Written Answers Nos. 1386-1400
1386. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the way that parents can apply to participate in the free books and library membership for first-time enrolment in primary school. [40990/22]
View answerUnder the First 5 My Little Library Initiative – a collaboration between the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Local Government Management Agency – every child starting primary school this September is invited to collect a free book bag from their local library full of storybooks and resources to support with the transition to primary school. The book bag also includes a My Little Library card wallet and at collection, children and their families are invited to join their local library.
Any child leaving pre-school this summer and starting school can go to their local library with their parents and pick up their book bag. Parents are asked to bring identification so that their children can join the library. Other children in the family might want to join the library at the same time and can immediately borrow books.
So far this summer over 15,000 4 and 5 year olds have joined the library. Over 40,000 bags have been collected. Book bags are available in Irish and English.
1387. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth his engagement with the Minister for Justice concerning the temporary suspension of the operation of the Council of Europe Agreement for 12 months by requiring refugees travelling to Ireland from safe European countries to hold visas. [41027/22]
View answerI have had regular and detailed engagement with my colleague the Minister for Justice concerning international protection and the ongoing humanitarian response to invasion of Ukraine, including on the matter the Deputy refers to. Her department and mine cooperate very closely on these matters, particularly so in terms of ensuring that our reception capacity can meet demand during this exceptional time.
1388. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of Ukrainians in the State under the Temporary Protection Directive being accommodated by his Department that are being accommodated in tents or prefabricated structures. [41028/22]
View answer1389. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the steps that he is taking to move Ukrainians in the State under the Temporary Protection Directive being accommodated by his Department from tents or prefabricated structures. [41029/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1388 and 1389 together.
Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine on 24 February, and the invoking of the temporary protection Directive by the European Union shortly afterwards, my Department has worked intensively as part of the cross-governmental response to the Ukraine crisis.The operational challenges brought about by responding to the conflict are significant. Our country has never experienced an influx of displaced persons like the one that we have seen over the past months. My Department’s role is focused on the immediate, short-term accommodation needs of those who have fled here.
To date, more than 42,000 people have arrived in Ireland and in excess of 31,000 of those have been referred to us seeking accommodation from the State. Numbers seeking international protection have also increased adding to accommodation capacity issues.
Overseeing provision of accommodation on this scale during this timeframe for all those who require it remains immensely challenging. Due to the urgent need to source accommodation, a broad range of accommodation types have been contracted, including emergency accommodation. While I recognise this is not ideal, the priority is to place people fleeing the conflict in safe and secure accommodation.
The site in Gormanston has tented accommodation with a capacity for 320 people. Additional sites are under examination by my Department, including some that will involve tented accommodation. I am not aware of any pre-fabricated structures in use, although given the wide range of sites being utilised, it is not possible to exclude that a small number of individuals are being accommodated in structures that could fall into this category. My Department continues to exhaust all efforts to source suitable accommodation for people fleeing the conflict in Ukraine.
1390. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he have received any gifts from visiting dignitaries; if he will provide a breakdown of the details of these gifts, their value, and the way they were disposed of; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41112/22]
View answer1391. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he has received any gifts while travelling abroad; if he will provide a breakdown of the detail and value of these gifts and the way they were disposed of; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41130/22]
View answer1392. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he or his Department have given any gifts to visiting dignitaries; if he will provide a breakdown of the detail and the value of these gifts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41148/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1390 to 1392, inclusive, together.
I have received 3 gifts while travelling, and have received no gifts from visiting dignitaries, nor have I given any gifts to visiting dignitaries.
The gifts received are detailed as follows:
|
Gift |
From |
Approx Cost |
|
Bottle of Olive Oil |
HE Nasser Shraideh, Minister for Planning and International Cooperation, Jordan |
€30 |
|
Coffee Table book about Columbia |
Vice President of the Republic of Colombia is Marta Lucía Ramírez |
€20 |
|
Decorative Plate in gift box |
Dr Ensieh Khazali, Vice President for Women and Family Affairs of Iran |
€100 |
Question No. 1391 answered with Question No. 1390.
