Written Answers Nos. 307-315
307. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the position regarding the community neurorehabilitation team that was committed to by the HSE in 2019 for CHO6; a timeline for this to come into operation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7128/24]
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 likely be aware that the industrial action by certain Fórsa grades in the HSE has been suspended. The HSE has indicated that they have recommenced issuing replies to questions but there is a significant backlog of PQs and Reps to be responded to and has advised that they are working to get through these as soon as possible while at the same time managing the volume of current PQs and Reps.
308. Deputy Chris Andrews asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for an update on the progress of the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021, given that over 12 months have passed since the Minster said he would work with the sponsors to see the Bill advance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7166/24]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Programme for Government 2020 includes a commitment to examine the introduction of disadvantaged socioeconomic status as a discrimination ground in the Equality Acts and consideration of this commitment forms part of the wider review of Equality Acts, which is currently under way in the Department.
Since last year, the report on the submissions to the Public Consultation on the Review of the Equality Acts was published and can be accessed here: www.gov.ie/en/press-release/cafb4-minister-ogorman-publishes-report-on-the-submissions-to-the-public-consultation-on-the-review-of-the-equality-acts/
Work is currently underway on legislative proposals for reform of the equality acts. Careful work is needed on the process of developing definitions of terms such as "socioeconomic status" or "disadvantaged socioeconomic status" which would have the degree of clarity and lack of ambiguity that is necessary for the Statute Book.
However, it is planned that legislative proposals arising from the Review will be brought forward in the coming months.
309. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when home care support for a person (details supplied) will commence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7171/24]
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 likely be aware that the industrial action by certain Fórsa grades in the HSE has been suspended. The HSE has indicated that they have recommenced issuing replies to questions but there is a significant backlog of PQs and Reps to be responded to and has advised that they are working to get through these as soon as possible while at the same time managing the volume of current PQs and Reps.
310. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to provide details as to the reason the Government failed to include capital provision in the budget for the youth organisations in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7186/24]
View answerFrom 2020 to Budget 2024, Exchequer funding for youth services and programmes increased from €61.8 million to €77.95 million, a 26% increase overall.
The annual capital budget available to support youth services in 2023 was €2.7m. This funding supported small grants which enabled the purchase of essential equipment and the completion of minor works. This year, my Department has prioritised the direct delivery of services and programmes for young people and has secured an increase of €5 million, or 6.8%, on the 2023 budget for current expenditure. This includes dedicated funding for the support of new universal services and €1 million for the Targeted Youth Employability Support Initiative.
My Department will shortly begin to carry out a mapping exercise of youth services sector, which will map out the premises currently used for youth services and help to identify gaps and shortfalls in the availability of spaces for youth services. This analysis is necessary to enable the Department to determine how best to direct capital funding over the period ahead.
311. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if the new Action Plan for Youth Services will be costed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7187/24]
View answerIreland’s recently published National Policy Framework for Children and Young People recognises the important role of youth work services in supporting young people to thrive and fully develop their potential. It acknowledges the important ongoing reform programme and further commits to the development of a new Youth Services Action Plan to provide a strategic direction for the delivery of youth services over the lifetime of the Framework.
Informed by extensive consultation, work is at an advanced stage in developing this document, which will focus on ensuring we have high-quality, inclusive and accessible youth work services and opportunities that support young people from all backgrounds to develop their potential and positively shape their own and our shared future.
I hope to be in a position to publish the Action Plan in April 2024. Agreed measures will be costed and submitted for funding in line with the usual Budgetary processes.
312. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will commit to conducting a scoping exercise and workforce development plan for the youth services sector, in line with the recommendation from the Oireachtas Committee report on the Future of Youth Work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7188/24]
View answerThe importance of having and retaining well trained youth workers has been raised by youth organisations and referenced in the report referred to by the Deputy.
I recognise that we need to ensure that we continue to have sufficient numbers of well trained and supported youth workers and volunteers so to have high quality and accessible youth services. It is important that we address the workforce development issue in a data-informed and strategic way, and with the involvement of key stakeholders. My Department plans to establish a stakeholder group to progress workforce development in the coming months.
313. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he has any plans to move to multi-annual funding, to allow medium and longer-term programming with greater confidence, as recommended by the Future of Youth Work report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7189/24]
View answerExchequer funding for youth services is currently allocated on an annual basis in the Budgetary process. My Department is obliged to adhere to the public sector spending code, and therefore it is not possible to enter into multi-annual grant agreements with the youth organisations funded by my Department.
However, so to support organisations to have greater certainty of funding on a multi-annual basis, the UBU scheme, which is the largest scheme funded by my Department with €47million in funding in 2024, operates on a 3 year cycle basis, whereby funded youth services, continue to receive funding over a 3 year period, subject to the completion of an annual Renewal form by the services involved. The new Targeted Youth Employment Support Initiative will operate on a similar basis, with a three year funding window for services, with annual renewal of funding within that period.
314. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when will the details of the youth employability scheme be announced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7190/24]
View answerThe Targeted Youth Employability Support Initiative (TYESI) provides funding to youth services to support young people aged 15 to 24 years who are not currently in education, training or employment.
TYESI was first introduced in 2021, as the ‘Targeted Youth Employability Support Initiative 2021-2022’. This initiative as evaluated in 2023, with recommendations informed the development of the new 2024 scheme.
My Department issued communication to all Education and Training Boards (ETBs) regarding TYESI on Friday 9th February. The ETBs will advertise the application process for the TYESI in their functional areas and inform prospective applicants of the local closing date. Applicants will apply through the ETBs.
315. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth what legislation anticipated will be updated if each of the referenda planned for March are passed; what those updates will consist of in each case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7238/24]
View answerTwo Referendum Bills have passed all Stages in the Houses of the Oireachtas which will:
- amend Article 41 of the Constitution to provide for a wider concept of Family; and
- delete Article 41.2 of the Constitution to remove text on the role of women in the home, and to insert a new Article 42B to recognise family care.
The Referendum is planned to take place on 8 March 2024.
As the Bills have now been passed by the Houses of the Oireachtas, it is the responsibility of An Coimisiún Toghcháin, the Electoral Commission, to prepare a statement or statements containing a general explanation of the subject matter of the proposals for the referendums and of the text thereof in the relevant Bills and any other information relating to those matters that the Commission considers appropriate. It is also the function of the Electoral Commission to promote public awareness of referendums and to encourage people to vote.
