Aengus Ó Snodaigh
Question:304. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if a person (details supplied) is entitled to receive the targeted childcare subsidy. [42857/18]
View answerCommunity Childcare Subvention Programme
Questions (304)
Written answers
The Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) and Community Childcare Subvention Plus (CCSP)Programmes are childcare programmes targeted to support parents/guardians on a low income to avail of reduced childcare costs at participating community and private childcare services. The Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) pays for a portion of the childcare costs for eligible children, with the parent/guardian paying the remainder. A child must be under 15 years of age to be eligible for the 2018/19 CCS/CCSP programme.
The eligibility of the applying parent/guardian is determined by their status with the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP). The level of the subvention is determined by the parent’s DEASP status and also by the level of childcare required.
In order to confirm eligibility, both the parent/guardian and child’s Personal Public Service Numbers (PPSNs) and date of birth are required. PPSNs are cross-referenced with the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and the HSE to determine eligibility and verify entitlement to subvention.
The eligibility criteria and subsequent childcare and subvention options are set out in the table.
Table 2 CCS/CCSP Band Eligibility
|
Level of service |
Band A (with medical card) |
Band AJ (with medical card) |
Band B |
Band D |
|
- One Parent Family Payment - Widow’s/Widower’s Pension - Pre-retirement Allowance - Farm Assist/Fish Assist - State Pension (Contributory/non-contributory) - Blind Pension - Guardian’s Payment (Contributory/non-contributory) - Illness/Occupational Injury Benefit - Disability Allowance - Carer’s Benefit/ Allowance - Back to Work Enterprise/Education Allowance - Community Employment / Rural Social Scheme - Domiciliary Care Allowance - Working Family Payment (Formerly known as FIS) - Secondary School student - 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 |
- Job Seekers Benefit/ Allowance* - Supplementary Welfare Allowance** |
- Medical Card - Parents/guardians who are in receipt of Social Welfare payments listed under Band A/AJ but have no medical card |
- GP Visit Card*** (6yrs+ only) - Parents/guardians 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 |
|
|
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 |
Early Childhood Care and Education Data
Questions (305)
Anne Rabbitte
Question:305. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the estimated cost of increasing the number of programme weeks in the early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme by one week to 14 weeks, respectively, in tabular form. [43135/18]
View answerWritten answers
The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme provides for a programme of early learning for children before commencing primary school.
The ECCE Programme currently runs for 38 weeks per calendar year, with eligible children entitled to a maximum of 61 weeks in the years before they begin primary school education.
The table shows the cost of increasing the number of weeks available to children in 2019, based on estimated registration figures:
Increase in ECCE Programme Weeks (€m)
|
Additional |
Number of Weeks |
Total Cost |
Increase |
|
0 |
38 |
298.6 |
0 |
|
1 |
39 |
306.5 |
7.9 |
|
2 |
40 |
314.3 |
15.7 |
|
3 |
41 |
322.2 |
23.6 |
|
4 |
42 |
330 |
31.4 |
|
5 |
43 |
337.9 |
39.3 |
|
6 |
44 |
345.8 |
47.2 |
|
7 |
45 |
353.7 |
55.1 |
|
8 |
46 |
361.6 |
63 |
|
9 |
47 |
369.5 |
70.9 |
|
10 |
48 |
377.3 |
78.7 |
|
11 |
49 |
385.2 |
86.6 |
|
12 |
50 |
393.1 |
94.5 |
|
13 |
51 |
400.9 |
102.3 |
|
14 |
52 |
408.6 |
110 |
School Completion Programme
Questions (306)
Anne Rabbitte
Question:306. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the first and full-year cost of restoring the school completion programme to peak levels of funding. [43136/18]
View answerWritten answers
As the Deputy may be aware, responsibility for the National Educational Welfare Board which included the School Completion Programme (SCP) was transferred to my Department on its establishment in 2011.
Upon the establishment of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency on January 1st 2014, operational responsibility for the SCP was transferred to the Agency.
