Written Answers Nos. 511-528
511. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of times he has met with each of the agencies and companies under the aegis of his Department in the past year, in tabular form. [4331/19]
View answerThe table sets out the meetings I have had in the past year with agencies and companies under the aegis of my Department.
|
Agency/Company |
Number of Meetings |
|
Bus Eireann |
1 |
|
CIE |
1 |
|
Commission for railway Regulation |
1 |
|
daa |
2 |
|
Dublin Bus |
2 |
|
Failte Ireland |
2 |
|
IAA |
4 |
|
Irish Rail |
1 |
|
Medical Bureau of Road Safety |
4 |
|
NTA |
8 |
|
RSA |
11 |
|
Sport Ireland |
5 |
|
TII |
5 |
|
Tourism Ireland |
3 |
512. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the funding provided to Iarnród Éireann under the infrastructure management multi-annual contract in each year since 2006. [4332/19]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, the Infrastructure Manager Multi-Annual Contract, IMMAC, provides the funding framework for the maintenance and renewal of our railway infrastructure. Funding is provided to the Infrastructure Manager (or IM) division of Iarnród Éireann and that funding is derived from two sources:
- an annual Exchequer contribution; and
- access charges payable by railway undertakings which make use of the railway infrastructure.
The vast majority of the funding is provided by the annual Exchequer contribution, while the smaller amount provided by railway undertakings’ access charges is largely comprised of fees paid by Iarnród Éireann’s Railway Undertaking (or RU) division, which is itself in receipt of significant Exchequer funding under its Public Services Contracts with the National Transport Authority.
The IMMAC was established in 2014 and succeeded the Railway Safety Programme, which ended in 2013 and which was a different funding programme.
Details of the Exchequer IMMAC contribution made in each year since 2014 is provided in the following table.
|
Year: |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
|
Funding (€m): |
140.49 |
144.17 |
134.00 |
158.77 |
160.00 |
A new IMMAC is currently being finalised to provide for the next multi-annual period. However, I can inform the Deputy that the increases I secured in Budget 2019 mean that the Exchequer contribution will increase this year by approximately 23% to €197 million. This means that the steady State funding requirement (as measured on an annualised basis) is met for 2019 and represents significant, and very welcome, progress.
513. Deputy Noel Rock asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if emergency funding will be made available to repair the crack in the surface at the throwing circle in a stadium (details supplied) to allow high-level athletes to train there rather than travel outside Dublin and miss college lectures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4336/19]
View answerSport Ireland is the statutory body with responsibility for the operation of the stadium to which the Deputy's question refers. I have referred the Deputy's question to Sport Ireland for direct reply in relation to this matter. I would ask the Deputy to inform my office if a reply is not received within ten days.
514. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 58 of 22 January 2019, the percentage of the 126 persons with illegal birth registrations adopted from St. Patrick’s Guild who have now been informed of their illegal registration; and the percentage of the group who have been offered counselling services. [3710/19]
View answerThe progress made regarding contacting those affected by the cases of illegal registrations discovered in the St. Patrick's Guild records is a matter for Tusla and the process is still ongoing.
The Deputy will be aware that the process of contacting people in these circumstances is a sensitive and complex one and the pace must respect the wishes of the individual involved. Tusla has indicated that all relevant persons who have been contacted by Tusla and who wish to engage with Tusla services have been offered counselling support.
I understand that Tusla has also responded directly to the Deputy in relation to this matter.
515. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the planned changes to school-age care; the rationale for the 12:1 staff-to-child ratio in view of the fact that primary-age children are often in classes with staff-to-child ratios of up to 40:1; when the changes will come into effect; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3749/19]
View answerThe regulation of school-age childcare is an important measure to secure children's health, safety and welfare. The registration of school-age childcare services is also necessary given the restriction of the Affordable Childcare Scheme to services that are registered with Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. Initial regulations will come into force on 18 February, enabling services to register in time to take part in the Affordable Childcare Scheme when it opens later this year.
The primary focus of the initial regulations is that school-age childcare services are registered with Tusla. The regulations also specify requirements on Garda vetting of staff, insurance, access to outdoor space, and the maintenance of policies and procedures on child safeguarding, fire safety, complaints, administration of medication, dropping off and collection of children, and other key policies.
