Written Answers Nos. 478-502
478. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide an update on the case of a child (details supplied) who two years ago was referred to East Limerick Children's Services for an ASD cognitive assessment and has yet to receive an appointment date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19197/23]
View answerAs this refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
479. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if she will provide a breakdown of the children's disability network teams' interdisciplinary supports and therapies provided within County Mayo's CDNTs 1-3; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19297/23]
View answer480. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if she will outline the reason children (details supplied) are waiting up to 12 months for access to interdisciplinary supports and therapies; the steps being taken to reduce this wait time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19298/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 479 and 480 together.
As this refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
481. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the reason the allowance paid in respect of children taken into care is different for a relative and a non-relative of the child; if he will agree that the preference is to keep a child within the family unit if at all possible; if he accepts that the costs for providing care by a family member or non-family member will be similar and in low-income families these costs could be a barrier to such care being provided by a family relative; if he proposes to change the present arrangements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19355/23]
View answer90% of the children in the care of Tusla under the Child Care Act 1991 are placed with foster carers. Foster carers, including relative foster carers, are paid a weekly allowance, which is a payment to meet the needs of the child in their care. The foster care allowance is currently €325 per week for a child under 12 years of age and €352 per week for a child aged 12 years and over.
Relative foster carers and general foster carers are paid the same weekly allowance, which is a payment to meet the needs of the child in their care. The allowance is not considered as means for social welfare purposes, and is not subject to tax.
The foster care allowance is one element of the support that Tusla provides to foster carers when they offer a home and care to children some of whom may have additional, and sometimes significant, needs. If required, Tusla can also provide financial supports to foster carers through either additional or enhanced payments.
In terms of the provision of financial supports to children who are in the care of Tusla, I can assure the Deputy that the basic foster care allowance is paid at the same rate to any person fostering a child, whether or not they are related to that child. Any payment of enhanced or additional payments that may be payable by Tusla is determined on the basis of the needs of the child in foster care, rather than on the status of the foster carer as a relative or general foster carer.
The Child Care Act 1991 is the statutory framework for child welfare and protection in Ireland. Section 3 of the Act places a statutory duty on Tusla to promote the welfare of children who are not receiving adequate care and protection. Further, the section sets out that Tusla shall “have regard to the principle that it is generally in the best interests of a child to be brought up in his own family.”
Relative foster care is an important component of foster care. As of the end of January 2023 64.3% (3,597) of children in care were in general foster care and 25.9% (1,452) were in relative foster care.
482. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the long-term situation in relation to IPAS locations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19365/23]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Government made a commitment in the Programme for Government to end the current system of accommodation for International Protection applicants and replace it with a new model that is based on a not for profit approach. As part of this process I published A White Paper to end Direct Provision and to Establish a new International Protection Support Service on 26 February 2021.
Properties have been acquired under this framework throughout the country with the support of the Housing Agency. However, there has been a substantial increase in the number of people seeking International Protection. 15,000 International Protection applicants arrived in 2022 and 3,036 persons so far this year. The International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) has also had to procure accommodation to meet the loss of 2,540 beds since 1 January. Due to the acute accommodation shortage, 560 international protection applicants are currently without accommodation.
In this context, IPAS is opening new centres in locations across the country where contractors offer suitable premises for its use. The choice of location for an IPAS centre primarily depends on the decisions of contractors to offer suitable premises or on the availability of suitable publicly owned property in particular areas.
483. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth how many children are in Tusla's care; and how many of them have allocated social workers. [19443/23]
View answerAs this relates to Tusla operational matters, the question has been forwarded to Tusla for direct reply to the Deputy.
484. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth how social workers are employed by Tusla; how many social care workers are employed by Tusla; how many unfilled positions for social workers there are; and how many unfilled positions for social care workers there are, [19444/23]
View answerI wish to inform the Deputy that my officials have asked Tusla to respond directly to you on this matter.
485. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth how many units of stepdown accommodation nationally are allocated to aftercare for 18-year-olds progressing from Tusla care. [19445/23]
View answerAs this relates to Tusla operational matters, the question has been forwarded to Tusla for direct reply to the Deputy.
486. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he is aware of the lack of wheelchair accessibility at Spike Island tours; what steps his Department is taking to ensure that tourist sites are accessible to all; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19479/23]
View answer487. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he is aware of the case of a proposed exhibition (details supplied) at Spike Island being put in jeopardy due to the lack of a wheelchair-accessible bus on the island; if he will take steps to ensure that issues of accessibility are appropriately addressed by a company; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19480/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 486 and 487 together.
As Minister of State with responsibility for Disability, I am very aware of the barriers and challenges faced by persons with disabilities in terms of the accessibility of everyday life and I am indeed aware of the specific issues referenced by the Deputy.
