Written Answers Nos. 519-532
519. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to clarify the steps he has taken to prevent further strike action from members of an organisation (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42240/23]
View answerI expressed my disappointment that the FECP chose to pursue the action of requesting early learning and childcare providers to close from 26-28 September. I understand the FECP was the only representative organisation supporting this action.
The three day closure of services was unwarranted at a time when investment by the State in early learning and childcare is at an all-time high, having increased by 60% in the last two years alone and with a clear Government commitment that it will continue to increase.
The FECP in a recent report identified a range of demands, including an increase in investment, an increase in ECCE capitation to €100 per child per week, a lifting of fee management conditions that are in place and the introduction of optional extras under the ECCE programme.
My position on each of these recommendations is clear:
• There is a commitment to continued investment in early learning and childcare in this upcoming Budget, that will build on the unprecedented increases in public funding for the sector secured in the last number of years, with the First 5 investment target of €1 billion by 2028 exceeded this year – five years ahead of time.
• Through ECCE capitation and Core Funding combined, services receive a minimum of €79.20 per child per week and a maximum of €95.85 with additional funding for graduate lead educators and graduate managers and sessional only services will also receive an additional sessional only flat rate of €4075.
• The €287 million Core Funding scheme allows for substantial increases in the total cost base for the sector, related both to pay and non-pay costs thereby creating the conditions to introduce fee management. It is reasonable and justifiable that on receipt of Core Funding, services must agree not to increase their fees given the level of funding available.
• Introducing scope for additional optional extras or voluntary contributions under the ECCE programme risks parents incurring additional charges for a universal service which is designed and intended to be free at the point of use and available to all families, regardless of ability to pay.
Together for Better brings together three major programmes, the ECCE programme, including the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM), the NCS and the Core Funding scheme.
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 early learning and childcare providers.
For year 1 of the new Core Funding scheme, €259m was made available. For year 2 of this scheme, €287m is being made available. The additional €28 million – equivalent to 11% increase - is being allocated as follows:
• €8.47m for a 3% growth in capacity.
• €6.11m for non-staff overheads.
• €2.2m for administrative staff time.
• €4m for graduate premiums
• €7.22m for new targeted measures aimed at improving the sustainability of sessional services.
To date, 91% or over 4,000 providers have signed up for Core Funding Year 2 with applications still open.
Participation in Core Funding is optional but it is open to all registered providers subject to their agreement to the terms and conditions of the funding.
Moreover, the overwhelming majority of services benefit substantially from higher funding under Core Funding, supporting their sustainability. The Department, Pobal and the CCCs continue to closely monitor trends concerning services entering case management and will continue to maintain the availability of Sustainability Funding for individual services at risk.
Closure days that are not notified on a services calendar will not be payable. The Pobal Compliance, Audit and Risk team will therefore recoup exchequer funding, on behalf of my Department, from services that protest outside the rules of the schemes that they have signed up to.
The service by protesting and not providing 20 days’ notification of their intention to close and mark an alternative open day is in breach of their contract for the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) and Community Childcare Subvention Plus Saver (CCSP Saver) programme. Under the ECCE Programme, for instance, services that close to protest without calendar notification and without inserting, at the time of notification, an alternative days’ provision will see a financial recoupment if they are found during a compliance visit not to have attendance records for the closure day.
If the Pobal Compliance, Audit and Risk team find a ECCE/CCSP provider not to have calendared a closure and to have no attendance records on a day they appeared open on their calendar then that service will be deemed non-compliant and have their funding recouped. This team conducts c. 1,100 visits to services in a Programme year.
Under the National Childcare Scheme (NCS), services with no attendance on a protest day will be marked as ‘closed’. If the services reaches more than the allowed 10 paid closure days for the programme year under the NCS rules, they will not be paid beyond the 10th day.
This compliance approach emphasises the Department’s view that these unsanctioned protests are not warranted.
520. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to provide an update on the status of mobility grants for people with a disability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42255/23]
View answerThe Government decided to close the Motorised Transport Grant and Mobility Allowance administrative schemes in 2013, on foot of the Ombudsman reports in 2011 and 2012 regarding the legal status of both schemes in the context of the Equal Status Acts. Both schemes remain closed.
Under the National Disability Inclusion Strategy 2017-2022, the Action 104 Transport Working Group was established in 2020 to make progress on an important cross-Government action to review transport and mobility supports for people with disabilities and to advance proposals for the enhancement of these supports going forward.