The requirements being introduced include a minimum ratio of one adult to 12 children. The 1:12 ratio was determined following the advice of the School Age Childcare Standards Working Group, which submitted draft proposals on quality standards for school-age childcare to my Department in 2018. Membership of the Standards Working Group included organisations that represent full-day care providers, parents, primary schools, children’s rights and regulators, as well as organisations focused on the quality of school-age childcare. In developing their proposals, the Working Group reviewed international evidence and practice, in which there is considerable variation in ratio requirements. The School Age Childcare Standards Working Group was reconvened for a meeting with officials from my Department in September 2018, during drafting of the School-Age Childcare Regulations, for consultation specifically on the adult-child ratio and outdoor space requirements.
The Standards Working Group recommended a ratio of 1:11. The previous working group to examine the issue, which issued the report, "Developing School Age Childcare" in 2005, under the auspices of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, recommended a 1:8 ratio at that point in time. A higher ratio of 1:12 has been adopted for the Regulations, reflecting the fact that the age group is on average higher than that in the Early Childhood Care and Education programme, for which a 1:11 ratio is required.
School-age childcare services cater for children of very varied ages, from four to 14 years of age, though data from Pobal's Early Years Sector Profile suggests that the majority of children attending school-age childcare are less than eight years old.
Comparison with the pupil-teacher ratio in schools must take into account the fact that the classroom environment in a school is very different from a childcare setting, and that school-age childcare services are not provided by the State. Similarly, the National Youth Council of Ireland, in its 2015 publication, "Working Safely in a Youth Club", recommends a ratio in youth clubs - which may cater for young people of school-going age - of one adult to eight young people.
Furthermore, school-age childcare can involve full-day participation (during holiday periods) of up to ten hours. For a similar reason, whereas the ratio for sessional care for three to five year olds is 1:11, the ratio for full-day care for the same age group is 1:8.
The regulations come into force on 18 February. Existing services will have either six or three months in which to apply for registration with Tusla, depending on whether or not they are also registered pre-school services. The 1:12 ratio as required in the regulations will apply to all school-age childcare services. The three to six-month period for registration is intended to allow existing providers time to prepare. Acknowledging that some services may require time to adjust to the new ratio requirement, officials in my Department are currently and expediently examining the matter of commencement of the ratio requirement and will issue a further communication very shortly.
The regulations coming into force in February are initial regulations, and a public consultation process is planned for 2019 on the development of more comprehensive regulations.
516. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the way in which a project (details supplied) in Dublin 11 is funded by her Department; when she last visited the project; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3795/19]
View answerThe project referred to by the Deputy receives funding from my Department through the Community Childcare Subvention, CCS, and Community Childcare Subvention Plus, CCSP, programmes. In addition, the project also receives funding from Tusla under the School Completion Programme, SCP.
The CCS Programme is a childcare programme targeted to support parents on a low income to avail of reduced childcare costs at participating community childcare service. The CCSP Programme provides support for certain parents to avail of reduced childcare costs at participating privately owned childcare services and also at community not-for-profit childcare services. The project is one of 830 childcare services in contract with my Department to deliver the CCS programme, and one of 3,132 childcare services in contract with my Department to deliver the CCSP programme.
The SCP programme focuses on targeting and providing supports to young people identified to be most at risk of early school leaving. There are currently 124 SCP projects covering 467 primary schools and 244 post-primary schools.
The project last had a Ministerial visit in July 2015.
517. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if Tusla has a written policy on the use of section 13 of the Child Care Act 1991 (details supplied) regarding a newborn infant; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3955/19]
View answerUnder Section 3 of the Child Care Act 1991, Tusla has a statutory function to promote the welfare of children who are not receiving adequate care and protection. This applies to all children, regardless of their age.
When a referral about a child welfare or protection concern is made, Tusla social workers must assess the circumstances of the child or children involved. Appropriate action to ensure the safety and protection of that child or children must be taken. These actions can include applying to the District Court for an order under Section 13 of the Child Care Act if the child or children are considered to be at immediate and serious risk. Practitioners can refer to the Child Welfare and Protection Practice Handbook for guidance on the appropriate use of Section 13 in child welfare and protection proceedings.
