Written Answers Nos. 285-304
286. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the rationale for the two years and eight months entry age for the early childhood care and education programme; and if flexibility might be considered in cases where a child is marginally under the entry age. [30247/23]
View answerThe Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme is a universal two year pre-school programme available to all children within the eligible age range of 2 years and 8 months to 5 years and 6 months. A child must have reached 2 years and 8 months of age on or prior to 31 August of the relevant programme year to be eligible.
The lower ECCE age threshold of 2 years and 8 months has been set to ensure the child is developmentally ready to engage with preschool and the preschool curricular framework. The entry point is designed so that all children within a given 12-month cycle can enter at the same point within that 12 month period and progress as one group. Ensuring children progress and transition with their peers to primary school is considered optimal for child development.
In terms of flexibility regarding the ECCE age criteria, my Department does its best to ensure, in so far as possible, the equitable treatment of all eligible children and families who apply for childcare funding under the ECCE Programme. In order to ensure objectivity and fairness, it is essential that clear rules exist for the scheme and that they are applied evenly. I accept that the use of age limits in a scheme such as ECCE creates a situation whereby a child can fall just outside the age range, however in the interests of fairness and consistency there can be no discretion in this regard. I would also note that all children, regardless of their birth date can avail of two full years of the ECCE programme.
Lastly, my Department has commissioned a review of the ECCE programme which is currently being undertaken by Stranmillis University, Belfast. The ECCE age requirements are being evaluated as part of this review. Any changes to the operation of the scheme requires careful consideration regarding their developmental impacts on children. The ultimate decision as to whether the age requirements should change will be informed by consultation with parents, international experts and ELC professionals.
287. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the successful applicants from childcare facilities for the blocks grant strand B, by company name and geographical area, that is, either country or Dublin postal code, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30252/23]
View answerMy Department was allocated €69m in the National Development Plan (NDP) allocation for the period 2023-2025. This will enable significant capital investment in early learning and childcare across three pillars: Building Blocks - Improvement Grant, Building Blocks - Capacity Grant and a Building Blocks - Innovation Grant.
My Department has allocated €9m in 2023 for the Building Blocks - Improvement Grant. Services that signed up for the Core Funding Scheme were eligible to apply for funding under the scheme. Grants range from €35,000 to €75,000 across two separate strands: Green Energy and Retrofit.
Strand A, the Green Energy Strand, will support the Climate Action Agenda and the Programme for Government, which aim to transition to a carbon neutral economy by the end of 2050 and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030.
Strand B, the Retrofit Strand, will provide grants to existing services in need of upgrading. Eligible works include kitchen works and refurbishment, upgrading of sanitary facilities for children and adults, roof repairs/replacement, and upgrading of flooring.
Overall, 946 services submitted applications, out of a total eligible cohort of 4,200 services, which have signed up to Core Funding.
Pobal, who are administering the scheme on behalf of my Department, have put in place an appeals mechanism for unsuccessful applicants. This appeals mechanism is at an advanced stage, however Pobal advise that the current number of successful applicants is subject to change.
My Department intends to publish the full list of successful applicants once the appeals process has been completed. A copy of the list of successful Strand B applicants will be provided to the Deputy at this time.
288. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the total spend on consulting services and on business-as-usual outsourcing, as differentiated under the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies 2016, for each commercial public body under the aegis of his Department for 2022. [30255/23]
View answerThere are no commercial bodies under the aegis of this Department and, as such, I can advise that it has no expenditure on consulting services or on ‘business-as-usual’ outsourcing to report.
289. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the measures his Department will take to ensure greater funding is provided for parents under the national childcare scheme to reduce the cost of childcare and ensure greater availability of full-time places in childcare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30287/23]
View answerThe National Childcare Scheme (NCS) is a subsidy provided to help parents to meet the cost of childcare and allow children to access Early Learning and School Age Childcare.
My Department has made a number of recent enhancements to the NCS to reduce the cost of childcare for parents availing of the NCS, these include:
• The removal of the practice of deducting hours spent in pre-school or school from NCS awards, meaning that parents are able to use their full awarded subsidised NCS hours regardless of whether their children are in pre-school or school.
• The increase in the upper age eligibility for the NCS universal subsidy from 3 years to all children under 15 years.
• An increase in the NCS minimum subsidy from €0.50 to €1.40 per hour.
The NCS is specifically designed to allow for rapid changes to subsidies, income thresholds and certain other eligibility criteria as Government decisions are made and exchequer funding becomes available. Any further changes to the NCS will be considered as part of Budget 2024 and announced on Budget day.