1393. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the funding, if any, that is provided to support childcare facilities, creches and pre-schools in providing Irish-medium services. [41267/22]
View answerFunding provided by my Department for early learning and care (ELC) and school-age childcare (SAC) services are the same for both Irish and English-medium services.
Over the past seven budgets, investment in ELC and SAC services has risen significantly from €260 million in 2015, to €716 million in 2022. This excludes substantial funding provided to support the sector during the COVID-19 period.
There is much value in supporting the provision of services in the Irish language to children at an early age. ELC and SAC services play an important role here, in particular in promoting Irish as a living language.
My Department is working closely with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and the Department of Education to implement a comprehensive set of actions that were agreed as part of the 5 Year Action Plan for the Irish Language 2018-2022. These actions are designed to affirm the importance that ELC settings have in encouraging the development and revitalisation of the Irish language. The aim of these actions is to build on the existing measures, supports and partnerships in place in the area of Irish-medium ELC and SAC, and to further improve these supports and services.
In line with the commitments in the 5 Year Action Plan, my Department earlier this year appointed an Irish Medium Support Coordinator who has responsibility for coordinating the work to support the development and use of the Irish language in Irish medium ELC settings outside the Gaeltacht. This coordinator will guide recruitment for another Irish-medium early years specialist post in 2022.
My colleague, the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media provides additional supports for naíonraí in the Gaeltacht through her Department. More details on such opportunities may be available from that Department.
Government has provided significant investment in ELC and SAC in recent years and I intend to continue this trend with a view to reaching the First 5 commitment of investing of at least €1 billion in the sector by 2028.
1394. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the steps being taken to support organisations wishing to establish new family resource centres; if a capital funding scheme to build new family resource centres will be put in place; the supports that may be offered in the interim to groups such as an organisation (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41272/22]
View answerYou may already be aware, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, administers the Family Resource Centre (FRC) Programme which provides funding support to 121 FRCs across the country. My Department allocates core funding for the FRC Programme and since 2018 has provided an additional €4.5m bringing Tusla's core budget to €18.0m for FRCs. Tusla also provided supports to FRCs and other funded Community and Voluntary partners to assist with pressures arising from COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, Tusla received €0.650m funding from the Dormant Accounts Fund; which was distributed through the FRC programme. Also in 2021, this Department provided €6.2m (a once off 5% increase in funding to organisations engaged as 'service providers' under section 56 of the Children and Family Act, 2013). In 2022, additional funding of €6.0m is allocated to enable Tusla increase supports to the wider Community and Voluntary sector.
The commissioning of FRCs is an operational matter for Tusla. Tusla’s Area Managers engage in the commissioning process and participate in meetings and discussions with community and voluntary agencies. Tusla aims to utilise the total resources available in the most efficient, equitable, proportionate and sustainable way in order to improve outcomes for children, young people, and families. Local Tusla Area Managers and the Tusla Commissioning Team can be contacted in relation to FRCs' planned service delivery and potential to develop services.
Organisations that wish to join the Programme are advised to contact Tusla in the first instance, with regard to the potential next steps. I understand that currently, there are no plans to expand the FRC Programme or to establish new funding schemes for the Programme in the immediate future.
My Department has shared your question with Tusla, should any further information become available, I will share that with you.
Tusla continues to work with community-based family support organisations, including the seven FRCs in County Mayo, to best meet the needs of vulnerable children, families and communities. Tusla currently provides additional resources to Castlebar FRC for the employment of a community-based outreach family support worker who operates in the Erris area. Tusla continues to actively engage with the Erris area, including in the establishment of a new Youth Project.