All referrals of child protection and welfare are subject to a standard business process, which ensures that referrals are screened for eligibility for a service and subjected to a preliminary enquiry, to establish whether it is necessary to complete an initial assessment. Initial assessments are carried out using the national approach to practice, Signs of Safety. The emphasis at all times is on Tusla working together with the child and family to plan for the child’s safety. At any stage during this process, if a child or children is considered to be at immediate and serious risk, Tusla can apply to the District Court for an order under Section 13 of the Child Care Act to ensure the safety of that child.
518. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of children taken into care under sections 12, 13 or 17 of the Child Care Act 1991, in cases in which the child was under 30 days and under one year of age, in each of the years 2013 to 2018. [3956/19]
View answerI have been provided by Tusla with data on the number of children taken into care under Section 13 or 17 of the Child Care Act 1991. Children are not admitted to care under Section 12 of the Act, which is only used by An Gardaí Síochána to remove a child to safety.
Data on admissions of children aged under 30 days is not collated nationally and the data provided is a count of admissions into care of children aged under one year. It should also be noted that data for 2018 is not yet available.
Table 1: Admissions of children aged under 1 year into care following the use of Sections 13 and 17 of the Child Care Act 1991
|
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
|
|
Section 13 |
41 |
32 |
45 |
28 |
30 |
|
Section 17 |
56 |
51 |
57 |
41 |
48 |
It is important to note the data is a count of admissions and not individual children, as a child may have more than one admission in the year.
519. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if Tusla has a written policy for engaging with parents with disabilities in the context of childcare proceedings. [3957/19]
View answerTusla, the Child and Family Agency, recognises that some parents, including those with a disability, may need additional support and special consideration in respect of their disabilities and their parenting capacity. The Child Protection and Welfare Practice Handbook outlines that, in circumstances where a parent/carer has a disability, it is likely that there may be a number of professionals from different services involved. It is important that these professionals work together when enquiries and assessments are being conducted, to identify any links between the parent’s disability and the impact on the child. Any assessment should include an understanding of the needs of the family and individual children.
Legal representation is provided by the Legal Aid Board to parents who meet the eligibility criteria, and this includes parents with disabilities. Advocacy services are also provided by voluntary agencies, such as the National Advocacy Service for People with Disabilities, to parents with disabilities whose children are the subject of a court order.
The national approach to practice, "Signs of Safety", highlights the importance of considering complicating factors including parental disability in a child’s life when a child protection concern is raised. Professionals involved must consider the impact of parental disability on the child and plan accordingly. Communication with parents is a key factor in the "Signs of Safety" framework. Working together to ensure that parents are clearly aware of concerns regarding their child’s safety and contributing to plans to address those concerns is a cornerstone of this approach.
520. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if other sites similar to Tuam have been identified by her Department as necessitating excavations in which the potential for the presence of human remains exists. [4013/19]
View answerThe statutory Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related matters) is tasked with examining burial arrangements for persons who died while resident in these institutions. My Department is not separately investigating these matters.
In its fourth interim report, which I published last week, the Commission reiterates the significant challenge of investigating the burial arrangements in respect of a number of these institutions. The report notes that people have recently come forward with additional information and the Commission is in the process of checking this information. As part of this process, the Commission recently commenced geophysical surveys on the burial grounds associated with the former Sean Ross Abbey institution in County Tipperary.
Furthermore, the Commission plans to submit a detailed interim report on its investigations into burial arrangements by 15 March 2019. The report will include the Commission’s assessment of burial arrangements at the site of the former Tuam institution and other major institutions.
I will examine this report and consider any findings or recommendations made at that time in consultation with my Government colleagues.
521. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if the potential impact of the introduction of the affordable childcare scheme on community services providing the community childcare subvention programme has been assessed; her plans to produce a report on the matter; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4183/19]
View answerThe Government policy relating to the new Affordable Childcare Scheme, ACS, was informed by evidence and with the best interests of children and families in mind. The legislation supporting the scheme, the Childcare Support Act 2018, was the subject of much discussion in the Houses, and many elements of the policy were considered by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children on a number of occasions. A Regulatory Impact Analysis was conducted as part of the ACS development.
