury Benefit
	- Disability Allowance
	- Carer’s Benefit/ Allowance
	- Back to Work Enterprise/Education Allowance
	- Community Employment / Rural Social Scheme
	- Domiciliary Care Allowance
	- Family Income Supplement (FIS)
	- Secondary School students
	- Invalidity Pension
	- Disablement Pension
	- Official Tusla Referrals (no medical card required)
	- HSE Public Health Nurse referrals (no medical card required)
	- TÚS
	- Part-time Job Incentive Scheme Gateway
	- Gateway
	- Partial Capacity Benefit
Full-day payment
(5 hrs +)	€145	€80	€70	€50
Part-time payment
(3:31 – 5:00)	€80	€80	€35	€25
Sessional payment
(2:16 – 3:30)	€45	€45	€25	€17
Half-session payment
(1:00 – 2:15)	€22.50	€22.50	€12.50	€8.50

*parents who qualify for Band AJ under Jobseeker’s allowance/benefit receive maximum subvented childcare of €80 for full day care per week

**parents who qualify for Band AJ under Supplementary Welfare Allowance payments receive maximum subvented childcare of €80 for full day care per week

Departmental Funding

Questions (1491)

Peadar Tóibín

Question:

1491. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the name and number of organisations here that are in receipt of funding from her Department that have expended resources seeking the repeal of the eighth amendment; the amount of funding these organisations have received from the State in the past five years; the amount of money they have spent on this particular campaign during that time; the number of organisations here that are in receipt of funding from her Department that have expended resources seeking the retention of the eighth amendment; the amount of funding these organisations have received from the State in the past five years; and the amount of money they have spent on this particular campaign during that time. [54760/17]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

My Department has identified two organisations who have announced their affiliation to the Repeal the Eighth Amendment movement. Details of the funding provided to these organisations are set out in the following table.

	Funding provided	Purpose of payments
BeLong To	€840,554	Ensure the emergence, promotion, growth and development of youth organisations with distinctive philosophies and programmes aimed at the social education of young people.
ICTU	€42,815	Support the activities of the ICTU Youth Officer and Youth Committee which ensures the voices of young people is given a priority within the trade union movement.

I wish to emphasise that the financial resources allocated were for specific purposes and not intended in any way to support costs associated with the Repeal the Eighth Amendment campaign.

Childcare Services

Questions (1492)

Robert Troy

Question:

1492. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the position regarding efforts to reopen a facility (details supplied) in County Longford; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54798/17]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

As the Deputy is aware, my Department does not directly provide childcare - rather we fund the provision of childcare through individuals, companies and community/not-for-profit groups.  Therefore, following the closure of the existing childcare provider in this location, I requested that Pobal and Longford CCC work with local bodies and potential partners in relation to the re-establishment of a service for the local community.

Unfortunately, my Department did not receive a viable proposal for the creation of a childcare service at that time.  However, my Department is currently in discussions with Longford CCC with the aim of progressing a procurement process as soon as possible to source a suitable operator for a childcare service in this area.

Question No. 1493 answered with Question No. 1488.

Departmental Properties

Questions (1494)

Peadar Tóibín

Question:

1494. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the vacant properties and land not in use, owned, rented or leased by her Department or by bodies and agencies under its aegis by square footage for buildings and acres for land, in tabular form; the address and location of these properties; and the last date of occupancy or use of these properties. [55206/17]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs does have any land not in use, nor does it own, rent or lease any vacant properties.

The Adoption Authority, the Ombudsman for Children and Oberstown Children Detention Centre have confirmed a similar position.

Tusla has confirmed that it has three properties that meet this criteria as outlined as follows.

Tusla Vacant Property January 2018
Address	Tenure	Floor Area	Lands	Last date of occupation	Comment
Quinns House, Ballymote Road, Tubbercurry, Co. Sligo	Owned	c. 3200 sq.ft.	0.9 Acres	c. 2011	Currently for sale on the open market.
69 Amien Street, Dublin 1	Owned	c. 2000 sq.ft	None	Prior to establishment of Tusla	Received grant of planning permission at end of 2017 for refurbishment so building can be reoccupied.
Pioville House, 92 Ballyhooley Road, St. Lukes Cross, Cork	Owned	c. 2000 sq.ft.	None	c. 2016	Planned refurbishment in 2018 for use by Cork Specialist Enquiry Team for Retrospective Cases

Question No. 1495 answered with Question No. 1485.

