Written Answers Nos. 282-293
282. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of a 2023 organic farming scheme payment to an organic farmer (details supplied); when it is expected to be paid; and if he will make a statement on the mater. [2235/24]
View answerAll applicants in the Organic Farming Scheme are subject to annual validation checks to ensure the correct payments are made. The checks on the application submitted by the person named, have identified that some of the parcels declared on their BISS application have not been included in their Organic Farming Scheme payment. Payment will issue as soon as this error has been rectified.
284. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to detail in tabular form the number of applications and hectares of FT12 submitted to his Department; the number of applications and hectares of FT12 applications approved by his Department; the number of applications and area of FT12 applications still on hand in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2302/24]
View answerThe new Forestry Programme 2023 – 2027 will help to support an increase in afforestation. It offers landowners a choice of 12 Forest Types (FT) which cover a broad range of planting options and supports diversity in the forest estate. Those planting FT12, which covers mixed high forests with mainly spruce which include a 20% broadleaf component, receive an establishment grant and premiums for 15 years if non-farmers and 20 years if farmers.
The below table shows the number of FT12 applications submitted, approved and pending with my Department. In addition to new applications, unused approvals and pending applications under the previous forestry programme can opt-in to the new programme and choose a relevant FT for consideration.
|
FT12 |
No. of apps |
Ha |
Category 1 |
Category 2 |
Category 3 |
Category 4 |
|
Submitted |
675 |
4668 |
85 |
320 |
151 |
119 |
|
Approved |
331 |
2102 |
61 |
143 |
8 |
119 |
|
Pending |
344 |
2566 |
24 |
177 |
143 |
0 |
Category 1 = Approved prior to 31/12/2023; Category 2 = Pending prior to 31/12/2023
Category 3 = New applications FP 23-27; Category 4: De minimis opt-in approvals
The new Forestry Licensing Plan has now issued and in 2024 my Department will continue to build on improvements to its licencing system during 2023. The Plan estimates that my Department will issue 4,200 new licences in 2024, and confirms that the Department has capacity to issue sufficient licences to meet its annual target of 8,000 hectares of new forests, but this is contingent on receiving enough applications to achieve this goal. I am confident that the attractive and increased rates under the new Programme, coupled with 20 year premiums for farmers, will encourage strong uptake of afforestation options.
285. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will outline the current delivery of CDNT wrap around school services for a person (details supplied); if additional support will be provided for speech and language; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2141/24]
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. The Deputy will be aware that due to the ongoing industrial action by FORSA administrative and management grade staff in the HSE (which commenced on 6 October, 2023), delays remain in receiving answers to parliamentary questions and ministerial representations.
286. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth why a person (details supplied) is waiting on an appointment with Enable Ireland for his son; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2150/24]
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. The Deputy will be aware that due to the ongoing industrial action by FORSA administrative and management grade staff in the HSE (which commenced on 6 October, 2023), delays remain in receiving answers to parliamentary questions and ministerial representations.
287. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide an update on a placement appeal for a person (details supplied). [2262/24]
View answerAs this question refers to an individual's case, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible. As the Deputy may be aware, the industrial action that commenced on Friday 6th October, by management and administrative grades in Fórsa Trade Union in the HSE, will impact on the response times to Parliamentary Questions and Representations.
288. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for a breakdown of the staff numbers and grade in each of the CDNTs in County Meath in 2021, 2022, 2023 and to date in 2024, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2105/24]
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. The Deputy will be aware that due to the ongoing industrial action by FORSA administrative and management grade staff in the HSE (which commenced on 6 October, 2023), delays remain in receiving answers to parliamentary questions and ministerial representations.
289. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the current estimated parental spend on childcare fees from the 2021/2022 or 2022/2023 Pobal Annual Early Years Sector Profile Report, in tabular form; when he expects the annual report to be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2136/24]
View answerThe Pobal Annual Early Years Sector Profile (AEYSP) provides a detailed overview of the Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC) sector in Ireland, including the numbers of children in receipt of state subsidies, information on ELC and SAC fees, staff wages, qualifications and turnover.
In December 2023 the Department launched the Early Learning and Childcare Data website, replacing the traditional paper-based AEYSP report. The website provides a new and innovative way of displaying administrative data as well as survey data collected annually from over 4,400 early learning and childcare services across the country, supporting evidence-informed policy development and planning.
This new website will include a series of interactive dashboards that will be released by Pobal on behalf of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) over the coming weeks and months.