I am committed to advancing the rights and interests of persons with disabilities, in line with the State’s ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). Article 9 of the UNCRPD requires states to take appropriate measures to ensure equal access to facilities and services for people with disabilities, including transport services.
While my Department has a policy coordination role in relation to disability matters, it is important to note that all departments and public are responsible for ensuring that the needs and interests of persons with disabilities are met within their respective areas of responsibility.
In line with the ethos of the Convention, the delivery of services and supports for persons with disabilities is mainstreamed wherever possible within areas of existing responsibility, so that the principle of disability inclusion is embedded across State services.
As such, my Department has no direct role or powers in the regulation of public or private transport services or tourist sites.
A number of departments and agencies have responsibility for transport support schemes, ranging from the Department of Transport’s general responsibility for accessible public transport, to the Disabled Drivers and Passengers Scheme, which is the responsibility of the Minister for Finance and is administered by the Revenue Commissioners. Responsibility for tourism lies with my colleague the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
Under my Department's policy coordination function, I chaired a Transport Working Group as part of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy, to formulate proposals as to how transport supports could be better coordinated across the State. The Final Report of the Group was published earlier this year and is available on my Department’s website.
I have also introduced measures such as the Disability Participation and Awareness Fund, which provides funding to assist in enhancing the participation of persons with disabilities in local and community life.
I will continue to work with colleagues across Government to remove barriers to accessibility and to ensure the full and equal participation of people with disabilities in our society.
488. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if IPAS is providing accommodation for Ukrainian beneficiaries of temporary protection or international protection applicants at a property (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19510/23]
View answerIreland has responded to the largest displacement of people on the European continent since the Second World War. Since February 2022, my Department has worked to accommodate an unprecedented volume of persons seeking refuge following the invasion of Ukraine, with over 80,000 people arriving in Ireland, including 59,000 who have sought accommodation from this Department.
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, my Department has contracted in excess of 47,000 beds to accommodate Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) in more than 750 settings including hotels, guesthouses, B&Bs, hostels, commercial self-catering accommodation and certain other repurposed settings. In addition, more than 7,000 beneficiaries have also been accommodated in pledged accommodation properties.
The priority is to place people fleeing the war in safe and secure accommodation.
I am advised by my officials that My Department is not providing accommodation at the property referred to by the Deputy in respect of either Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection or International Protection applicants.
489. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of minors currently residing in direct provision centres across the State. [19555/23]
View answerAs of 16 April 2023, there are 4,331 minors residing in IPAS accommodation across the State.
490. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the procedures in place to ensure minors residing in direct provision centres are enrolled in education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19557/23]
View answerThere are three full time, dedicated Tusla Education Support Service (TESS) Education Welfare Officers (EWOs) working with the International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) to provide assistance with school placements for children living in IPAS accommodation centres. Where there are no school places available in the vicinity, which does occur, children are facilitated in the next nearest school with space, and applications are made for school transport.
The current process is as follows:
The TESS IPAS EWO communicates with the centre manager and provides information and assistance to families regarding enrolment of children in schools. They then continue to engage weekly with managers and families at the centre to provide further support where required.
Where further support to secure a school place is needed, the IPAS EWO contacts a Regional Education and Language Teams (REALT) Co-ordinator and requests their assistance in supporting the families regarding enrolment. The EWO exchanges anonymised information including profile of families, numbers of children, etc who haven’t found school places.
REALT Co-ordinators do not have primary responsibility for supporting the enrolment of International Protection (IP) children. They provide ancillary support to the existing TESS EWOs who work with IPAS.
The REALT Co-ordinator records relevant information (pre-enrolment) to secure a school place for the child and engages with the local TESS EWO, Regional NCSE (National Council for Special Education) and NEPS (National Education Psychologist Service) members of the local REALT, as required.
TUSLA has statutory powers to designate the school in accordance with the Education Act (as amended). Where the REALT Co-ordinator does not succeed in sourcing a school place, TESS will take responsibility for the case to ensure that a child has access to education in line with the provisions of the EU Directive. REALT reports to the Dept. Education where capacity has been reached.
From an IPAS perspective, if an IP or their representative organisation wish to raise a query regarding school placements, they may contact the Helpdesk at IPAS through the dedicated email address (IPASinbox@equality.gov.ie) and the query may be referred as appropriate to TESS.
491. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the reason the hydrotherapy pool (details supplied) in Cavan is still without clinical staff trained to deliver hydrotherapy for an organisation in Cavan to users in need of the service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19560/23]
View answerAs this refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
492. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No. 430 of 8 February 2023, when a person (details supplied) will be provided with alternative weekend day-respite services following their exclusion from those services at Galro Centre, Kilbixy Paddocks, County Westmeath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19570/23]
View answerAs the question refers to a service matter, I have referred it to the HSE for direct reply.
493. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when a person (details supplied) who is awaiting a substantial payment for housing Ukrainian families will receive this payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19596/23]
View answerMy Department is prioritising maintaining a practice of more timely payments, including providing more resources to address any issues. Any delays in making payments are deeply regretted and my Department is according this issue very high priority.
With regard to the service provider mentioned, I am advised by my officials that all of the invoices referred to in the Details Supplied have now been processed with payment expected to issue shortly pending final checks.
The delay in payment is due to the large volume of invoices being received by my Department. Additional resources have been assigned within my Department as well as process improvements and the outsourcing of some elements of the process. The volume of payments issuing is steadily growing. My Department will continue to press on to eliminate the backlog while ensuring appropriate governance is in place to safeguard the proper spending of Exchequer funding.
494. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he has read a report (details supplied), specifically as it relates to pay for early years' educators; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19604/23]
View answerI am aware of the recent publication of the results of SIPTU's Early Years Staffing Survey. Many of the issues highlighted in the survey, in particular the level of pay among those working in early learning and care (ELC) and school-age childcare (SAC) and the impact that has on staff recruitment and retention, are issues which I have been actively seeking to address.
I am very conscious of the need for improvement in pay and working conditions for early years educators and SAC practitioners. The level of pay they receive does not reflect the value of the work they do for children, for families and for the wider society and economy. It also contributes to challenges of recruitment and retention of staff, which are key to the consistency of care provided to children.
The State is not the employer and therefore does not set the pay and conditions for employees in either ELC or SAC services. However, there is now, through the Joint Labour Committee process, a formal mechanism established by which employer and employee representatives can negotiate minimum pay rates for ELC and SAC services.
Two Employment Regulation Orders for Early Years Services came into effect on 15 September 2022 which provide for minimum hourly rates of pay for various roles in ELC and SAC services. It is estimated that the EROs resulted in improved pay for over 70% of workers in the sector, with specific recognition for different roles and qualifications, thus establishing a career framework and wage structure for staff.
In parallel, the Government introduced Core Funding for ELC and SAC services, which has an allocation of €259 million in its first year (2022/23), to support improvements in staff wages, as well as to freeze parental fees and support sustainability of services.
In addition to this, as announced in Budget 2023, the Core Funding allocation will increase by €28 million in year 2 of this scheme and I have signalled that €4 million of that allocation will support the removal of the "3-year experience" rule for graduate premiums, subject to the amendment of the current ERO. The allocation of the remaining €24 million will be informed by the emerging data from the first year of funding.
Also, in December 2021, I published "Nurturing Skills: The Workforce Plan for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare, 2022-2028" . This Plan includes specific actions for moving to a graduate-led workforce by 2028, establishing a career framework for staff working in the ELC and SAC sector, including role profiles, qualifications requirements and the strengthening of career pathways. Nurturing Skills also includes actions to support the recruitment and retention of staff with the necessary qualifications, and ongoing staff training and development, to create a workforce which feels valued and is motivated to deliver the best possible service to children.
495. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth his views on the adequacy of childcare provision in Tubbercurry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19606/23]
View answerThe availability of high-quality early learning and childcare is a key Government priority. The Department monitors early learning and childcare capacity on an ongoing basis, with a particular focus on responding to the unmet early learning and childcare needs of families.
The annual data captured by Pobal on behalf of my Department - through the Early Years Sector Profile Survey - is one important data source that allows us to monitor supply and demand. In addition to this survey data, the Department also relies on data from the register of services held by Tusla, data provided by services as part of their application for Core Funding and has also conducted several surveys with parents. Since 2020, five parent surveys have been undertaken by Ipsos MRBI on behalf of the Department.
Data captured from the 2021/22 iteration of the Early Years Sector Profile, indicated that the vacancy rates among services in Tubercurry was 9% - lower than the average vacancy rates nationally. This data does not take account of increases in capacity since the introduction of Core Funding. Data collection for the 2022/23 Early Years Sector Profile will commence shortly and will give an updated position.
A series of steps are being taken to address issues of undersupply.
The network of 30 City/County Childcare Committees across the country are in a position to match children and families to services operating with vacant places and engage proactively with services to explore possibilities for expansion among services, particularly where there is unmet need.
Under the National Action Plan for Childminding, there is a commitment to open up access to the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) to parents who use childminders following the extension of regulation to childminders.
Some €70m has been allocated to my Department through the revised National Development Plan (NDP) – with the majority of this funding earmarked for new places.