Community Employment Schemes Data

Questions (1496, 1497, 1498)

Anne Rabbitte

Question:

1496. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her Department's expenditure on the community employment child care training and development scheme in each year since 2013, by subheading. [1105/18]

Anne Rabbitte

Question:

1497. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of persons in the community employment child care training and development scheme in each year since 2013. [1106/18]

Anne Rabbitte

Question:

1498. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the amount that her Department contributed to the cost of training persons in the community employment child care training and development scheme in each year since 2013; if this constituted the full cost of training persons; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1107/18]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1496 to 1498, inclusive, together.

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs has no role in the training of Community Employment participants. Community Employment programmes are operated and funded solely by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. 

Aistear Curriculum Framework

Questions (1499)

Anne Rabbitte

Question:

1499. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the full cost of training a person in the Aistear and Síolta programmes. [1115/18]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

The National Síolta Aistear Initiative (NSAI) was established in 2016 to support the national coordinated roll-out of Síolta and Aistear, the national quality and curriculum frameworks for early childhood education. The initiative is being funded by my Department and is being developed in collaboration with the Early Years Education Policy Unit (EYEPU) in the Department of Education and Skills (DES) and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA).

55 Síolta and Aistear mentors from a range of National Voluntary Childcare organisations (NVCOs) and City/County Childcare Committees (CCCs) have been trained and are providing supports to early years settings to implement both Síolta and Aistear on a national basis. Currently Síolta Aistear mentors from CCCs are back filled at an hourly rate of €30 to provide 10 hours of supports within the NSAI activities per month. From February-June 2018 the amount of mentoring hours available per mentor, per month will increase to a maximum of 20 hours.

There are a range of training, coaching and mentoring supports within the NSAI which mentors can provide based on local needs and context. These include introductory and awareness raising supports, training in aspects of Síolta and Aistear and on site mentoring and coaching supports which are individualised to the particular needs of settings. Therefore, the amount of time and intensity of support that is provided to each setting is based on a needs assessment and may vary between settings due to the diversity of needs, size, capacity etc. On average, a service which is going through the formal QAP requires approximately 120-150 hours of mentoring at a cost of €30 per hour.

A pilot CPD programme to support practitioners and services to use the Aistear Curriculum Framework and the Aistear-Síolta online practice guide was run in 2017 by the NCCA and selected Síolta Aistear mentors. The pilot programme consisted of 109 hours being delivered by each of 27 mentors to 401 participants/162 settings at a cost of €45,630 (this figure is cost for mentor hours @€15 per hour and printing grant of €55 per mentor. The practitioners availing of the CPD received 10 hours of training and 4 hours of on-site coaching in their setting.

The content of the CPD programme is now under review and a revised programme will be available for implementation by September 2018. The model for delivery of the CPD materials is also under review so that a model that is cost effective and with national reach can be put in place and costed.

Overall the cost of expenditure for the NSAI in 2017, including the salaries of the two national Co-ordinators, was €185,899.05.

In addition to the NSAI, my Department also provides funding to the NVCOs and CCCs to undertake a range of quality improvement supports, guided by Síolta and Aistear. NVCOs currently carry out supports within the NSAI as part of their core work which is funded by my Department.

School Completion Programme

Questions (1500)

Anne Rabbitte

Question:

1500. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the amount of funding that has been allocated to the school completion programme for 2018. [1183/18]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

The Educational Welfare Service of Tusla has advised that confirmation of the allocation for 2018 will be confirmed following the completion of the 2018 business planning process in Tusla.

School Completion Programme

Questions (1501)

Anne Rabbitte

Question:

1501. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the amount of funding that was allocated to the school completion programme in each of the years 2009 to 2011, inclusive. [1184/18]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

I am advised by the Educational Welfare Service of Tusla  that the amount of funding allocated to the School Completion Programme from 2009 to 2011 is as set out in the following table.