As Minister of State with responsibility for Disability, I chaired meetings of the Transport Working Group from January 2022 up to its conclusion in December 2022. The Group's work has now concluded and the final report was published in February 2023. The Report sets out the contributions made by members for the enhancement of transport and mobility supports for people with disabilities.
Access to transport for people with disabilities is a multifaceted issue that involves work carried out by multiple Government departments and agencies. It is incumbent on all Ministers, Departments and Agencies with responsibility for transport and mobility schemes for people with disabilities to consider the recommendations of the Transport Working Group, as I will be giving due consideration to the recommendations in the context of the schemes outlined above. These considerations will continue in the context of the development of a new National Disability Strategy.
521. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he is aware of a case (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42263/23]
View answerIn January 2021 Pobal, on behalf of my Department, invited Early Learning and Care and School Aged Childcare services to submit applications for fire safety capital funding of between €1,000 and €10,000 to cover remedial works required to receive a Fire Safety Certificate.
As part of the application process, it was a requirement that all eligible expenditure would occur between 1st of January 2021 and 30th of November 2021. In signing up to any DCEDIY grant the service provider is obliged to familiarise themselves with the terms and conditions and any other communications that issue regarding the grant.
The Application Guidelines of the Early Learning and Care Capital Programme 2021 state that : 'All spending must be completed between the 1st of January and the 30th of November 2021.' This eligibility window was also published clearly on the Early Years Portal.
At the time of application the service indicated that the start date of their project was 06/01/2021 and that the end date was 05/02/2021. On the basis of this information the provider would have been considered eligible for the grant. At the time of verification, however, the expenditure submitted was found to be for works carried out in 2019, which is outside of the eligibility window for spending on the grant. It is this expenditure that is now deemed ineligible.
While my Department recognises the important work carried out by service providers and staff, it is vital to protect the integrity of the grant by ensuring that all funding is claimed correctly and in line with the terms of the grant. My Department therefore reserve the right to recoupment of monies against services that have not adhered to these terms.
My Department takes into consideration the concerns of the provider around their size and will ease the repayment burden by ensuring Pobal makes contact to offer assistance to the provider in arranging a repayment plan. In the event that the service feels that recoupment will cause sustainability concerns then I would urge the service to engage with Pobal to avail of sustainability supports.
522. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth what alternative options are open to a person (details supplied) when they are unable to comply with Section 4 of the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act 2015. [42265/23]
View answerI thank the Deputy for the question. As Minister, it is not appropriate for me to interpret an Act of the Oireachtas once it has been passed into law, as that role is reserved for the courts.
In that regard, and with respect to the question raised by the Deputy, engagement with the legal system and the courts may be the most appropriate course of action for the person referenced. The referenced person may wish to seek legal advice, potentially encompassing options such as an application under the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court.
The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 (the 2015 Act), as amended by the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Act 2022 (the 2022 Act), was commenced on 26 April 2023. The 2015 Act is an important piece of legislation that represents significant legal reform.
The 2015 Act provides for persons in the State to make an application to appoint a decision supporter to assist where they may lack capacity to make certain decisions for themselves, including personal welfare decisions, and property and affairs decisions.
Section 4 provides the Circuit Court with exclusive jurisdiction under the Act, save for certain specified matters reserved for the High Court. It further sets out the residence requirements to be met in order to make an application or appeal under the Act.
The issue of inter-jurisdictional rules and cooperation under private law for persons who may lack capacity and reside in another state is a complex area of law. The 2000 Hague Convention provides rules for cooperation among ratifying members. Should a person be residing in another country that has ratified the Convention, it will provide a framework to allow for a determination on which State will have jurisdiction to take measures in respect of the protection of a person or their property, as well as to provide for the recognition and enforcement of measures among States. Ireland is currently in the process of ratifying the Convention and this process is expected to be completed in the coming months.
523. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth why a person (details supplied) who has been availing of temporary accommodation in Waterford, has been refused permission to stay with her daughter in Athlone to help her with her newborn child. [42302/23]
View answer524. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth why person (details supplied) who was heavily pregnant at the time was accommodated on the 3rd floor of a converted convent. [42303/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 523 and 524 together.
I am advised by my officials that the BOTP to which the Deputy refers was allocated accommodation with her mother in Waterford on arrival into Ireland. She chose to leave that accommodation and moved to accommodation in another part of the country for employment reasons. When that fell through, my officials allocated another accommodation to her.
In line with services available to others living in Ireland, the HSE engaged with the BOTP to arrange local access to healthcare services near her accommodation.
