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Covid-19 Pandemic

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 3 February 2022

Thursday, 3 February 2022

Questions (167, 186)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

Question:

167. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth his views on whether children and young persons are one of the cohorts most impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic given the loss of social outlets during lockdowns; and the funding he will provide to ensure a fair and equitable recovery for children and young persons including but not limited to the Tusla family support service grant and local youth club grant. [5366/22]

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Ivana Bacik

Question:

186. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the measures his Department is putting in place to support children and young persons in Ireland’s development, following the easing of public health restrictions in January 2022. [5484/22]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 167 and 186 together.

Thank you Deputies for your parliamentary questions pertaining to the actions taken by my Department to ensure a fair and equitable recovery for children and young people from the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic.

Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the negative impact that Covid-19 has had on all our people both young and old. Secondly, I would like to commend our children and young people for the way they have dealt with the impact of the pandemic on their lives. The loss of social outlets during lockdowns has been felt across our society and my Department has put a number of measures in place to aid the recovery of our children and young people from the impacts of the pandemic.

Given the importance of early learning and childcare for children, their families, and society more broadly, I have put in place a range of supports for the early learning and childcare sector since the onset of Covid-19 pandemic.

Supports include tailored funding arrangements during periods of closure and restricted access to services, a range of capital programmes, an antigen programme, sector-specific infection prevention and control guidance, and access to the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS).

Ensuring that early learning and childcare services can continue to operate safely for children, families and staff, is among the key objectives of these supports.

While there has been an easing of many restrictions more broadly, the current position is that early learning and childcare services should continue to operate under sector-specific infection prevention and control guidance. This approach is in line with schools and is in effect until 28 February 2022.

To defray the additional costs associated with this guidance and to ensure these costs were not passed onto parents through higher fees, early learning and childcare providers continue to be eligible to access the EWSS, with an exemption to the turnover rule, which I negotiated for the sector. With the value of EWSS at standard rates since 1 February, estimated to cost €22m per month, the support under EWSS remains in excess of what is required to support the implementation of sector-specific infection prevention and control guidance.

Throughout the pandemic, my Department has been engaging with children and young people to learn about their experience during the pandemic.

In the summer of 2020, my Department, the Department of Health and the youth sector, collaborated with SpunOut.ie to undertake an online survey of young people’s experiences of COVID-19. A Youth Advisory Group worked with officers from my Department to guide the development and analysis of the consultation.

The consultation asked young people about what has been working well for them and the challenges in maintaining their wellbeing during COVID-19. This engagement by my Department gave young people a chance to provide us with feedback on what could be useful in improving their mental health and wellbeing over the coming months.

The ‘Supporting Children’ media campaign which ran from June to September 2020, and for a further six weeks following the increased restrictions at the beginning of 2021, was also created in response to the pandemic and the identification of a need for awareness raising in respect of the systems and supports available to vulnerable children, young people and families.

The Growing up in Ireland Survey has tracked the outcomes for children before and during the pandemic. The survey showed that many children spent less time with friends and participated in organised activities less during the pandemic.

Children and Young People Services Committees (CYPSC) have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and have utilised my Department’s programme funding to help coordinate initiatives in response to identified needs for children and young people and their families. Examples of this important work include the delivery of school meals, family educational and activity packs, and food packs to local families. This work is being done in collaboration with local partners in the Community & Voluntary sector, such as the Children’s Rights Alliance. This work is ongoing, with CYPSCs continuing to identify and address the needs of disadvantaged communities throughout the pandemic.

Supporting parents and enabling them to fulfil their roles will be vital as the country recovers from the impacts of the pandemic.

My Department is currently finalising a national model for parenting supports, which seeks to support all parents to be confident and capable in their parenting role, and to achieve the best outcomes for children and families. The model will be published later this year, and recognises the importance of all persons who play a parenting role in the lives of children and young people.

Recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic will also be a key focus in the successor framework to Better Outcomes; Brighter Futures, which is currently being developed by my Department.

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