Written Answers Nos. 582-601
582. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the number of newborn babies under 14 days old who have been taken into care in each of the years 2015 to 2019 and to date in 2020. [24747/20]
View answerThe Deputy is referring to an operational matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. I have therefore referred the matter to Tusla, and asked that a direct response be provided to the Deputy.
583. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the number of newborn babies taken into care in each of the years 2015 to 2019 and to date in 2020 under 14 days old for each of Tusla’s 17 service areas. [24748/20]
View answerThe Deputy is referring to an operational matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. I have therefore referred the matter to Tusla, and asked that a direct response be provided to the Deputy.
584. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the reasons Tusla took newborn babies into care in each of the years 2015 to 2019 and to date in 2020. [24749/20]
View answerThe Deputy is referring to an operational matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. I have therefore referred the matter to Tusla, and asked that a direct response be provided to the Deputy.
585. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the additional supports a crèche can avail of for a child with EBD. [24818/20]
View answerThe Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) is designed to support the meaningful participation of children with disabilities in the universal Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme, within mainstream pre-school settings. To avail of targeted supports, the parent and the ECCE provider jointly make applications for AIM supports. AIM is a needs-based model, with availability of supports dependent on the needs of the child in the context of the pre-school setting the child is attending. Delivery of supports is not based on specific diagnoses.
AIM provides both universal and targeted supports. Universal supports help pre-schools to promote and foster an inclusive culture. Staff in early learning and care settings get guidance on developing their policies and procedures so that every child can be included, where possible, in the ECCE pre-school programme. Training is also available to ensure inclusion in the setting is built on a strong foundation. Training courses and the Leadership for Inclusion (LINC) Level 6 programme are available free of charge to help staff in ECCE settings to support all children who have additional needs in their setting.
In addition to universal supports, targeted AIM supports are provided through Levels 4-7 of AIM. Level 4 of AIM involves provision of information, knowledge and mentoring to ECCE service providers by Early Years Specialists within Better Start.
Level 5 of AIM provides equipment, materials and small-scale capital expenditure. Resources provided to ECCE settings have included the AIM Inclusive Play pack, which is a set of resources to support inclusive practice within pre-school settings. Play packs were delivered nationwide to every setting providing ECCE sessions in 2018. These resources, which include equipment, toys and materials, also support the development of coordination and audio, visual and tactile skills among all children, and in particular, children with a disability. The tactile nature of the active play can help to support children's emotional and behavioural development.
Increased capitation provided by AIM Level 7, if required, allows the ECCE setting to fund additional support or to lower the adult to child ratio in the pre-school room. These additional resources support all children in the pre-school room to engage meaningfully in activities in the room.
586. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the number of early learning and care services that have had a Covid-19 infection amongst staff or children. [24840/20]
View answerAs the matter to which the Deputy refers is an operational matter for Tusla, I have requested Tusla to respond to the Deputy directly within 10 working days.
587. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the reason Pobal decided at 5:30pm on 11 September 2020 to confirm that children who were not back in a service by that day would lose their place (details supplied). [25078/20]
View answerIn accordance with the rules governing the Community Childcare Subvention Plus (CCSP) savers programme, parents who wish to maintain the "Saver" status for their eligible child under the CCSP programme were required to enrol their child in a Tusla registered service within four weeks of that service reopening. The current programme year for CCSP began on 17 August 2020, and 11 September was the end of the four week period. Pobal therefore informed childcare providers on 11 September that the registration window for savers was closed.
Following representations from childcare providers, my Department has reviewed this rule and has decided to suspend it for the current programme year, as some parents are reluctant to return their child to childcare, for example due underlying health conditions.
Eligible children can register at any time in the current CCSP programme year and retain saver status. The registration will apply from the date the child first attends the service, it will not be backdated to the beginning of the programme year.
A notice informing all childcare services of this decision was circulated by Pobal on 16 September.
588. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration if all outstanding grants will be paid to a childcare provider (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25093/20]
View answerPobal are the administrators of all childcare funding programmes on behalf of my Department.
Pobal have confirmed that all outstanding payments have issued to the service referred to by the Deputy.
589. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the oversight his Department has in place to ensure that failures by Tusla (details supplied) to carry out its obligations will not be repeated; the reason for the failures; if he is satisfied that the measures now in place are adequate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25229/20]
View answerThank you deputy for highlighting this important matter.
The Irish Times recently reported that the Kerry area of Tusla the Child and Family Agency had under reported referrals of suspected physical, emotional and sexual abuse and neglect to An Garda Siochana.