Where medical issues are raised, my Department works with the HSE on the basis of a protocol which sets out the priority cases for medical moves. Unless a case is deemed eligible for a move to our very limited accommodation near hospitals and treatment centres, BOTPs can access supports for treatment and transport through the Community Response Forum.
All requests to relocate on medical grounds must be sent to my Department at -UkraineTempAccom@equality.gov.ie
525. Deputy Frankie Feighan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he is aware that a number of hotels and other approved accommodation centres across Ireland, (details supplied) have quite a number of rooms/beds available and are not fully occupied, despite the best efforts of management and owners in highlighting the vacancies there seems to be no take up from IPAS and the Department to fill those vacancies; if the Minister provide an explanation for this policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42304/23]
View answerEach accommodation provider who has a contract with my Department to provide accommodation for Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) is required to notify my officials of any vacancies at the accommodation on a weekly basis. There is only one way to make such a notification and that is by sending a weekly register via email to a designated mailbox.
Maximising the use of contracted vacancies is a priority for my Department. A dedicated team were established in Q2 of this year to actively validate vacancies notified to us by accommodation providers to ensure these are within contract and meet our standards. In addition, improvements to our processes have significantly increased accommodation provider compliance with the requirement to submit weekly registers and my officials are actively contacting those outstanding providers not currently doing so to ensure we have a full picture of contracted vacancies.
There are a number of circumstances, however, under which vacancies cannot be used in the short term and must be paused. Where a provider is nearing the end of their contract, for example, or where an issue has been raised with my Department such that the provider’s offering is under review, vacancies notified by that accommodation provider will not be filled until these matters are resolved to ensure the safety and security of BOTPs.
Vacancies which are suitable for immediate use are made available by my officials to operational teams for allocation. Due to varying room configurations and geographical location, some vacancies may take longer to fill then others given they are utilised to meet the specific requirements of individuals and family groups of BOTPs. Accommodation providers can be assured that if they have notified my Department of their vacancies through the correct channel, my officials are aware of them, are actively working them, and they will be availed of provided they meet required standards.
526. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for an update on a service (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42308/23]
View answerAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
527. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of crèches and preschools that have closed, by county, in each of the years 2020 to 2022 and to date in 2023, in tabular form. [42309/23]
View answerAs the subject matter of the Deputy's question relates to an operational matter for Tusla, I have referred the matter to them for a direct reply.
528. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of psychologists available to children in south Tipperary within the CDNT/ primary care services; the number of vacancies; if, where a child is unable to access a psychologist within the CDNT services, they can be transferred to primary care; the number of psychologists recruited to each service over the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42321/23]
View answer529. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to outline the full extent of the staff available to CDNT teams 4 and 5 in south Tipperary; the contact details for both teams; the names and roles of all staff and therapists attached to the teams; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42322/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 528 and 529 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.
530. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if additional funding will be provided for the childcare sector in Budget 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42323/23]
View answerThis Government, for the first time, allocated more than €1 billion to early learning and childcare in 2023 – 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.
The table below outlines the beneficiary funding allocations for the sector for 2022 and 2023.
|
Funding Scheme |
2022 (€,000) |
2023 (€,000) |
|
ECCE |
285,067 |
264,600 |
|
NCS and Savers |
210,775 |
357,626 |
|
AIM |
32,800 |
43,600 |
|
Core Funding |
83,796 |
265,886 |
|
Transition Fund |
22,676 |
0 |
|
Capital |
806 |
9,000 |
|
Total Beneficiary Funding |
635,920 |
940,712 |
Officials in my Department are currently engaging in the Estimates process for Budget 2024, which will, inter alia , determine the funding allocation for 2024.
I am committed to increasing State funding for early learning and childcare as part of a multi-annual budget process and to continuing to work with providers delivering early learning and childcare for the public good.
531. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth what supports there are for Ukrainians and other nationalities, whose first language is not English, to help them communicate with relevant authorities in an effective manner. [42333/23]
View answerThis is a matter for my cabinet colleague, the Minister for Social Protection.
532. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of data breaches experienced by his Department in each of the past ten years and to date in 2023. [42360/23]
View answerI can inform the Deputy that in the years 2017 to 2023 (to date), a total of 115 breaches were recorded by my Department, broken down as follows:2017 – 2 breaches.
2018 – 14 breaches.
2019 – 10 breaches.
2020 – 17 breaches.
2021 – 25 breaches.
2022 – 25 breaches.
2023 – 22 breaches to date.
In relation to the information for the period 2013 – 2016, my Department will revert to the Deputy directly in this regard.