The Affordable Childcare Scheme, when introduced, will represent a major landmark for all children and families in Ireland, and especially for lower income families and lone parents. It may be accessed by all families and not just those working or studying full-time. International reports have stated that ACS will significantly address affordability for lower income families and, for example, Ireland will change from being the most expensive country in the OECD for childcare for lone parents, to 11th position. This will have strong benefits to the community childcare sector.
Community Childcare settings provide a valuable service to children and families across the country. These services often provide vital childcare and support to vulnerable families in areas of disadvantage. In the last four years, the DCYA has increased funding for early learning and care and school-age childcare by 117%. A significant proportion of this funding has been targeted at families who use community childcare services, thus assisting with sustainability issues expressed in recent years. The ACS will further increase investment in childcare and will reduce the top-up many parents have to pay for their childcare, with many benefits accruing for services, one of which is to lessen bad debt experienced by community providers, an issue raised by them with the DCYA in recent years. The ACS is also expected to increase demand for services thus ensuring that community services can operate at full capacity with efficiencies ensuing.
Any community service which is currently experiencing sustainability challenges, or which fears the impact of the introduction of the ACS, should contact its local Childcare Committee or Pobal immediately. A number of supports are available to them. Pobal and the 30 local Childcare Committees will provide expert non-financial assistance and support in the first instance to identify root causes and ways to address this. Additionally, €1.7 million has been allocated for targeted sustainability purposes in 2019.
As well as the analysis already completed and the sustainability features already built in to the ACS, work is ongoing to assess any potential negative impact of the introduction of the ACS on those community services which currently provide the community childcare subvention programme. As stated above, the Department is actively urging services that believe they are at risk to make themselves known so that available support measures can be put in place.
There are currently no plans to further report on the matter.
522. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the funding provided for the early childhood care and education scheme in 2018 and 2019; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4232/19]
View answerIn 2018, €303.4 million was allocated for the funding of the Early Childhood Care and Education, ECCE, Scheme. This level of funding facilitated the attendance of c. 119,000 children in the ECCE pre-school programme. In 2019, €298.1 million has been allocated for the ECCE scheme based on an anticipated c. 109,000 children registering with ECCE providers.
It should be noted that a number of policy changes to the ECCE scheme were instituted in September 2018 (effective for the academic year 2018/19), including the transition from multiple ECCE intakes in the academic year to a single intake occurring in September. In addition, the minimum age of qualification for ECCE was lowered to two years and eight months, allowing a greater cohort of children to take advantage of the extension of ECCE entitlement to a full two years.
The budget allocation of 2019 reflects lower take-up, largely accounted for by declining birth rate and partly due to some children who are eligible for ECCE, registering instead with other government childcare schemes. This sometimes occurs because at present parents can only register for one early learning and childcare scheme at a time. If the parent requires part-time or full-time day care, whereas ECCE covers three hours per day only, another scheme may be more attractive and may reduce the co-payment required by parents. The budget for these schemes has increased in the recent years.
However, the Affordable Childcare Scheme that is being introduced later this year will allow parents to register for ACS as well as ECCE, ensuring that children who need subsidised early learning and care or school-age childcare, above and beyond ECCE hours, can avail of it in a more streamlined manner.
523. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the estimated annual cost of providing an additional two hours of free pre-school education through the early childhood care and education scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4233/19]
View answerSome €298.1 million has been allocated to the Early Childhood Care and Education scheme in 2019. Currently, children registered on ECCE receive 15 hours of free pre-school education per week.
Should the 15-hour entitlement be increased by two hours per week to a total of 17 hours per week, this would result in an estimated additional cost of €39.7 million in 2019. Should the 15-hour entitlement be increased by an additional two hours per day, up to a total of 25 hours per week, the additional cost would be €198.7 million in 2019.