My Department, in partnership with the Department of Housing Planning and Local Government, is in the process of updating the 2001 Planning Guidelines for Local Authorities on Early Learning and Childcare Settings. As part of this work, my Department has been included in the updated list of prescribed bodies that need to be notified on certain planning matters, including the formulation of County Development Plans and Local Area Plans.
In addition, Core Funding - introduced in September 2022 - has already proven to be effective in expanding capacity, particularly in areas of undersupply and additional funding secured in Budget 2023 for year two of Core Funding provides further opportunity to invest in capacity growth.
Parents experiencing difficulty in relation to their early learning and childcare needs should contact their local City/County Childcare Committee (CCC) for assistance. Contact details for CCCs may be found on www.myccc.ie.
496. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will report on proposed research on early learning and care, and school-age childcare need of parents who work atypical hours or live in rural communities, and develop recommendations for future action, as required by the Rural Development Policy 2021-2025. [19608/23]
View answerOur Rural Future is the whole-of-Government policy for sustainable rural development in Ireland. It was published in March 2021 and contains more than 150 measure intended to support the post–Covid-19 recovery in the short-term, economic and social development in the longer terms as well as environmental and cultural well-being.
The policy acknowledges the challenges facing those seeking to avail of, early learning and childcare in rural areas, and the need to better understand the requirements of parents of preschool-age and school-age children in these communities.
The research referred to by the deputy falls under measure 95 of Our Rural Future with the my Department as having lead responsibility for delivery.
This research involved two phases:
• a nationally representative parent survey of over 500 households with children aged under 15 years the early learning and care and school-age childcare needs of parents who work atypical hours or live in rural communities,
• a small-scale qualitative study through a series of focus group discussions with parents who work atypical hours or live-in rural communities. The qualitative study will complement the parent survey, in exploring key themes in more detail with parents.
A final report incorporating the results of both phases, as well as a review of the relevant literature, is being finalised for publication in Q3 of 2023 and will inform policy development in this area.
497. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide a memo in respect of the basis for proceeding with the use of a building (details supplied) that is subject to determinations made regarding restrictions and or limitations of its use by a local authority. [19613/23]
View answerI will set out the position in this reply rather than in a memo. As the Deputy is aware, the decision to utilise the building in question to accommodate single female international protection applicants has been made in an extraordinarily pressurised context. There are currently almost 570 people without accommodation in the State so the use of the property in question is desperately needed to reduce the numbers of unaccommodated here in as far as possible.
As outlined in a previous question on this matter, the provider has advised the Department that in the opinion of their planning consultant, the change of the property's use to provide accommodation for international protection applicants does not amount to a material change of use and that planning permission is not required. I understand that the provider will continue to engage with the Council to clarify these matters.
498. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will meet with a person (details supplied) as a matter of priority. [19616/23]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, the Minister for Education has responsibility for matters relating to survivors of Residential Institutional abuse. However, given the seriousness of this situation, my officials are liaising with the Department of Education to offer any assistance that we can provide, to bring this situation to a satisfactory conclusion as a matter of urgency.
499. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Health the average time between the making of a call to emergency services and deployment of members of the Ambulance Service, in each month of 2022 and to date in 2023, in tabular form. [19113/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
500. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Health if the medical card levy, which places a financial burden on many older and vulnerable people, will be removed completely in Budget 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19506/23]
View answerThe Government is committed to making healthcare more accessible and affordable and has introduced several reductions in the cost of healthcare.
On 1 November 2020, prescription charges under the General Medical Services (GMS) scheme were reduced as follows:
- For persons over 70, the charges were reduced to €1 per item with a maximum monthly charge of €10 per person or family per month.
- For persons under 70, the charges were reduced to €1.50 per item with a maximum monthly charge of €15 per person or family.
The weekly gross income thresholds for eligibility to a medical card for those aged 70 and over were increased in November 2020 and are currently €550 per week for a single person and €1,050 for a couple. In addition, since 2015, every individual aged 70 and over has automatic eligibility for a GP visit card.
It is estimated that the minimum cost of abolishing prescription charges for all eligible persons would be approximately €60m per annum. This estimation is subject to the following caveats:
- That demographic changes may impact the number of eligible persons.
- That the removal of prescription charges may result in a change in claimant behaviour.
While preparations in respect of Budget 2024 are ongoing, any health measures introduced will be in the context of the implementation of the health commitments in the Programme for Government and the funding available. A consideration of further reductions to the level of prescription charges, or to their removal entirely, will take place in that context.
501. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 1999 of 8 September 2022, if he will state clearly when those frontline staff who have to date not received a pandemic payment will receive the payment; the number of eligible staff still awaiting same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18914/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
502. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Health if all agencies that had workers providing services during Covid-19 have now received the pandemic bonus payment into their accounts. [18915/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
