Written Answers Nos. 968-982
969. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if there is guidance regarding the number of weeks a provider under the national childcare scheme must be open during a given year; if it is regular practice for providers under the scheme to close for a number of weeks during the summer period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35617/23]
View answerFirstly, it is important to note that early learning and childcare services are private businesses who set their own policies on matters such as how many hours they operate per week, as well as how many weeks per year that they are open. As such, the decision whether or not to operate outside of term (i.e. during the summer holidays) lies with the service provider.
My Department is aware that many services make the decision to close during the summer months. Currently, there are 3,580 service providers across the State who are contracted to deliver the National Childcare Scheme (NCS). Of those, at least 58% have submitted claims for the month of July and therefore can be considered open.
The Scheme has been designed to be flexible and reflect the realities of family life. The NCS pays subsidies based on the hours of care agreed between a service provider and the parent, up to the maximum hours awarded to a parent. Where it is convenient to parents, they may use their subsidised hours in more than one childcare service across the year. For example, a child may attend one crèche during term time, and if it closes during the summer holidays, they may choose to seek an alternative crèche out of term time.
Finally, parents who require general support, or assistance in seeking an alternative childcare provider, may wish to get in touch with their local City/County Childcare Committee (CCC). Contact details for the CCCs can be found on www.myccc.ie. A childcare search facility is also available on the NCS website, which will display a full list of NCS contracted providers. This may be accessed at: www.ncs.gov.ie/en/childcare-search/
970. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he is aware that some small childcare providers are feeling forced to alter the service they currently provide due to funding restraints under the current model; if he is engaging with providers regarding these issues; if any matters are under consideration in order to resolve the issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35618/23]
View answerCore Funding, which began in September 2022, is a new funding scheme worth €259 million in its first full year.
One of the key objectives of Core Funding is to support the sector as a whole with the introduction of direct supply-side funding, in addition to ECCE and NCS, to create a more stable and sustainable financial environment.
The primary purposes of Core Funding is to improve pay and conditions in the sector as a whole and improve affordability for parents as well as ensuring a stable income to all providers.
The two key calculations for Core Funding are a Base Rate and Graduate Premiums.
The Base Rate for Core Funding aims to contribute to the overall operating costs of a service and is directly linked to a service’s capacity - the space and opening hours they offer to children – rather than on registrations or attendance. Therefore, the more opening hours, weeks, and rooms a service operates, the higher Base Rate they will receive. This acknowledges the current operating model and business structures in the sector and takes into consideration the differing operating costs.
The Graduate Premium meanwhile aims to support a graduate led workforce in early learning and care and to support career progression and pathways. This funding intentionally rectifies some of the disparities of the previous ECCE higher capitation payments, which created a split system between ECCE and non-ECCE in early learning and care. This approach extends support for graduates across the early learning and care system.
Core Funding in Year 1 has contributed to services’ sustainability and significantly increased income for the overwhelming majority of services and provides greater funding stability.
For Year 2 of Core Funding, the budget will increase by 11% to reach €287 million, providing a sustainable platform for investment with increases for all services.
The additional funding for Core Funding Year 2 is being allocated as follows:
• €8.47 million towards funding the natural growth of the sector,
• €6.11 million towards non-staff overheads, to support Partner Services with increases to non-staff costs, while maintaining the fee management system,
• €2.2 million towards administrative staff time,
• €4 million towards the removal the year 3 requirement for the Graduates Premiums, underpinned by EROs, and
• €7.22 million for new targeted measures which are aimed at improving the sustainability of smaller and sessional services. These include a flat rate allocation of €4,075 for all sessional-only services, which will benefit approximately 1,700 services delivering ECCE, and a minimum base rate allocation of €8,150, which will benefit small, part time and school-age services.
These decisions were made using the most recent data available to allocate Core Funding for Year 2, with data emerging from current operations of services from March 2023 underpinning the recently announced allocation model, as well as the most up-to-date macroeconomic projections. It was also informed by ongoing engagement with provider representatives and providers of all types, via various specific consultation activities and through various fora, including through the Early Learning and Childcare Stakeholder Forum.
Special supports are available from my Department where a service is experiencing financial difficulty or has concerns about their viability, accessed through local City or County Childcare Committee (CCC). This support can take the form of assisting services with interpreting analysis of staff ratios and cash flow, as well as more specialised advice and support appropriate to individual circumstances.