Year	SCP Funding
2009	€30.404m
2010	€30.007m
2011	€30.258m

Family Resource Centres

Questions (1502)

Anne Rabbitte

Question:

1502. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the amount of funding provided to each family resource centre in 2017; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1185/18]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

There are 109 Family Resource Centres currently in receipt of funding from Tusla, the Child and Family Agency.  Tusla provides funding to the centres under an annual agreement. This funding is provided by way of a contribution towards the running costs of the centres. The financial allocation to support this programme amounted to €13.51m in 2017.

I was also pleased to announce recently that additional funding of €3.0m is being allocated to the programme in 2018, increasing the base budget to approximately €16.5m. This will support the inclusion of 11 new centres to the programme, as well as allowing for an increase in allocation to the existing 109 centres of up to €10,000 each.

I understand that the Deputy is seeking information relating to the individual allocation provided to each Family Resource Centre in 2017. I have asked Tusla to supply such information to my Department, and will forward the information to the Deputy as soon as it is available.

The referred reply under Standing Order 42A was forwarded to the Deputy.

Family Resource Centres

Questions (1503)

Anne Rabbitte

Question:

1503. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of family resource centres that were operational in each year since 2007. [1186/18]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

Tusla, the Child and Family Agency has advised that there are currently 109 Family Resource Centres that are fully operational.

The following table presents the number of Family Resource Centres that were operational between the years 2007 and 2017.

	Year	Number of Family Resource Centres
1.	2007	96
2.	2008	101
3.	2009	105
4.	2010	107
5.	2011	107
6.	2012	106
7.	2013	106
8.	2014	107
9.	2015	107
10.	2016	107
11.	2017	109

Tusla values the work of Family Resource Centres (FRCs) and recognises the positive impact of their work in supporting families and local communities. FRCs provide a holistic service of child, family and community support and advocacy to all children and families in their community.

Family Resource Centres

Questions (1504)

Anne Rabbitte

Question:

1504. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the amount of funding that has been provided to the family resource centre network in each year since 2007. [1187/18]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

Acting as a focal point within their communities, Family Resource Centres provide a holistic service of child, family and community support and advocacy to all children and families in their communities.

Tusla, the Child and Family Agency provides funding to over 100 Family  Resource Centres. The 2017 allocation by Tusla to Family Resource Centres is €13.512m.

It should be noted that prior to 2014, funding was provided to the Family Resource Centres  by the former Family Support Agency, which was incorporated into Tusla in 2014. 

The following table sets out the level of allocated funding provided to Family Resource Centres in the period 2007 - 2017. 

 Family Support Agency/Tusla Funding to Family Resource Centres 2007-2017

	Year	Tusla Funding (€m)
1.	2007	18.66
2.	2008	18.84
3.	2009	18.05
4.	2010	15.37
5.	2011	15.90
6.	2012	15.10
7.	2013	14.31
8.	2014	13.51
9.	2015	13.09
10.	2016	13.50
11.	2017	13.51

Source: Family Support Agency (2007 – 2013)/Child and Family Agency (2014 – 2017)

In 2016 and 2017, additional once-off funding was provided by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to Family Resource Centres to assist in the upgrade of equipment and infrastructure. The administration of this funding was carried out by Tusla.

In 2016, this additional funding came to a total of €1.42m. In 2017, additional once-off funding to Family Resource Centres for this purpose came to a total of €2.12m.

Child and Family Agency

Questions (1505)

Clare Daly

Question:

1505. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if Tusla has ever carried out an audit of the way in which the more than €7 million given to an organisation (details supplied) in each of the years 2015 and 2016 was spent; and if Tusla has concerns in regard to the level of directors' remuneration at this service. [1208/18]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

As the subject matter of the Deputy's question relates to an operational matter for Tusla, I have referred the matter to the attention of Tusla for a direct reply.

Early Childhood Care and Education

Questions (1506)

Dara Calleary

Question:

1506. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the status of the Early Childhood Care and Education Scheme, ECCE, scheme and the provision of two years for children with additional and/or special needs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1296/18]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

ECCE entitlement currently averages at 61 weeks, up from 38 weeks when ECCE was first introduced. It will expand further, to 76 weeks / two pre-school years, from September 2018. The two years of ECCE will be available to all children, including those with disabilities. This is in keeping with good international practice.

The question I understand relates to a recent announcement that I would pause a decision on the overage exemption for ECCE pending consultation.