1395. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the certain elements of the EU Work Life Balance Directive EU 2019/1158 for which he has secured an extension to transpose by the summer 2024; if these certain elements include the provision of domestic violence paid leave and the reason that his Department has been unable to meet the State’s obligation to transpose the Directive into domestic law by the 2 August 2022. [41362/22]
View answerOn 21 April the Government gave its approval for the drafting of a Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill. The General Scheme of the proposed Bill is published on my Department's website. The main purpose of the proposed legislation is to transpose elements of the EU Work Life Balance Directive and provide new rights to parents and carers in order to support a better work life balance.Under the proposed legislation, parents and carers will see a right to request flexible working in line with Article 9 of the Directive and the introduction of five days leave per year for medical care purposes in line with Article 6.
The General Scheme has been referred to the Office of the Attorney General for drafting and will be brought to Government when completed.
The General Scheme was also referred for pre-legislative scrutiny to the Oireachtas Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, which published its report on 9 June.
Unfortunately it was not possible to finalise this Bill in time for it to be introduced to the Oireachtas and enacted in this term due to the significant volume of current legislative work and the importance in ensuring that the Directive is correctly transposed. The proposals under the General Scheme will be formally communicated to the EU Commission, along with information on how Ireland has transposed other aspects of the Directive, including the extension of the entitlement to Parent's Leave and Benefit to seven weeks earlier this month.
I am committed to bringing this Bill to Government at the earliest opportunity in the autumn. I also intend to bring to Government proposals for a form of domestic violence leave which will be brought as Committee Stage amendments to this Bill.
1396. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the way that his Department and public bodies and agencies under his remit met their obligations under section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 in 2021, including the way that relevant policies and actions are monitored and the way that the obligation is reflected in their annual reports. [41364/22]
View answerMy Department has carried out an assessment of the human rights and equality issues it believes to be relevant to its functions and purpose as required under section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014. In March 2021, my Department published its outline of the policies, plans and actions already in place or proposed to be put in place to address those issues in its Public Sector Assessment and Implementation Plan. The Department is yet to publish its Annual Report for 2021.
With regard to the aegis bodies under my Department's remit, I have asked those bodies to respond directly to the Deputy on the implementation of their obligations under section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 in 2021.
1397. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of State boards under the remit of his Department or its agencies; the total number of members of each board; the numbers on each board broken down according to gender; and the number of persons with a declared disability on each board in tabular form.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41382/22]
View answerThere are six bodies under the aegis of my Department that have a board. They are the Adoption Authority of Ireland, Gaisce (the President’s Award), the Child and Family Agency (Tusla), Oberstown Children Detention Campus, the National Disability Authority and the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission.
The current number of members on each board, including gender breakdown, is listed in the document attached. State Board listings are also available at membership.stateboards.ie/.
In relation to part 4 of your question, my Department does not hold any information regarding the number of Board members who have a declared disability.
Adoption Authority of Ireland
Maximum Number of Positions: 7
Gender Balance Numbers: Female (4), Male (3)
Gender Balance Percentage: Female (57%), Male (43%)
Oberstown Children Detention Campus
Maximum Number of Positions: 13Gender Balance Numbers: Female (7), Male (6)Gender Balance Percentage: Female (54%), Male (46%)
Gaisce
Maximum Number of Positions: 15*
Gender Balance Numbers: Female (6), Male (7)
Gender Balance Percentage: Female (46%), Male (54%)
*There are 15 positions on the Gaisce Board. There are currently two vacancies, one which will be filled by a nominee of the President and one which will be filled by a nominee of the Office of the Taoiseach.
National Disability Authority
Maximum Number of Positions: 13*
Gender Balance Numbers: Female (7), Male (5)
Gender Balance Percentage: Female (58%), Male (42%)
*These figures pertain to the previous Board which met for the last time on 21 July 2022. A Public Appointments Service competition is underway for the appointment of a new board. The NDA Board included several persons with disabilities, as per its constitution.