Regarding the availability of full time childcare places, some €69 million was allocated to the Early Learning and Childcare sector in the revised National Development Plan (NDP) allocation. This will enable significant capital investment in early learning and childcare across three pillars: (1) Building Blocks - Improvement Grant (now closed), (2) Building Blocks - Capacity Grant and (3) Building Blocks - Innovation Grant.
Work is currently underway on the design and delivery of the Building Blocks – Capacity Grant which will address capacity gaps, fund an expansion in existing services and invest in the development of new services where most needed. The Building Blocks – Innovation Grant will pilot a range of innovative initiatives such as outdoor early learning and childcare services and I hope to announce details of these schemes in the coming months.
290. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when he will publish the study commissioned by his Department to evaluate the processes for implementation of three equality strategies, namely, the National Strategy for Women and Girls as well as the Migrant Integration Strategy and the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy, due to be completed early in 2023. [30317/23]
View answerMy Department has commissioned a study to evaluate the processes for implementation of three equality strategies, namely the Migrant Integration Strategy, the National Strategy for Women and Girls, and the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy.
Work on this study has now concluded and it is expected to be published very shortly.
291. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when a person (details supplied) will receive a decision on an application for increased and consistent respite services. [30318/23]
View answerAs the query relates to service matters, I am referring it to the HSE for direct response to the Deputy.
292. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will liaise directly with a person in respect of an inspection (details supplied). [30414/23]
View answerI would like to assure the Deputy that the health and wellbeing of all Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) who avail of accommodation provided by my Department is of the highest priority to me and to my officials.
As part of our contractual arrangements with providers of accommodation for BOTPs, we set out a number of requirements which providers must meet in terms of service provision, including delivery of key services, laundry, meals (including cultural/dietary requirements) in serviced accommodation, and cooking facilities in self-catering accommodation, and compliance with all obligations in terms of health and safety, child protection etc.
My Department treats all complaints about accommodation with the utmost seriousness and is committed to reviewing and acting on all complaints in a timely and efficient manner.
If a complaint requires an inspection, my Department will arrange for an independent inspection to be conducted. If an inspection identifies any issues, the Department will instruct the service provider to address any issues identified. If issues of concern are not addressed, the Department has the authority to relocate people and terminate the contract.
My Department is presently examining the matters to which she refers.
293. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Health for an update on the current pharmacy fee structure review as part of the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017; when the review is due to be published; when he will communicate with an organisation (details supplied) on this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30195/23]
View answer308. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Health for an update on a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30320/23]
View answer371. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health if he is considering increasing fees for pharmacists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30387/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 293, 308 and 371 together.
I recognise the significant role community pharmacists play in the delivery of patient care and acknowledge the potential for this role to be developed further in the context of healthcare service reform.
In that regard, various approaches to extending the scope of practice of community pharmacists are being progressed by my Department. The implementation of these necessitates engagement with a range of stakeholders and full consideration of all the relevant legislative and operational issues involved.
The regulations governing the pharmacy fee structure are set out in the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017 (No. 34 of 2017) and in S.I. No. 639 of 2019, the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017 (Payments to Community Pharmacy Contractors) Regulations 2019, which put the current fee structure in place, with effect from 1 January 2020.
Under Section 42(14) of the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017 the current pharmacy fee structure must be reviewed every third year after 2020. My Department is currently carrying out a review and Department officials have held a meeting with the Irish Pharmacy Union in that regard.
I believe that there is a real opportunity to work collaboratively with community pharmacists, and with other healthcare providers, to make a significant difference to patient outcomes. Of course, any publicly funded pharmacy service expansion should address unmet public healthcare needs, improve access to existing public health services, and provide better value for money.
294. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Health for an update on the recruitment campaign for a day centre (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30228/23]
View answerAs this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
295. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if he will address a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30231/23]
View answerThe 35 recommendations arising from the Maskey report reviewing South Kerry CAMHS care resulted in a number of actions. The latest HSE implementation framework contains a total of 63 actions (local and national) against the 35 recommendations. The 35 recommendations led to 63 actions, 19 of which (national and local) have been implemented, with others underway.
The HSE is currently progressing three national audits in relation to CAMHS, namely a review of CAMHS prescribing practice, compliance with the CAMHS Operational Guidelines and a qualitative review of service user experiences in CAMHS being undertaken by UCC. The reports on these audits, expected in due course, will be given full and proper consideration by this Government.
In addition, the Mental Health Commission is also conducting its own independent review of CAMHS. An Interim Report was published on 23 January 2023. The Government and the HSE have accepted the findings and recommendations of the recently published Interim Report of the Commission and is progressing consequent actions as appropriate. The final Mental Health Commission Report is expected shortly.