It should also be noted that the hours of subsidy under the Affordable Childcare Scheme, which will be introduced in late 2019, are intended to wrap around a child's participation in ECCE. Therefore, any increase to the maximum number of eligible hours under ECCE would lead to an associated reduction in the cost of the Affordable Childcare Scheme. However, the impact of this effect has not been fully quantified and has therefore not been taken into account in the costing figures provided within this reply.
|
Variables |
Hours p/week |
Cost per annum (based on 2019) |
Effect |
|
Current entitlement |
15 hours p/week |
€298.1m |
- |
|
2 hours additional p/week |
17 hours p/week |
€337.8m |
€39.7m increase in funding required |
|
2 hours additional p/day |
25 hours p/week |
€496.8m |
€198.7m increase in funding required |
524. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the legislation, including heads of Bills, from her Department that have been sent to EU institutions before their publication for the period of the Thirty-second Dáil; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4243/19]
View answerI confirm that no piece of legislation (including Heads of Bills) from the Department of Children and Youth Affairs have been sent to EU institutions before their publication.
In relation to the Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019, and Brexit Preparedness and Contingency planning more generally, the Government continues to engage with the EU institutions and other Member States to ensure a coordinated approach, where appropriate.
525. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if legislation will be brought forward to amend the Residential Institutions Redress Act 2002 to provide for a redress function to incorporate the survivors of mother and baby homes. [4292/19]
View answerI have no plans to bring forward legislation to amend the Residential Institutions Redress Act 2002. As the Deputy will be aware, my colleague the Minister for Education and Skills is responsible for this legislation and related arrangements. The redress scheme established under this Act has not been extended to any additional institutions since 2005.
I understand that when the Report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse was published in 2009, there were a number of calls for the redress scheme to be extended to include additional institutions, including some mother and baby homes. These calls have been reviewed on a number of occasions by previous Governments with no change in the institutions covered by the scheme.
In 2016, the Second Interim Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes made a recommendation that the decision to exclude unaccompanied children who were resident in mother and baby homes from the Residential Institutions Redress Act should be re-examined by Government.
In examining this matter, the Government decided it would not be appropriate to consider any such arrangements in advance of the findings and conclusions of the Commission on relevant matters. When the Commission submits its final reports, its conclusions on all matters regarding the treatment of former residents of Mother and Baby Homes will be taken into careful consideration when determining the State's response.
In the interim, the Government has agreed to consider supports and services to respond to the identified health and well-being needs of former residents. In July of last year, I established the Collaborative Forum, as a progressive response to the theme of, “nothing about us without us”, which emerged from my consultations with former residents of these institutions. This innovative approach has empowered former residents to actively contribute to the Government's deliberations on matters of concern to them and their families.
The Forum has recently submitted its first report to me and I will be bringing my recommendations to Government in the coming weeks.
526. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if funding will be restored to local youth groups to 2008 levels in order to prevent the return of the stigmatisation that was experienced in the past (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4369/19]
View answerMy Department was first established in 2011. As the Deputy is aware my Department, along with all Government Departments, was required to deliver substantial savings on all funding programmes in line with the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure 2012-2014. However, my Department sought to ensure front-line youth services, particularly those for the most vulnerable young people, were protected as far as possible from the impact of the reduction in funding.
In recent years funding for the provision of youth services has been increased on an annual basis.
The overall budget for the youth sector in 2018 is €58.9 million in current expenditure, an increase of €7 million in the youth funding provided in 2016.
Budget 2019 has provided a further increase of €1.5 million in youth funding.
My Department has commenced a process to identify service development needs for 2019 and to finalise the 2019 youth funding allocations. The primary purpose of this process is to ensure that youth services are sufficiently resourced to meet the needs of young people and particularly those who are at risk of drugs or alcohol misuse, early school leaving, homelessness or who are living in disadvantaged communities.
In this regard, officials within my Department are currently processing funding renewal applications on behalf of both national youth organisations and youth projects throughout the country. Every effort will be made to complete this process as soon as possible and all youth organisations and youth services will be notified of their allocation at the earliest possible date.
I understand that in 2011, Ballymun Regional Youth Service and Poppintree Youth received a combined total of €539,104 in youth funding from my Department. In 2018, these services received youth funding with a combined total of €1,442,794.
527. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the status of actions arising from an audit (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4370/19]
View answerI thank the Deputy for her question. I met with Dr. Shannon after the publication of his report to better understand the intent of the recommendations it contained, and to seek clarity on the measures that would be applied to assess their implementation. Following these discussions Dr. Shannon and I agreed the Action Plan.