I strongly encourage services experiencing financial difficulty or with concerns about their viability to avail of these case management supports.
971. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if his Department has any specific plans to provide support to naíonra-based service providers. [35619/23]
View answerFunding provided by my Department for early learning and care (ELC) and school-age childcare (SAC) services is the same for both Irish-medium and English-medium services. My colleague the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media provides additional supports for naíonraí in the Gaeltacht through her Department and its agencies.
With regards to funding the sector as a whole, this Government has in 2023, for the first time, allocated more than €1 billion to early learning and childcare – a clear demonstration from Government of the value of the sector. Over the past eight budgets, investment in early learning and childcare has risen from €260 million in 2015 to € 1.025 billion in 2023, reaching the First 5 investment target 5 years ahead of time. This unprecedented investment speaks to the commitment of Government in prioritising early learning and childcare services.
In September 2022, Together for Better, the new funding model for early learning and childcare was launched, bringing together the ECCE programme, including the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM), the NCS and Core Funding, with a fourth programme, the Equal Participation Model in development. For year two of the scheme a further 11% increase in this budget or €28 million was secured. In total, there is now €287 million provided to the sector for year two of Core Funding, providing a sustainable model with increases for all services.
For Budget 2024, I want to build on the success of Together for Better, with the ECCE programme (including AIM), the NCS and Core Funding working well to achieve affordability, quality, inclusion and sustainability achieving significant benefits for services, staff, parents, children and society overall.
Services that are experiencing difficulty and who would like support are encouraged to contact their City/County Childcare Committee (CCC) to access case management supports. Services can be assisted on an individual basis through this route. Sustainability funding is available to Partner Services, community and private, who are experiencing financial difficulty. Partner Services set their own fees policies based on their individual operating model, however Partner Services can be assisted through the case management route to ensure their services remain sustainable under Together for Better.
There is much value in supporting the provision of services in the Irish language to children at an early age. Early learning and childcare 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 early learning and childcare, and to further improve these supports and services.
Inter-Departmental coordination in relation to supports for Irish-medium provision of ELC, both inside and outside the Gaeltacht, takes place through the National Early Years Oversight Group (established as part of the 5-Year Irish Language Action Plan), which is chaired and coordinated by officials in my Department.
In line with the commitments in the 5 Year Action Plan, the development of a Comprehensive Plan to further the development of Irish language provision in the ELC and SAC sector has commenced. To support the development of a Comprehensive Plan it was necessary to survey Irish-medium ELC/SAC settings including childminders to obtain a baseline of the current level of Irish-medium provision in the sector. A survey of providers was therefore undertaken, and the opportunity was also used to survey providers on the supports, services and resources they believe would be most useful to support Irish-medium provision. A report on this survey is being finalised and will be published shortly. The report will complement other research and consultation processes planned for later this year, to support the work of an Advisory Group which is being established to oversee the drafting of the Comprehensive Plan. It is intended that the Plan will be published in 2024.
972. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will investigate the case of a company (details supplied) regarding delayed payments from his Department; the reasons for these delays; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35624/23]
View answerI am advised by my officials that the outstanding invoices for June & July were paid in July. The most recent Invoice for August is currently being processed with payment expected to issue shortly subject to final checks.
Whilst there have been some delays in payment due to the very large volume of invoices received, good progress has been made. Additional resources have been assigned within my Department and the volume of payments issuing is steadily growing. My Department will continue to press on to eliminate the limited backlog which now remains while ensuring appropriate governance is in place to safeguard the proper spending of Exchequer funding
973. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if it is planned to include care representatives appointed under section 21 of the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act 2009 in the list of exempted categories in section 36(4) of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35626/23]
View answerThere are no immediate plans to utilise the Regulation making power under section 36(4) of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015, as amended, in order to add to the current list of persons who do not require the prior consent of the court to make a Part 5 application.
Any such Regulation will need to follow a period of operation of the new legislation so that an assessment can be undertaken in order to make sure that any change to the current list of exemptions is properly evidence based and balances the operational needs of the Act with the ongoing focus on appropriate safeguards. My clear focus is on making sure that the new system of supported decision making works smoothly and in a manner that ensures persons are not inappropriately placed into higher tiers of support than may be required.