The SCPs are funded in line with the academic year commencing in September each year. The funding available to the SCP for the school year 2018/2019 stands at €24.7 million.
The Educational Welfare Service (EWS) of Tusla has advised that the first and full-year cost of restoring the SCP to peak levels of funding would be €7.3 million.
School Completion Programme
Questions (307)
Anne Rabbitte
Question:307. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of primary and secondary schools that have participated in the school completion programme in each programme year since 2006, in tabular form. [43137/18]
View answerWritten answers
The Educational Welfare Service of Tusla (EWS) has advised that the table below outlines the numbers of primary and post-primary schools included in the School Completion Programme (SCP), since it transferred to Tusla on its establishment in 2014.
|
Year |
No. Primary Schools in SCP |
No. Post-Primary Schools in SCP |
|
2014 |
470 |
224 |
|
2015 |
470 |
224 |
|
2016 |
470 |
222 |
|
2017 |
470 |
220 |
|
2018 |
470 |
219 |
The slight drop in the number of post-primary schools represents schools amalgamations.
School Completion Programme
Questions (308)
Anne Rabbitte
Question:308. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of primary and secondary schools students who have participated in the school completion programme in each programme year since 2006, in tabular form. [43138/18]
View answerWritten answers
I am very conscious that the School Completion Programme (SCP) delivers a valuable service for some of our most vulnerable young people. The Programme is a core and continuing component of provision under the Educational Welfare Services (EWS).
Tusla EWS have advised that approximately 38,000 children and young people per annum have come into contact with the programme annually, since SCP's operational responsibility was transferred to the Agency in 2014.
Please find the number of primary and secondary schools students who have participated in the SCP in each programme year since 2014 (as received from Tusla EWS) set out in the table.
|
Year |
No. of Primary and Post-Primary School Participants in SCP |
|
2014 |
38,000 |
|
2015 |
38,000 |
|
2016 |
38,000 |
|
2017 |
38,000 |
|
2018* |
24,899 (targeted provision) 69,775** (universal provision) |
*Tusla changed method of recording participant engagement
**Includes once off events
Area Based Childhood Programme
Questions (309)
Anne Rabbitte
Question:309. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the amount of funding that will be allocated to the area based childhood, ABC, programme in 2019. [43139/18]
View answerWritten answers
The ABC Programme is a prevention and early intervention initiative, targeting investment in effective services to improve the outcomes for children and families living in areas of disadvantage, established in 2013.
A key purpose of the ABC programme is to identify the learning across the sites, and transfer this learning into existing and established services. To this end, and in line with current Programme for Government commitments, following consultations with Tusla, and other key stakeholders, including representatives of the ABC Programme managers, the decision was taken to transfer the current ABC Programme to Tusla, from September 2018.
This transition will include the alignment of the programme with the agency’s Prevention, Partnership and Family Support (PPFS) Programme, reinforcement and enhancement of Tusla's Prevention and Early Intervention work, as well as create greater opportunities for mainstreaming effective and innovative programmes and interventions. A budget of €9.5m has been secured by my Department to continue the delivery of the ABC programmes as part of Tusla's PPFS programme in 2019.
Departmental Meetings
Questions (310)
Catherine Murphy
Question:310. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if he and-or his departmental officials have met a person (details supplied) and-or representatives of companies in the past two years; if so, if he will publish a schedule of those meetings and the associated minutes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42827/18]
View answerWritten answers
One of the functions of my Department is to work with the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment and Local Authorities to remove any barriers that impact the roll out of rural telecommunications infrastructure, particularly in rural Ireland, including mobile phone and broadband infrastructure.
This work involves convening regular meetings of a Regional Action Group which comprises the Local Authorities’ Broadband Officers. Telecommunications service providers and other organisations are invited to present on a variety of subjects at these meetings from time to time, to help the Broadband Officers and my Department to gain a better understanding of issues that need to be addressed. Enet, and other service providers, have attended some of these meetings.
