Written Answers Nos. 506-522
506. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No. 574 of 27 June 2023 (details supplied) regarding unaccompanied minors; if he will instruct the International Protection Accommodation Service or his Department to answer the question; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32360/23]
View answerThe number of unaccompanied minors in The State seeking international protection is a matter for the Department of Justice.
As TUSLA have set out in their answer to PQ 574 of 27 June 2023, Unaccompanied Minors who apply for international protection in the International Protection Office (IPO) are notified to TUSLA and do not come to the attention of the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) as they are in the care of TUSLA and do not reside in IPAS accommodation centres.
All 177 separated children seeking international protection are in the care of or accommodated by TUSLA under the provisions of the Child Care Act 1991 in family-based and residential placements and not in IPAS centres.
507. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will take action to ensure that CHO 9 is getting the day-only and overnight respite sessions it urgently needs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32362/23]
View answerAs the query relates to service matters, I am referring it to the HSE for direct response to the Deputy.
508. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if more investment will be given for community neurorehabilitation (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32378/23]
View answerThe Programme for Government – 'Our Shared Future’ - includes a commitment to advancing neuro-rehabilitation services in the community.
The Health Service Executive is leading on the implementation framework in respect of the recommendations of the National Policy and Strategy for the provision of Neuro-Rehabilitation Services in Ireland 2011-2015.
The Neuro-Rehabilitation Strategy Implementation Framework (IF) was launched in February 2019. The aim of the Strategy is the development of neuro-rehabilitation services to improve patient outcomes by providing safe, high quality, person-centred neuro-rehabilitation at the lowest appropriate level of complexity.
This must be integrated across the care pathway and provided as close to home as possible or in specialist centres where necessary. These services are to be configured into population based managed clinical rehabilitation networks (MCRNs).
The overarching aim is the development of these networks around the country.
In order to test the feasibility of this new MCRN model in the Irish context, a decision was made by the Neuro-Rehab Steering Group to run two demonstrator projects within CHO6 and CHO7 to inform national roll-out.
The demonstrator project was expanded in budget 2023 to incorporate CHO2 and CHO4 who will see Community Neuro-Rehabilitation Teams established this year.
Moving forward with the strategy, the plan will be to roll out these services on a national basis.
As the issue of additional investment for community neurorehabilitation is a service matter, I am referring it to the HSE for direct response to the Deputy.
509. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he is aware of the length of time that children in CHO 9 wait for supports from the CDNT; if he will examine a case (details supplied); the advice he can give to the parents of this child, who are concerned about their school attendance and who need the assistance of the CDNT; if he can provide a realistic timeframe to expect this support; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32421/23]
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.
511. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will give positive consideration to extending the paid maternity leave period in budget 2024 to reflect the fact that there is an acute lack of place for babies under 12 months in childminding facilities and this often requires parents to take unpaid leave from work. [32440/23]
View answerThe Maternity Protection Act 1994 and the Maternity Protection (Amendment) Act 2004 provide a pregnant employee with six months of paid maternity leave and an additional 16 weeks of unpaid leave, alongside other entitlements such as breastfeeding breaks which will be extended to two years following the birth of the child through the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023.
In addition, each parent of a child is now entitled to seven weeks Parent's Leave and Benefit to be taken within the first two years of a child's life or adoptive placement. The EU Work Life Balance Directive requires that this leave entitlement be extended to nine weeks by August 2024.
All forms of family leave are kept under review to ensure that they are effective in supporting families and children.
In addition, the availability of high-quality early learning and childcare is a key Government priority. My 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, my 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.
Based on data captured through the Early Years Sector Profile Surveys 2021/22 (gathered in Spring 2022 with a response rate of 82.5%) – extrapolated to take account of all services – there was a vacancy rate of 15% for children under 12 months and 6% for children aged 1-2 years old. This compares with a national vacancy rate of 16% for children of all ages.
Data collection for the Early Years Sector Profile 2022/23 is currently underway 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, including places for babies and toddlers, and additional funding secured in Budget 2023 for year two of Core Funding provides further funding to invest in capacity growth of 3%.
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.
512. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when the Government will publish the Action Plan on the Disability Capacity Review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32493/23]
View answerThe Department of Health published the Disability Capacity Review in July 2021. This report set out the capacity requirements for health-funded disability services for the period up to 2032 and it is intended to address the capacity deficits in a phased approach over this period. This reflects the obligation under the UNCRPD for progressive implementation of social, cultural and economic rights.
Following the commitment in the 2020 Programme for Government to work towards implementing the findings, a Disability Action Plan Framework was published in July 2021 alongside the Terms of Reference for an interdepartmental Working Group to develop this Action Plan.