This underreporting was identified by the Kerry area manager, who shared the finding with HIQA inspectors. The inspectors were satisfied with the proposed actions to address the issue.
In April 2020, Tusla completed an audit of all referrals received in the Kerry area (in Q4 2019) categorised as 'abuse'. The findings identified a concern about the rate of notifications to An Garda Síochána.
To ensure this was not a national issue, Tusla undertook an audit of Garda notifications in all service areas (excluding Kerry as it was already undergoing audit), which was completed in July 2020. The audit found that while under-reporting of suspected abuse was not “a major systemic issue” there had been some variance as to the timing for a social worker to determine what constituted ‘a suspicion’ of abuse. Some Tusla areas had been undertaking further information gathering prior to sending the referral to the Gardaí.
National guidance for child protection, Children First, states if Tusla suspects abuse has occurred it will "formally notify the Gardaí without delay." This guidance was not fully adhered to in the Kerry area. To improve practice, the Kerry area has been restructured into five teams and additional staff have been appointed, which includes a Principal Social Worker and a Social Work Team Leader. Management have been working directly with social work staff to address the identified inconsistencies in notifications of suspected abuse to Gardaí.
Tusla has re-issued its internal guidance on the timing and threshold for notifying the Gardai of a suspicion of child abuse and neglect.
I am greatly disappointed that this situation developed. Through a combination of suitable management oversight within Tusla, performance monitoring and HIQA inspections the issue was identified and is being appropriately addressed. This is an example of Tusla identifying an internal issue, taking appropriate action and learning from it.
590. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the progress that has been made in relation to the rolling out of toilet facilities for persons with disabilities (details supplied) [25234/20]
View answerOverall responsibly for disability policy still rests with my colleague, the Minister for Justice. As a result, the information requested by the Deputy is not available in my Department at present.
However, the Department of Justice and Equality has provided the following information by way of response to the Deputy's Question.
Part M of the Building Regulations does not, at present, require the installation of changing place facilities. Notwithstanding this, some local authorities have installed changing place facilities. An example of a public body going beyond the minimum requirements in Part M is the motion passed by Dublin City Council to install changing place facilities in all new build and green field developments. The Department would certainly encourage all local authorities to be as far-sighted as this to enable the dignity, and indeed safety, of the person with the disability to be maintained at all times.
The objective of Changing Places Ireland to introduce fully accessible toilets in public places such as shopping centres, libraries and sporting arenas across the country is important and requires careful consideration. As the Deputy is aware, the Community Participation Bill 2019, a Private Members' Bill, is currently before Seanad Eireann and is at Third Stage. The Bill’s objective is to facilitate the inclusion and full participation of people with disabilities and their family and friends in their communities by enabling greater access to public spaces.
591. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the status of the Ryan Report recommendations to have a national archive created for all records relating to children placed in institutional care and foster care and to have the archives of the religious orders and congregations that provided residential care to children included in such a national archive; his plans for same; the timeline for progressing same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25285/20]
View answerThe Report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (The Ryan Report) was published on 20th May 2009. Following the publication of the Report a detailed Implementation Plan was prepared and published in July 2009.
The Government committed to full implementation of all ninety nine actions in the Ryan Implementation Plan. Implementation was overseen by a High Level Group chaired by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. The fourth and final progress report was approved by Government and laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas in March 2015.
Of the ninety nine actions contained in the Ryan Report Implementation Plan, ninety five are now complete and four are still outstanding. Of those four, three are the responsibility of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, including the two referred to by the Deputy:
Action 75 – a professionally managed national archive of records of children in care; and
Action 76 – records of non-statutory agencies in relation to children in care to be secured in the national archive.
These actions are being addressed by Tusla through the implementation of the National Childcare Information System (NCCIS). I have sought an update on their status and will revert to the Deputy in due course.
592. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration if the HIVE and CHICK registration process will be reformed (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25358/20]
View answerThe National Childcare Scheme has been in place since November 2019 and since that time over 62,000 awards have been generated for parents. The vast majority (around 97%) of these have been through the online process.
The online application process for the NCS has been designed to be accessible, intuitive and user-friendly.
The scheme also recognises that some people will have English or IT challenges. Parents who experience literacy difficulties or issues with internet access can contact their local Childcare Committee (CCC) who will be able to assist them in completing their NCS application. All CCCs have received extensive training on the NCS, and their role is to support parents in their communities as well as ELC and SAC services.