Overage exemptions were introduced at the onset of the ECCE programme in 2010. At that time, the ECCE Programme only operated for a 38 week period, or one programme year.  For some children with special/additional needs, attending preschool five days a week was not feasible and so an allowance was made to enable them split ECCE over 2 years, for example, a child may have availed of 3 days ECCE provision in year one and 2 days in year two. Their total ECCE provision remained at 38 weeks.

In order to facilitate this, in the cases where the child would have been over the age limit for ECCE (5 years and 6 months when finishing ECCE) an overage exemption was approved. This flexibility was never intended to conflict with the legislative requirement to start school by age six. The law and policy on school start-age is clearly established in Ireland. Children should be in school by the time they are six and the primary school system has a variety of resources to support children with disabilities. If children are not in school by six, under the Educational Welfare Act, the Educational Welfare service of Tusla must be satisfied that the child is receiving a minimum standard of education in a place other than a recognised school. (Tusla does this by sending Educational Welfare Inspectors out to the place of the child's education. Should this be required, this would be in addition to the Early Years Inspectorates funded by my Department. ) 

Since ECCE was first introduced, DCYA has worked to improve the pre-school experience for children with disabilities and to optimise their early development. The two main enhancements are:- 

- The expansion to a full two years for every child from September 2016 as stated above.

- The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) has been introduced with 7 different levels of support for children with disabilities. Over 4,000 children have so far benefitted from targeted supports and many multiples of this from universal supports available under AIM.

Purely in the best interests of children, and for no other reason, a proposal was considered to remove the overage exemption to the upper age limit to the Programme. On 6th December 2017, I announced that I paused on the removal of the Upper age limit exemption for ECCE so that further consultation with parents can occur. This means that for the 2018/2019 ECCE year the overage exemption will continue to be available. 

Childcare Services Funding

Questions (1507)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

1507. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs when funding for grants will be made available for persons involved in child care; the amount that will be made available (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1330/18]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

In Budget 2018 I secured €6.86 million in capital funding for the expansion and improvement of early years and school age childcare services in Ireland. This capital funding will directly support outdoor play areas, extra spaces and essential maintenance and reflects my on-going commitment to developing quality, affordable childcare in Ireland, and assisting providers in delivering world class services to parents and children.

This funding comprises the Early Years and School Age Childcare Capital 2018 programmes, which are set to run simultaneously, with a single online application form on the Programmes Implementation Platform (PIP) for both. This should streamline the application process for service providers.  

It is intended that applications for capital funding under these programmes will open in February and close in March 2018. It is my hope that successful service providers will be notified of the outcomes of their capital applications in May 2018 so that the capital works concerned can be undertaken during the summer months. A further announcement, including a more detailed timeline, will issue in January 2018.

More details about the Capital 2018 programme can be found on my Department’s website in announcements made on 21st December 2017 (https://www.dcya.gov.ie/viewdoc.asp?Docid=4541) and 4th December 2017 (https://www.dcya.gov.ie/viewdoc.asp?Docid=4498). I would also strongly encourage service providers to contact their local City/County Childcare Committee (CCC) who can provide additional information and assistance with applications. 

Child Protection

Questions (1508)

Thomas P. Broughan

Question:

1508. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if there have been child protection issues reported regarding the use of hotels and commercial accommodation as emergency homeless accommodation in each of the years 2015 to 2017 and to date in 2018; the number of such reports in each of those years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1552/18]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

I am advised by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, that the information requested by the Deputy is not collected in their performance data.

Children living with their parents in homeless accommodation or hotels are in the care of their parents. Concerns about the welfare or safety of a child should be reported promptly to Tusla. If there is a concern that a child is in immediate danger, An Garda Síochána should be contacted without delay.

Organisations working with, or providing services to children must have appropriate child safeguarding policies in place, in line with Children First legislation.

Legislative Measures

Questions (1509)

Imelda Munster

Question:

1509. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the projects undertaken to consolidate or amalgamate existing legislation, including the cost, the duration, the number of staff required and if this process was carried out by her Department or outsourced in each of the years 2007 to 2017 and to date in 2018, in tabular form. [1559/18]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

I would like to advise the Deputy that no project has been undertaken to consolidate or amalgamate existing legislation coming within the remit of my Department since the establishment of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in 2011.