The Working Group has now completed its work and the draft Action Plan, which will be a vehicle for implementing the recommendations of the Disability Capacity Review and an implementation plan for the first phase, is currently being finalised for approval. As the plan is still being finalised, there is no date for publication at this time. This detailed Action Plan sets out the first phase of work to build the necessary capacity. This Action Plan aims to:
• build the capacity of disability support services to meet changing needs;
• improve timely access to services;
• do the groundwork to tackle constraints on the development of services;
• strengthen the focus on individualised services and supports to enable people with disabilities to live a life of their choosing in the community;
• begin the realignment of services to deliver better value with a particular focus on early intervention;
In recent years, significant resources have been invested by the health sector in disability services. Building on the previous year, an unprecedented level of funding of €2.6b for Disability services has been allocated for 2023. This follows substantial increases in the budget in 2021 and 2022; and reflects this Government’s commitment to strengthening the funding provided for the disability sector and working to act to address the shortfalls identified in the Disability Capacity Review.
513. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the status of the needed investment in housing and required supports for disabled people as outlined in the Disability Capacity Review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32494/23]
View answerThe Department of Health published the Disability Capacity Review in July 2021. This report set out the capacity requirements for health-funded disability services for the period up to 2032 and it is intended to address the capacity deficits in a phased approach over this period. This reflects the obligation under the UNCRPD for progressive implementation of social, cultural and economic rights.
Following the commitment in the 2020 Programme for Government to work towards implementing the findings, a Disability Action Plan Framework was published in July 2021 alongside the Terms of Reference for an interdepartmental Working Group to develop this Action Plan.
The Working Group has now completed its work and the draft Action Plan, which will be a vehicle for implementing the recommendations of the Disability Capacity Review and an implementation plan for the first phase, is currently being finalised for approval. As the plan is still being finalised, there is no date for publication at this time. This detailed Action Plan sets out the first phase of work to build the necessary capacity. This Action Plan aims to:
• build the capacity of disability support services to meet changing needs;
• improve timely access to services;
• do the groundwork to tackle constraints on the development of services;
• strengthen the focus on individualised services and supports to enable people with disabilities to live a life of their choosing in the community;
• begin the realignment of services to deliver better value with a particular focus on early intervention;
In recent years, significant resources have been invested by the health sector in disability services. Building on the previous year, an unprecedented level of funding of €2.6b for Disability services has been allocated for 2023. This follows substantial increases in the budget in 2021 and 2022; and reflects this Government’s commitment to strengthening the funding provided for the disability sector and working to act to address the shortfalls identified in the Disability Capacity Review.
514. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to outline the Implementation Plan on UNCRPD; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32495/23]
View answer519. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide a report on the establishment of a UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities implementation plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32626/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 514 and 519 together.
The Programme for Government sets out the commitment to develop an implementation plan to coordinate implementation of Ireland’s commitments under the UNCRPD. With the conclusion of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy (NDIS) at the end of 2022, development of a successor strategy that also satisfies the Programme for Government commitment is underway.
Work to develop a new national disability strategy has been ongoing since 2021 in the context of the work of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy Steering Group and with the input of the Disability Stakeholder Group. The development of the NDIS Successor Strategy is complex as it needs to provide the blueprint for further comprehensive realisation of the UNCRPD. It needs time at development stage in order to produce the best possible blueprint for UNCRPD realisation.
Both the focus of the new disability strategy and the implementation structure will be developed collaboratively across Government and with people with disabilities and their representative organisations, in line with the Convention itself and it's commitment to "nothing about us without us". In this regard, a comprehensive public consultation process to inform the new strategy is being developed by my Department, which will proceed along with more targeted consultations.
The new strategy will follow Ireland’s long-standing ‘mainstream-first’ approach to disability policy. This will require mature collaboration and sectoral leadership from across government and the wider public service.
Based on feedback to date on the successes and challenges of the NDIS, the new strategy is expected to be more explicitly focused on outcomes. It will also necessarily concentrate on a tighter and more targeted number of ambitious actions that will deliver the most significant change and progress. These will be identified in close collaboration with stakeholders.
515. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the progress that is being made on ratification of the Optional Protocol of the UNCRPD; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32497/23]
View answer521. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the timeframe for the ratification of the Optional Protocol of the UNCRPD; if there are any further issues that are holding up ratification of the Optional Protocol; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32628/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 515 and 521 together.
The Optional Protocol is an international treaty that establishes procedures aimed at strengthening the implementation and monitoring of the Convention. Ratification of the Optional Protocol is a commitment in the Programme for Government. The timeline for ratification was originally anticipated to follow the conclusion of Ireland’s first review period before the UN Committee. Due to delays at UN level, Ireland’s appearance before the Committee will now be delayed. Due to this delay, both Minister O'Gorman and I have indicated our support for earlier ratification of the Optional Protocol.
My Department is continuing to scope out the requirements for earlier ratification. This scoping work is required due to the long-standing position of the state in relation to honouring international agreements. As a matter of foreign policy, Ireland does not enter into binding international treaties until we are confident that the obligations set out within can be complied with. As such, the ongoing scoping exercise is procedurally necessary.