Multiple stakeholder and interest groups were consulted in the development of the NCS to ensure that the scheme would be as accessible as possible. Information for parents about the Scheme has been developed in a number of languages, which can assist parents in making their NCS application. These materials can be accessed here: https://www.ncs.gov.ie/en/information-resources/
Parents who are not able or do not wish to engage with the online application process can avail of the option to apply using the paper application form. Parents using this option will have no interaction with the online NCS system, the application will be managed for them by the NCS Parent Support Centre. The Parent Support Centre will support and guide them through the process.
Parents can call 01 906 8530 for more information and to arrange for the correct application form to be sent to them. Parents can also find contact details for their local CCCs at myccc.ie or from calling the number above.
My Department with the scheme administrator will be reviewing the accessibility of our systems on an ongoing basis. The system is defined to be future proofed and open to ongoing development responding to the needs of both parents and providers.
593. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration if his attention has been drawn to difficulties in securing supports for children despite sponsorship referrals made under section 14 of the Childcare Support Act 2018 for special arrangements on the basis of child welfare, child protection, family support or other specified grounds, due to the fact that the process takes a minimum of three weeks to activate registration; if he will seek to reform the process to reduce delays; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25359/20]
View answerSponsorship arrangements within the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) play an important role in making additional supports available for families with complex and challenging needs that Early Learning and Care can help to address.
Once a sponsored referral to the NCS has been completed and submitted on the system, it is processed and a ‘CHICK’ number is produced on the same day. As no income assessment is required for a sponsored case, completed sponsored referrals can be processed quickly. Once a CHICK has been generated, the parent (or sponsor body, with the parent’s agreement) must bring this to a childcare provider to be registered in order for NCS subsidies to be paid.
A referral application must be finalised by the relevant sponsor body before being submitted on the NCS system. I do understand the frustration of waiting for an application to be finalised, particularly in a sponsored case. We are working closely with the various sponsor organisations to improve the customer experience for the vulnerable groups who require this support.
From 7th September, the maximum number of subsidised hours available to families on NCS has increased from 40 to 45 hours per week. This includes sponsored children. This increase has been communicated to all sponsor bodies and updated referral forms have been sent out to them. In writing to all sponsor bodies on this occasion, my Department took the opportunity to reiterate our role in assisting sponsor bodies, and to remind them that training continues to be available if needed/wanted.
In addition to working directly with the sponsor bodies, the City/County Childcare Committees (CCCs) have undergone extensive training and based on this training, and my Department have updated our FAQ’s to reflect the most common issues or questions that they have raised.
In the coming months I hope to see the numbers of children availing of sponsorship increase as awareness rises. Where specific cases are brought to my Department's attention, my officials will work to ensure these children are prioritised.
If the Deputy is aware of such cases, then she might contact my officials and we will look into those cases as a matter of urgency.
594. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the amount of training given to public health nurses on the HIVE and CHICK registration processes; if his attention has been drawn to training deficits in view of the crucial role public health nurses play in early intervention of vulnerable children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25360/20]
View answerThe Childcare Support Act 2018 specifies 5 statutory bodies with which the Minister may make agreements in relation to referral procedures for free or additional childcare. These sponsorship arrangements within the National Childcare Scheme offer additional supports for families with complex and challenging needs that Early Learning and Care can help to address. Where there is a sponsored referral for a child, they will automatically qualify for the maximum number of subsidised hours available, without having to satisfy the Scheme’s eligibility requirements.
Signed agreements are in place with all sponsor bodies, and all sponsor bodies have received training in relation to the NCS.
Public Health Nurses can refer children for sponsored childcare to support child development for children who are below the age for participation in ECCE and where there is an identified need for childcare as a developmental support for the child. I appreciate the vital role that PHNs play in ensuring that extra supports are made available where they are needed.
PHN’s underwent training sessions via webinar on the 18th, 23rd and 30th June (160 attendee’s approx.) 27th August (65 attendee’s approx.) Further sessions are scheduled for 23rd and 24th September and the 7th and 14th October. After each training session the training materials and FAQ’s are updated to reflect the most common issues or questions that they have raised.
In the coming months I hope to see the numbers of children availing of sponsorship increase as awareness rises. Where specific cases are brought to my Department's attention, my officials will work to ensure these children are prioritised.
595. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration his plans to streamline the national childcare scheme to simplify access for parents with significant variation in their weekly fees and that avail of two separate programmes across 52 weeks of the year; his further plans to introduce a less complex system of fee calculation and reduce the additional administrative burden placed on childcare centres expected to monitor wage variation across the year, keeping a record of registration renewals and birthdays for individual children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25361/20]
View answerThe National Childcare Scheme (NCS) represents the first ever statutory entitlement to childcare in Ireland, and has streamlined the multiple targeted support schemes previously available.