The minutes of these meetings are not published as they may contain commercially sensitive material. I can assure the Deputy, however, that details relating to specific contracts are not discussed at these meetings.
My Department and the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment also hold quarterly meetings with each of the organisations responsible for the delivery of actions arising out of the 2016 Report of the Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce, in order to obtain an update and prepare quarterly progress reports on the actions.
Enet is part of an Industry Group that meets collectively with the Departmental officials in relation to their specific commitments under the Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce report. The type of actions for delivery by the telecommunications operators include identifying, in consultation with Local Authorities, optimal locations for additional infrastructure to improve coverage; providing greater transparency of mobile phone contract costs for customers; and reporting on activities undertaken to optimise the performance of their networks.
The full list of actions contained in the Report of the Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce is available on my Department’s website, www.drcd.gov.ie. Regular quarterly progress reports, as well as the minutes of meetings of the Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce Implementation Group, are also published on my Department’s website and the website of the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment.
My Department was established on 19 July 2017. The following table lists the meetings or sessions where representatives of Enet were in attendance from that date until now.
I can confirm that I have not met with the individual referred to by the Deputy, or the company in question, in the last two years.
|
2017 |
Topic |
|
11/10/2017 |
Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce Industry Group meeting |
|
09/11/2017 |
Local Authority Forum MANs updated hosted by Enet |
|
2018 |
|
|
18/01/2018 |
Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce Industry Group meeting |
|
12/04/2018 |
Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce Industry Group meeting |
|
10/05/2018 |
Presentation at Regional Action Group (Broadband Officers) meeting |
|
16/07/2018 |
Co-Development and Shared Infrastructure meeting |
|
24/08/2018 |
Introductory meeting and discussion on MANs |
|
03/09/2018 |
Co-Development and Shared Infrastructure meeting |
|
13/09/2018 |
Attendance at portion of Regional Action Group meeting |
|
15/10/2018 |
Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce Industry Group meeting |
Back to Education Allowance Eligibility
Questions (311)
Niamh Smyth
Question:311. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will examine providing additional finance options in cases (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42790/18]
View answerWritten answers
The back to education allowance scheme (BTEA) is designed to support second chance education. It enables eligible persons to pursue approved education courses and to continue to receive income support for the duration of a course of study, subject to meeting certain conditions. All BTEA participants must re-establish their entitlement to the qualifying payment at the beginning of each and subsequent academic year.
BTEA participants who engage in part-time work have their earnings assessed in accordance with their primary payment. BTEA participants are not permitted to work full-time as the courses of education supported under BTEA are full-time and are encouraged to direct their efforts towards their course of study. There is no distinction made for mature students under the BTEA rules.
The BTEA is not intended as an alternative form of funding for people entering or re-entering the third-level education system. The Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) Grant, payable by the Department of Education and Skills, represents the primary support for persons pursuing education. The eligibility rules that govern the payment of a student maintenance grant are a matter for that Department.
There are no plans to amend the conditions of the BTEA scheme at this time. However, the person referred to by the Deputy should engage with the Department to ensure that he is in receipt of his full entitlements.
I trust this clarifies the position.
Partial Capacity Benefit Scheme Applications
Questions (312)
Pearse Doherty
Question:312. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when an application for a partial capacity benefit will be processed in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42766/18]
View answerWritten answers
Partial Capacity Benefit is a social welfare scheme which allows you to return to work or self-employment (if you have reduced capacity to work) and continue to receive a payment from my Department.
The Partial Capacity Benefit claim for the person concerned has now been processed and all arrears owing to her have been issued.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
Illness Benefit Applications
Questions (313)
Pearse Doherty
Question:313. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when an application for an illness benefit will be processed in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42768/18]
View answerWritten answers
The Department recently moved to a new IT System and this has impacted on payments to some Illness Benefit Customers. The transition from the old to the new system has involved moving from a payment in arrears system to a real-time system for Illness Benefit.
The claim for the person concerned has now been processed and he is in receipt of his full entitlement under the Illness Benefit Scheme and any arrears owing to him have been issued.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.