Released sequentially, the first iteration of this new dashboard will see the 2021/22 data published alongside the 2022/23 data. As the dashboard is still under development the ‘Service Overview’ section is currently available with more information including in relation to fees, being made available in the coming weeks.
In 2020/21, which provides the most recently published Pobal Annual Early Years Sector Profile data, the average weekly fee nationally per child for full day care was €186.84, for part-time was €110.92 and for sessional care was €74.20. The fees for all types of provision remained almost the same, with less than 0.5% change for all types of care compared to 2019/20. It should be noted that this fee data is prior to the application of any subsidies.
The 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. The subsidy is progressive and depends on a number of factors including the age of the child, the income of the household and the number of children in the family. Those with the lowest incomes receive the highest subsidies. The subsidy is subtracted from the fee and the balance (if the fee is not entirely offset) is then charged to the parents. These subsidies can be as much as €229.50 per week.
My Department has made a number of enhancements to the NCS in recent Budgets to substantially 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 from January 2023. This will increase again to €2.14 from September 2024 on foot of Budget 24 measures.
In addition where a child is participating in ECCE for part of the day €64.50 will offset against any fee.
Working in tandem, Fee Management under Core Funding and NCS subsidies provides significant affordability benefits for parents in terms of reducing their early learning and childcare costs.
My Department does not hold individualised fee data for parents. These are local agreements between parents and early learning and childcare providers that reflect diverse needs and usage patterns, with fees varying within and across counties.
290. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to detail the payments being paid to operators of accommodation for international protection applicants; if he will also provide details of the nightly rate per person for a private hotel that is offering both accommodation and meals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2206/24]
View answerPayment details for the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) accommodation centres are deemed confidential and commercially sensitive. It would not serve the public interest to divulge payment rates to contractors for services as it could prejudice the Department's negotiating position to deliver value for money with respect to other accommodation providers and locations.
Payments for contracts and related services are published after two years. Details of the amounts paid to contractors for 2021 are published at the following location www.gov.ie/en/publication/3eef8-contract-values/
Data available for release under the Freedom of Information Act, 2014 during the calendar year 2022, will be provided directly to the Deputy in the coming days.
The average cost of an International Protection (IP) applicant staying in a privately owned centre is currently €76.83 per night.
291. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of individuals or organisations which his Department is aware of having offered or carried out so-called "gay conversion therapy" in Ireland from 2010 to date; the number of individuals who have received such treatments or been subjected to these practices; how his Department gathered this information; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2244/24]
View answerThe Programme for Government contains a commitment to legislate to ban conversion therapy. The National LGBTI Youth Strategy 2018 – 2020 and the National LGBTI+ Inclusion Strategy 2019 – 2021 contain commitments in relation to conversion therapy.
The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth commissioned research into the issue of conversion therapy. The multi-phased mixed-methodology research was carried out by Trinity College Dublin, School of Nursing and Midwifery, and a report of the findings was published in February 2023 and is available on Trinity College Dublin's website - Study explores conversion therapy practices in Ireland - News & Events | Trinity College Dublin (tcd.ie)
The research included a cross sectional survey of the LGBT+ community completed by two hundred and seventy eight participants. Survey findings revealed that seventy participants stated that they were offered conversion practices and thirty eight participants stated that they were exposed to conversion practices. The research provides an insight into how conversion therapy practices operate in Ireland. It also includes an examination of the growing body of recent international research literature in the area. The findings of the research, which mirror findings in international research on the matter, indicate that conversion therapy practices take place in Ireland, and has developed understanding of how these practices operate. It confirms the harm that is inflicted on those who experience such practices.
Given the complex and sensitive nature of the proposed legislation, my Department is carefully considering the key policy principles that will underpin the legislation to ensure that individuals are protected from these harmful conversion practices while the necessary and appropriate services for those with concerns in areas of sexual orientation and gender identity are not affected.
292. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if she will seek a full update from the HSE on much-needed plans to establish a community neuro-rehabilitation team in CHO8 area; if he will provide a timeline for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2253/24]
View answerAwaiting reply from Department.
293. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the reason a person (details supplied) was accommodated at a facility in County Kerry as an IPAS applicant whilst awaiting court proceedings in a different part of the country; what will be done to address this; if such cases will be prioritised for processing and decision making; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2258/24]
View answerThe International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) cannot comment on individual cases.
Transfers and dispersals of international protection applicants are arranged for a number of reasons, including: maximisation of bed capacity, change in contract or status of centres, medical reasons, and upon request of the applicants.
Decisions with respect to applications for international protection are matter for the Department of Justice.