In replacing the legacy schemes, the Scheme entails a fundamental shift away from subsidies grounded in medical card and social protection entitlements, and towards a comprehensive and progressive system of universal and income-based subsidies. By making this shift and by tangibly reducing the cost of quality childcare for thousands of families across Ireland, the Scheme aims to improve children's outcomes, support lifelong learning, make work pay and reduce child poverty. It is also designed to have a positive impact on gender equality in relation to labour market participation and employment opportunities.
When a subsidy award is generated under the NCS, all elements of the award are visible. It is possible to view each stage that an award will change during the year, whether from a change in the child’s education stage, or if the award will change on the child’s birthday. Childcare services do not have to calculate this throughout the year, as it is made visible at the beginning of the award. Childcare providers are therefore able to plan for the coming year and inform parents of the dates at which their co-payments will change.
The introduction of the NCS removed the administrative burden from childcare providers of applying for childcare supports on a parent’s behalf. Parents now apply to the Scheme directly, and only approach childcare providers once they have completed their application and have a CHICK to register.
I am aware of the challenges faced by providers in changing to a new scheme and a new IT system. Pobal as scheme administrator have provided comprehensive training and information resources and will continue to support providers through this change process.
In addition, my Department has also provided the NCS Transition Support Payment and the NCS Capital Grant. The Transition Support Payment was a modest one-off payment to acknowledge the increased burden which arises from transitioning to a new scheme.. Almost 3,300 providers availed of this support. In addition, the NCS Capital Grant initiative offered a capital grant to participating service providers for the purchase of qualifying ICT hardware and software to support certain administrative requirements associated with the scheme. Nearly 3,100 providers signed up to receive this grant.
My Department with Pobal are also in the process of developing a co-payment tool to assist providers in managing parental copayments. It is anticipated that this tool will be made available in Q.1 2021.
The NCS is constantly monitored for its success in meeting its objectives.
My Department has already met with a number of representative groups to identify where our systems might work better or target where further support may be required.
Pobal will also be looking to engage with users based on their experience to see where further enhancement, training or support may be required.
The scheme will be reviewed after 12 months and closely monitored thereafter to ascertain if it is meeting its stated objectives.
596. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration if the significant variation in access to services will be addressed for children who were not enrolled in the national childcare scheme before November 2019 including extra supports for language and social communication; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25362/20]
View answerThe National Childcare Scheme is the first ever statutory entitlement to financial support for childcare. It establishes an equitable and progressive system of universal and income-related subsidies for children up to the age of 15. It also provides an innovative and user-friendly online application process to access those subsidies.
Through all of the above, the National Childcare Scheme aims to improve children's outcomes, support lifelong learning, make work pay, reduce child poverty and tangibly reduce the cost of quality childcare for thousands of families across Ireland.
My Department is not aware of any impact from the introduction of the NCS which would affect supports for language and social communication. Such supports are entirely separate to a scheme providing for subsidised childcare. I understand that the Deputy is referring to NCS sponsor arrangements with the HSE
The NCS makes special arrangements for vulnerable children and families, the HSE is a designated statutory body and may make referrals for childcare support under the NCS.
The need for a referral is a determination for the relevant Sponsor Body and one they make based on the particular need of the child in line with their defined criteria.
The HSE under the NCS can sponsor a child
- under the age of 4 and who is not enrolled in a pre-school programme funded by the Minister or the Minister for Education and Skills and who would otherwise not attend a childcare service
- where a Child and Family Health Needs Assessment has been done by a Public Health Nurse and this has deemed the child to be in need of early intervention and require additional supports under child developmental needs, parental capacity and environmental factors, and
- where there is an identified need for childcare as an additional support to the home environment to meet the child developmental needs.
The criteria above were designed to be broad to allow a PHN to put forward vulnerable children in need of additional supports for sponsorship under the NCS. These criteria have been set by the HSE. There is no definition of ‘extreme vulnerability" in the criteria. However a child must be deemed eligible by the Sponsor Body.
I have asked my officials to contact the HSE and raise this issue with them. if you would like to give my Department the specific information on this case, my officials will ask the HSE to follow up with the PHN in question directly.
It is ultimately a matter for the HSE who they sponsor onto the NCS but my Department will follow up with the HSE to ensure they are aware of the case.
597. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration his plans to ratify the second optional protocol of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. [25363/20]
View answerMy Department made a comprehensive submission to the Attorney General’s Office in 2019 seeking confirmation as to whether Ireland was in a position to ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The advice received from the AGO stated that while Ireland is largely compliant with the terms of the Protocol, there are some outstanding issues that need to be resolved before the State can proceed to ratification.