I am pleased to report progress has been made on the recommendations. While many of the recommendations for Tusla are of an ongoing nature, I sought assurance at the start of this process that the issues identified are kept to the fore across child protection assessments and ongoing engagement with vulnerable families.
The ongoing implementation of, "Signs of Safety", as the national approach to child protection provides an increased level of analysis and judgment, which will improve consistency in determining appropriate response pathways for children and families, ensuring they receive a proportionate and timely response.
Joint working between Tusla and An Garda Síochána has been enhanced on a number of levels. In relation to Tusla's engagement with An Garda Síochána, the Joint Working Protocol has been operational since Quarter 1, 2018. Work has now commenced on the joint auditing of its implementation.
The Tusla-An Garda Síochána Joint Data Sharing Agreement is expected to be signed off by Tusla's Interim CEO and the Garda Commissioner in Quarter 1, 2019.
An Garda Síochána has established the National Child Protection Unit, which is now operational. In October 2018, Tusla assigned a senior staff member for secondment to this Unit with specific responsibility for the development of a joint working model. A draft Specialist Interviewing Protocol is under consultation, with a target launch date end of February 2019.
Progress has also been made on developing the out-of-hours social work service. A single national out of hours number went live on 3 December 2018 and is available to members of An Garda Síochána, Out of Hours GP services and the Accident and Emergency service. This service provides access to an on-call social worker at regional/area level who can go the scene of an incident in specific cases of a serious nature.
Dr. Shannon's findings on the manner in which Section 12 circumstances were managed by An Garda Síochána prompted me also to request Tusla to commission research into how social workers made decisions when a child came into their custody, following the use by An Garda Síochána of Section 12. This research was undertaken by NUI Galway and a final report is expected early this year.
As the Deputy will be aware, the focus of Dr. Shannon's audit of the application of Section 12 was An Garda Síochána, and the majority of recommendations focus on improving Garda practice in these situations. The report also identified key areas for improvement in Tusla practice, and the Action Plan I agreed with Dr. Shannon specifically addressed these areas. While not all actions are yet completed, I am confident that the changes that have and are being put in place are bringing about significant improvements.
I have also established an interdepartmental group to put in place arrangements for cross-agency centres to support children and families who have suffered from child sexual abuse.
The, "One House", centres are intended to provide services for children and adolescents where there is a concern that sexual abuse may have occurred. The intention is that the centres will support children who have suffered sexual abuse while accessing care or health services, and engaging with the criminal justice system. The, "One House", will bring together the forensic, protection, health, therapeutic and policing services in a child-centred way in order to minimise as far as possible any additional trauma for the child and the child's family. The centres should improve the efficiency and effectiveness of child sexual abuse services and develop specialist expertise, skills and knowledge in this complex area, for the benefit of children who have suffered from sexual abuse and their families.
528. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the status of the rural community affair, Pobal, regarding CSP funding; and the date of its implementation. [4050/19]
View answerI understand the Deputy is referring to the Community Services Programme, CSP, and, in particular, to the eligibility of a participant in a specific CSP supported organisation who has reached 66 years of age.
The CSP supports around 400 community organisations to provide local services through a social enterprise model, with funding provided as a fixed annual contribution to the cost of a manager and an agreed number of full-time equivalent positions. This contribution must be co-funded by the organisations concerned from other sources, for example, from income received from the public use of their facilities and services.
CSP eligibility criteria currently preclude supported organisations, including the organisation in question, from using CSP funding to co-fund salaries of employees once they reach 66 years of age. That said, the internal operations of CSP-supported organisations, including general employment issues relating to CSP-supported posts, are solely matters for the Boards of those organisations to manage as the respective employers. Accordingly, supported organisations may continue to employ persons once they reach their 66th birthday, but the funds to do so must come from a non-CSP source.
My Department will shortly commence a review of the CSP, and there are no immediate plans to change any programme criteria pending completion of this review. The review will help inform decisions on the future shape of the programme, including inter alia programme funding arrangements and age related eligibility criteria. Subject to a successful tender process, I expect a reviewer to be appointed before the end of February. The review will take six months and should be completed in early Autumn 2019.