Section 36 specifies that in general terms an application to appoint a decision making representative (a Part 5 application) can only be made by a person who has first secured the leave of the court to bring such an application. This is an important safeguard in ensuring that the higher tier of supports under the Act is only used in circumstances where it is absolutely necessary to do so. This is because the Act operates on the basis that persons should be assisted in making their own decisions to the greatest extent possible and therefore should receive assistance at the lowest and least intrusive tier of support that is appropriate to their needs. In that context it should be noted that for many persons it is considered that a co-decision making agreement may be more suitable and less intrusive than the appointment of a decision making representative, and that the process for creating such an agreement is simpler and less costly.
Section 36(4) sets out the persons who are exempt from needing to seek leave of the court in advance of making a Part 5 application and in the main references very close relatives and existing decision supporters.
The purpose of the Regulation making power in section 36(4) is to allow for potential future expansion of the list of persons who do not need to receive the prior consent of the court before making a Part 5 application.
While I am open to the expansion of this list where there is a clear operational need and where safeguarding concerns do not arise or can be properly balanced, a period of operation of the Act is required before an accurate assessment can be made in this regard. My Department is carefully monitoring the operation of the Act and is mindful of the issue raised by the Deputy.
974. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the reason school therapists have not started in a school (details supplied); and the date they will start. [35637/23]
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.
975. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of therapists assigned to each special school in the State; the number of posts vacant and filled; and the number of therapy hours in use as of July 2023, in tabular form. [35638/23]
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.
976. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of respite beds allocated to a school (details supplied) since 30 May 2023. [35639/23]
View answerAs the query refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
977. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when a school (details supplied) will receive the in-school therapists which were promised by his Department to be in place by May 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35655/23]
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.
978. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if his Department will provide a school (details supplied) with access to the waiting list for overnight respite services; the actions his Department is taking to ensure that regardless of patronage, all special schools have equal access to waiting lists for disability services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35656/23]
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.
979. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of overnight respite beds in Cork at present; whether his Department will consider expanding the number of beds available as a matter of urgency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35657/23]
View answerAs the query refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
980. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will set up a skills database of all people entering this country who can access the labour market in an effort to deal with the skills shortage facing this country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35670/23]
View answerThis question is more appropriate to the Minster for Justice who is responsible for persons entry into Ireland and Enterprise, Trade and Employment who has responsibility for the labour market. Our Department has responsibility for short-term accommodation for those who are legally entitled to it.
981. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the current demand for the early childhood care and education (ECCE) scheme in Cork county and Cork city; how any deficits in supply are being identified and resolved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35695/23]
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, 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.
Data captured from the 2021/22 iteration of the Early Years Sector Profile, indicated that there were 4,133 and 8,236 children enrolled in ECCE places in Cork City and County respectively. The vacancy rate for ECCE places in Cork City was 10% and 13% in Cork County. 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 has commenced and will give an updated position.
A series of steps are being taken to support services in delivering early learning and childcare capacity.
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.
In addition, Core Funding - introduced in September 2022 - has already proven to be effective in expanding capacity, particularly in areas of undersupply. Additional funding secured in Budget 2023 for year two of Core Funding provides further opportunity to invest in 3% capacity growth.
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.
To support parents, 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. They also engage proactively with services to explore possibilities for expansion, 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.
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.
982. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he is aware of calls for an investigation at a facility (details supplied) after the discovery of an alleged mass baby grave; and if he will facilitate this investigation; and if a timeframe will be given for same. [35770/23]
View answerI understand that there has been a recent GPR survey of the Children’s Burial Ground at Sean Ross. However, my Department was not made aware of any details of this survey and I, therefore, cannot comment on its findings.
Separately, my Department has engaged with groups representing relatives of former residents of the institution at Sean Ross and has made available funding to allow for further specialist site investigation using ground penetrating radar equipment.
The Deputy may be aware that the Final Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes included a Report of Forensic Archaeological Investigations at Sean Ross Abbey Mother and Baby Home Children’s Burial Ground. The report, which was commissioned on foot of concerns about the burial ground in Sean Ross Abbey, found that infant human burials were located across the Children’s Burial ground and these had not been impacted by any utilities or drainage works. The report notes that coffins, or evidence of coffins were located with the majority of remains (84%).
As set out in its final report, the Commission was satisfied that the forensic report provided clear evidence that the coffined remains of children under the age of one are buried in the designated burial ground. It noted that, without complete excavation, it was not possible to say conclusively that all of the children who died in Sean Ross were buried in the designated burial ground and that it did not consider that further investigation was warranted.