My Department has been liaising closely with the Department of Justice and Equality, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as the issues identified by the AGO fall within their remit.
We hope to resolve these issues as soon as possible and I will subsequently seek Government approval for ratification at the earliest opportunity.
598. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the sources of capital funding available to a local group seeking to develop a facility to host an all-day service, a preschool and post school service in an area in which no formal service exists and which is adjacent to the existing national school. [25382/20]
View answerMy Department has, since 2015, administered an annual capital funding programme, under which early learning and care (ELC) and school-age childcare (SAC) service providers are invited to apply for capital funding for new builds, to increase capacity and to maintain and improve their services.
The capital strands are made available to achieve the strategic priorities as determined by my Department, having regard to the funding available, and developed using analysis of the current state of the childcare sector, learnings from previous capital programmes and feedback and input from stakeholders, including childcare providers and Pobal.
I am pleased to say my Department will run a capital programme in 2021, details of which will issue to all services later in the year.
My Department funds 30 City and County Childcare Committees (CCC’s) across the country. Anyone considering opening an early learning and care or school aged childcare service should contact their local CCC who will offer assistance in this regard.
The CCC’s also offer advice and support to parents on accessing both centre based care and home based options, such as childminders. The contact details for all CCCs can be found on www.myccc.ie
599. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the exceptions being made for those that had sat their leaving certificate in 2019 and applied for college places in 2020 given that average grades across all subjects increased by 4.4% in 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24719/20]
View answer611. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science The steps he is taking to address the number of students with deferred college applications that received no CAO offers in 2020 or otherwise missed out on their CAO choices as a result of the significant points increase for 2020/2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24767/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 599 and 611 together.
The CAO system is a system that works on the assumption that grades obtained in the Leaving Certificate by candidates determine their points. It is on this basis that the CAO system allocates places to applicants including those from different years. To ensure impartiality, the automatic CAO points systems have been created in a way that does not allow for different treatment to be applied to different sub-groups.
In order to help mitigate the impact of the changes to the grading system I announced the creation of an additional 2,225 places on high-demand courses in Higher Education Institutions. These places were provided in order ensure that as many students as possible could be accommodated on a course of their choice, given the unprecedented circumstances they are facing. These additional places meant the 53,815 applicants received CAO offers in Round One, more than in any previous year.
Nonetheless, there were fluctuations in CAO points this year, as there are every year. The changes in points depend not only on the grades received by applicants but also on the number of applicants, and the number of places available. As we are in the midst of a global pandemic and economic flux, there is more volatility than usual this year due to factors such as reduced opportunities in the economy, students seeking to defer or re-apply in subsequent years and uncertainty around students travelling internationally both to and from Ireland.
While the Round One offers have now been issued the full picture, taking account of all supply and demand variables, will not be known until all places are filled at the end of the CAO process. Round Two offers will become available on Wednesday 23rd September. My Department will continue to monitor developments closely in collaboration with the higher education sector and the Department of Education.
I know how difficult a time it has been for students and parents, but I would like to stress the range of options available both in further education and training and apprenticeships, but also in pathways in higher education. For those whose route into higher education may not be what they originally planned, once they have a place there may be a pathway back to their preferred option.
600. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the estimated cost of increasing student grants to their highest historical levels. [24808/20]
View answerIt is not possible to definitively calculate the cost of the various adjustments that have been made to the student support system since 2008, particularly in light of the demographic changes that have taken place.
To put it in context, in 2008/09 there were 57,261 students who benefitted from grant support at a cost of €264m, whereas in 2019/20 there were over 71,000 students in receipt of grant support at a cost of €340m.
It is however, estimated that it would cost in excess of €100m to reverse all of the adjustments that have been made to the student grant scheme since 2008.
601. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of students who missed out on their first choice CAO courses. [24839/20]
View answerThe CAO is a company established by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to process applications for undergraduate, and some postgraduate, courses on their behalf. Decisions on admissions are made by the HEIs who then instruct the CAO to make offers to successful candidates. Therefore application and offer data is held by the CAO, not by my Department.
According to data released by the CAO, there were a total of 78,168 applicants this year, up marginally from 77,706 applicants last year. 24,458 applicants received an offer for a first preference Level 8 course, and 28,677 applicants received an offer for a first preference Level 7/6 course in Round One of the CAO offer process this year. This compares to 23,129 first preference Level 8 offers and 27,274 first preference Level 7/6 Offers in 2019.
However these figures are from Round One only and do no include first preference offers received by applicants in Round A and Round Zero of the CAO offer process. 12,443 offers were made during these rounds in 2020, and data on how many of these were first preference offers is not held by my Department.