I re-iterate, as I have on numerous occasions since the publication of the Mental Health Commission Interim Report on CAMHS, that it is encouraging there has been no evidence to-date that the over-prescribing seen in South Kerry has occurred elsewhere. I will further review the position when the various reports on CAMHS are published.
296. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Health the money spent, broken down by category, in each of the years 2021, 2022 and to date in 2023, in tabular form, on the review into the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30243/23]
View answerThe Department's records indicate the following payments were made in relation to the review of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018.
|
Date of Payment |
Name of Payee |
Amount paid |
|
20-Jul-22 |
M-CO (Public consultation) |
€17,712.00 |
|
11-Nov-22 |
M-CO (Public consultation) |
€17,712.00 |
|
21-Dec-22 |
Manchester Metropolitan University (Service Provider research strand) |
€71,540.00 |
|
17-May-23 |
Independent Chair |
€52,275.00 |
|
02 - Feb-22 |
Research to assist independent Chair |
€11,900.00 |
297. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the status of braces for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30245/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
298. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health on behalf of a person (details supplied) the reason an employee is told they are not entitled to the pandemic bonus payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30246/23]
View answerLast year the Government announced a once-off, ex-gratia COVID-19 pandemic recognition payment for certain frontline public sector healthcare workers, to recognise their unique role during the pandemic. Eligibility criteria for the payment were set following significant consideration and consultation.
While the Department does not comment on individual cases, I can confirm that in order to receive the recognition payment, staff must have:
• Been in COVID vaccination cohorts 1 or 2, and
• Worked ordinarily onsite in a COVID-19 exposed healthcare environment, and
• Worked for at least 4 weeks in the 1/3/2020 – 30/6/2021 period, and
• Worked in a HSE/Section 38 organisation, or one of the following:
1. Private Sector Nursing Homes and Hospices (e.g. Private, Voluntary,Section 39 etc.);
2. Section 39 long-term residential care facilities for people with disabilities, working on-site;
3. Agency roles working in the HSE;
4. Health Care Support Assistants (also known as home help / home care / home support) contracted to the HSE;
5. Members of the Defence Forces redeployed to work in frontline Covid-19 exposed environments in the HSE;
6. Paramedic staff employed by Dublin Fire Brigade to deliver services on behalf of the HSE.
Only those staff who meet all of the above eligibility criteria are covered for this payment.
The HSE is working on rolling out the payment as a priority with assistance from KOSI corp, if any eligible staff of covered employers are yet to receive the payment, I would advise that they get in touch with their relevant HR contacts to find out about their employer's implementation of the payment as the Department of Health cannot comment on individual cases.
299. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Health if it is possible for a person (details supplied) to submit an application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30253/23]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
300. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Health the total spend on consulting services and on business-as-usual outsourcing, as differentiated under the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies 2016, for each commercial public body under the aegis of his Department for 2022. [30261/23]
View answerThe Voluntary Health Insurance Board (the Vhi) is the only Commercial State Body under the aegis of the Department of Health. Due to the fact that it operates in a highly competitive and commercial marketplace, the amount spent by the company on consulting services and on ‘business-as-usual’ outsourcing (as differentiated under the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies 2016) cannot be released due to the commercially sensitive nature of the information.
301. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Health if an appointment for a person (details supplied) will be expedited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30284/23]
View answerUnder the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual.
In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
302. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Health if urgent consideration will be given to the concerns of a national organisation (details supplied) regarding the proposed reduction in the existing level of services; if he will ensure that adequate services are provided for this region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30285/23]
View answer384. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the end of a national HSE contract (details supplied); the efforts he is making to ensure there is no reduction in service for the counties impacted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30411/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 302 and 384 together.
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
303. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Health when an HSE settlement discussion will be put in place for a person (details supplied) and-or a hearing date be set for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30298/23]
View answerI have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy on this matter.
304. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health if a tender was published for the commissioning of the report of the Public Consultation Relating to the Review of the (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2015; how a company (details supplied) was selected for the position; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30299/23]
View answerA Supplementary Request for Tenders to the Framework for the provision of Market Research was issued. The request related to the following scope of work; to review submissions, analyse content and draft a report summarising the high-level themes raised in the public consultation and present a high-level statistical analysis of responses received in relation to the Review of the Termination of Pregnancy Act.
The closing date of the applications was 10am on Monday 11th April 2022.
Three applications were received and the successful company was awarded the contract following deliberations and weighted scoring of all three applications.