While I had expected the scoping exercise to have been completed by Easter this year, the procurement of appropriate expert legal services to complete and conclude the exercise has been delayed. A tender for the necessary specialist services was issued in February of this year, but that process did not result in a suitable contract being awarded. My Department is now in the process of revising the approach to be taken but I can assure the Deputy that this is being addressed as a matter of urgency.
My Department is consulting with the Office of the Attorney General to identify appropriate legal expertise so that the scoping exercise can be completed at the earliest possible time. I am informed that the work will be complete in Quarter 4 of this year, should the procurement of expertise go to plan on this occasion.
516. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the total number of children on the Clare children's disability network team waiting list, by length of time, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32576/23]
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.
517. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the updated position regarding his Department’s engagement with the ATU and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science regarding the student accommodation in Sligo which has been offered to house Ukrainian refugees and the subsequent impact of same on student accommodation in Sligo; what discussions have taken place to date; what options are being considered; when he expects an outcome to these discussions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32618/23]
View answerMy department is aware of the need to ensure an adequate supply of student accommodation. At the same time, there is an obligation on the State to provide suitable accommodation to those people seeking shelter and refuge here.
The buildings in question in Sligo had been offered to my Department through an open tender process. Nevertheless, officials from my Department are engaging with the provider and with colleagues in DFHERIS to try to bring about a resolution quickly that will ensure that space for student accommodation can be preserved.
Both my Department and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS) are working closely to develop a joint approach going forward.
518. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the date on which the Disability Capacity Review Action Plan will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32624/23]
View answerThe Department of Health published the Disability Capacity Review in July 2021. This report set out the capacity requirements for health-funded disability services for the period up to 2032 and it is intended to address the capacity deficits in a phased approach over this period. This reflects the obligation under the UNCRPD for progressive implementation of social, cultural and economic rights.
Following the commitment in the 2020 Programme for Government to work towards implementing the findings, a Disability Action Plan Framework was published in July 2021 alongside the Terms of Reference for an interdepartmental Working Group to develop this Action Plan.
The Working Group has now completed its work and the draft Action Plan, which will be a vehicle for implementing the recommendations of the Disability Capacity Review and an implementation plan for the first phase, is currently being finalised for approval. As the plan is still being finalised, there is no date for publication at this time. This detailed Action Plan sets out the first phase of work to build the necessary capacity. This Action Plan aims to:
• build the capacity of disability support services to meet changing needs;
• improve timely access to services;
• do the groundwork to tackle constraints on the development of services;
• strengthen the focus on individualised services and supports to enable people with disabilities to live a life of their choosing in the community;
• begin the realignment of services to deliver better value with a particular focus on early intervention;
In recent years, significant resources have been invested by the health sector in disability services. Building on the previous year, an unprecedented level of funding of €2.6b for Disability services has been allocated for 2023. This follows substantial increases in the budget in 2021 and 2022; and reflects this Government’s commitment to strengthening the funding provided for the disability sector and working to act to address the shortfalls identified in the Disability Capacity Review.
520. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the timeline he is working towards for publication of the Cost of Disability Action Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32627/23]
View answerThe Cost of Disability in Ireland Report was commissioned by the Minister for Social Protection and was prepared by Indecon International Research Economists. It was published by the Department of Social Protection in December 2021. It provides important evidence of the additional costs that people with a disability face.
The Report has implications for many areas of public policy. As such, a whole-of-Government approach is required to develop appropriate responses and to ensure that everyday costs are reduced for people with disabilities and their families. This is in keeping with Ireland's long-standing mainstream-first approach to the development of disability policy. For that reason, the Cost of Disability report was referred to the Steering Group of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy (NDISSG) within 24 hours of publication, and the NDISSG agreed to consider the conclusions and recommendations of the report in the context of monitoring actions under the NDIS until the conclusion of that strategy in December 2022. During this time, departments and agencies across Government reported to the NDISSG on the various ways in which the Cost of Disability report was informing their approach to delivering actions under the NDIS. As the NDIS concluded in December 2022 the focus of my Department is on the development of an ambitious new successor strategy.
In that context there are no plans to develop a specific action plan to respond to the Cost of Disability report. Rather I intend to ensure that the Cost of Disability report informs actions within the context of the development of the new strategy and in respect of my own ministerial responsibilities, including specialist community-based disability services which transferred to me from the Minister of Health on 1 March 2023.
Work is ongoing across Government to coordinate the development of an ambitious successor strategy to the NDIS. It is important to me that this strategy includes meaningful action to reduce day to day costs for people with disabilities in Ireland. The Cost of Disability in Ireland report will be an important contribution to the evidence base from which actions and commitments in the new strategy are developed across Government throughout 2023.