Child and Family Agency/Tusla
Maximum Number of Positions: 11
Gender Balance Numbers: Female (5), Male (6)
Gender Balance Percentage: Female (45%), Male (55%)
Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission
Maximum Number of Positions: 15
Gender Balance Numbers: Female (8), Male (7)
Gender Balance Percentage: Female (53%), Male (47%)
1398. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the estimated full-year cost of increasing the spending on childcare to 1% of GDP. [41475/22]
View answerOver the past seven budgets, investment in Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC) has risen from €260 million in 2015, to €716 million in 2022. This excludes substantial funding provided to support the sector during the COVID-19 period. Despite this progress, investment in the area remains low by international standards.
In their latest calculation, the OECD report Ireland spends 0.2% of GDP on ELC compared to the OECD average of 0.7%. Ireland's spending also falls short of the UNICEF-recommended investment level of 1.0% of GDP. Ireland's calculation by OECD excludes spending on children under 6 that are in primary school.
In 2021, Ireland’s GDP was €428 billion. To increase spending to 1% of GDP, equalling €4.3 billion, an additional investment of €3.6 billion would be necessary.
Although investment in ELC remains unacceptably low, it is important to note that GDP is a misleading indicator in the Irish context. The OECD emphasises that, in the Irish context, “one should rely on other indicators” as GDP gives an inaccurate indicator of the country’s economic health.
A modified GNI was recommended by the Economic Statistics Review Group as a more useful comparator. This is designed to exclude globalisation effects that are disproportionately impacting the measurement of the size of the Irish economy. In 2021, Ireland’s modified GNI was €234 billion. To increase spending to 1% of modified GNI, equalling €2.3 billion, an additional investment of €1.6 billion would be necessary.
The First 5 Strategy commits the Government to at least doubling public spending on ELC by 2028. An Expert Group to develop a new funding model for ELC and SAC was established in 2019 to consider how best to structure this additional investment. In December 2021, Government adopted the 25 recommendations contained in an Expert Group report, Partnership for the Public Good: A New Funding Model for Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC).
Implementation of the recommendations of the Expert Group began in Budget 2022 with the announcement of the new €221 million Core Funding scheme and changes to the NCS. The full implementation of the Expert Group's recommendations is likely to be a multi-annual process, with funding becoming available on an incremental basis.
I am committed to increasing State funding to the ELC and SAC sector.
1399. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the estimated full-year cost of providing free childcare for all children under five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41476/22]
View answer1400. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the estimated full-year cost of providing free after school childcare for all children in primary school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41477/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1399 and 1400 together.
Significant investment is being made by my Department to support parents with the costs of paying for Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC) and to support providers with the costs of delivering ELC and SAC.
To respond directly on the cost of free Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC) for all children under 5 and for all primary school children.
CSO data from 2016 shows that there were 430,503 children under 5 in Ireland. To derive an estimated cost of funding ELC for these children, the following assumptions are made: ELC is availed of on a full time basis, 52 weeks per year. The estimated cost uses the average weekly rate for a full time place, as reported in the Pobal Annual Early Years Sector Profile 2020/21 (i.e. €187). Based on these assumptions, funded ELC for all children under 5 would cost €4.2 billion per annum (or €9,724 per child).
Department of Education data from 2021 show there were 554,788 enrolments in Primary schools. To derive an estimated cost of funding after school care for these children, the following assumptions are made: After-school care is availed of in-term only (i.e. 38 weeks per year) for 4 hours per day and 5 days per week. The estimated cost uses the average hourly rate charged for after-school care, as reported in the Pobal Annual Early Years Sector Profile 2020/21 (i.e. €5.25). Based on these assumptions, funded after-school care for all primary school children would cost €2.2 billion per annum (or €4,195 per child).
It is worth noting these costs do not capture the nuances of delivering ELC and SAC including supply and demand or other funding complexities such as quality and improved pay and conditions for the workforce.
The figures above also do not account for the National Childcare Scheme and the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme currently supporting thousands of families to offset their costs, or the developments underway through Core Funding and investment in the new funding model.
I am confident that the new funding model being implemented, with fee management through Core Funding, in tandem with developments and investment in the NCS and ECCE, will together deliver improved affordability, quality, sustainability and accessibility of ELC and SAC.
