Deputy Jan O'Sullivan is not here so we will move on to Question No. 7. Deputy Rabbitte has 30 seconds.
Other Questions
Question No. 6 taken after Question No. 7.
Family Resource Centres
Anne Rabbitte
Ceist:7. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to address concerns that Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, is providing inadequate levels of resources to family resource centres throughout the country and does not properly support their vital community role. [23060/16]
Will the Minister address concerns that Tusla is providing inadequate levels of funding of resources to the family resource centres throughout the country and does not properly support their vital community role?
I will give the Minister a chance to gather herself.
This is my fault.
Will I give way to Deputy Jan O'Sullivan?
It is okay.
There is no rush.
Would the Minister prefer to take Deputy O'Sullivan's question first?
Does the Minister want to take Deputy O'Sullivan's question first?
Sorry-----
It is no hassle.
My apologies. I thought questions to the Minister were not starting until 4.30 p.m.
That is okay.
I apologise. I have located the reply to Deputy Rabbitte's question. I am happy to take it or-----
We will go with Deputy Rabbitte's question.
Is that okay?
The Minister has two minutes to reply.
I am very conscious of the role that family resource centres play in offering early intervention and support to families in difficulty. The level of funding provided in 2016 demonstrates the Government's support for child and family services around the country.
There are currently 108 communities supported through the family resource centre programme funded by Tusla. In 2016, Tusla is providing €13.5 million in core funding to the family resource centre programme, an increase of €422,000 over 2015. In addition, Tusla is providing funding of €595,000 to 75 family resource centres for low-cost counselling services under the agency's counselling grants scheme. This is an increase of €45,000 over the 2015 provision. Family resource centres are also supported by two regional support agencies, which are funded by Tusla. These support agencies play a key role in promoting good practice and providing technical support, advice and training to family resource centres.
Tusla also provides funding to the Family Resource Centre National Forum, which is a support network working with all the family resource centres throughout Ireland and providing networking and training opportunities, information and support. Tusla intends to build on the strengths of the family resource centre programme in the years ahead in meeting its mandate for community-based early intervention and family support. I strongly agree with this approach.
I heard all that the Minister has said but, every year over the past number of years, and particularly since 2011, there has been a budgetary cut of 5% and this has had an impact on family resource centres. Last year a family resource centre in Duagh in County Kerry got €108 from Tusla. I could not believe it when I read it. That is one of those in the statistics; that is one of our 108 family resource centres. It received €108. It does not have a family resource worker, although it is looking for one. It is running a service. This does not form part of the question, but I am trying to give the Minister a broad idea of the spectrum of requirements of rural areas. That is an example of rural isolation: a family resource centre receives €108 from Tusla. I do not think it is in this day and age quite adequate by any manner or means.
Let me first address the general issue. I have identified some of the ways in which Tusla has increased resources for the family resource centres. I visited a couple of them, including one in Roscommon, in the past few weeks of my Ministry and it is true to say that we are investing in those that have a focus on child care, including the provision of early childhood care and education. This supports the overall viability of family resource centres and their operations. The additional 2016 Tusla funding provided a pilot family resource project in Bandon, County Cork, and extra funding to family resource centres throughout the country, which is being disbursed on the basis of financial need.
I agree with the Minister, which is why I found this very hard. My understanding is that Tusla was focusing on early intervention. Believe it or not, the particular resource centre I spoke about has 97 children in it and receives €108. However, I do not wish to dwell on that.
Have we a vision in Tusla to bring in a counsellor to each of the family resource centres so that there is a counsellor on-site or based in the community? That would assist with early intervention and family support. The dots would be joined up in a community. They would be part of and working in the community and they would be instantly accessible. Is there a plan for the Ministry to develop that in family resource centres?
A number of programmes are in place in family resource centres that provide psychological support to the people who avail of their services. I hear the Deputy's suggestion on the provision of a counsellor in each one. I will raise and discuss that matter with Tusla over the next while to see if it is an efficient way to utilise resources in light of the other projects and programmes it is implementing.
Domestic Violence Services Funding
With the agreement of the House, we will take Deputy O'Sullivan's question now. Is that agreed?
We will agree.
It is agreed.
Jan O'Sullivan
Ceist:6. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will provide immediate funding to ensure that vulnerable women can access support when they need it following the commitment from the Taoiseach on 15 June 2016 to examine how to fund the 24-7 Women's Aid national free helpline; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17142/16]
I thank the Acting Chairman for giving to me the time to ask the question. It is fairly straightforward and the result of a serious funding issue for Women's Aid which has threatened its national helpline for women who are at serious risk and need urgent help and attention. In many cases, these women are under threat in their homes. The Taoiseach gave a commitment five weeks ago on 15 June to seek funding for it. Will the Minister update the House on the matter?
I am aware of the Taoiseach's comments in the House on 15 June during his interaction with Deputy Howlin on this important issue.
Tusla has allocated funding of €20.6 million in 2016 to support front-line services dealing with domestic, sexual and gender-based abuse. This includes additional funding of €200,000, requested by Tusla, to implement the provisions of the Istanbul Convention, which deals with violence against women and domestic violence. There is an obligation under the Istanbul Convention to have a dedicated free 24-hour national helpline in place for contact regarding domestic violence.
I recognise the valuable work undertaken by Women’s Aid in the provision of national helpline services for domestic violence and the work of other specialist domestic violence service provider organisations that operate helpline contact.
Tusla is currently working with these organisations, as part of a commissioning process, to support the availability of a co-ordinated, accessible national helpline service that can provide both initial contact points and facilitate integrated responses to victims of domestic violence.
Tusla intends to introduce the commissioning approach for the domestic violence helpline from 2017 and will be engaging formally with providers, including Women's Aid, around this process in the coming months. The issue of costs as well as service specifications is being considered as part of the helpline commissioning process. It will be developed in the fourth quarter.
I was delighted to note that the Women's Aid helpline became a 24-7 service in recent months and I look forward to launching it formally in September. It certainly has my support.
As the Minister said, there is a duty under the Istanbul Convention to have that kind of service available. More important, though, there are a number of women around the country who need the service as a lifeline. If they are in a situation of immediate danger, they need to be able to call somebody on a 24-7 basis. I worry when I hear about commissioning processes. What is the timeline for the commissioning process? What we really need is to ensure the service is maintained. The Minister said she would be launching the helpline in September but I gather that Women's Aid will have to tender along with others so will she clarify that? Above all, will she give us an assurance that there will not be any gap in the service because of a problem with funding or the length of time the commissioning process might take?
I agree that we do not need there to be a gap in services. I fully support the Women's Aid helpline but there are other national helplines and Tusla is developing the commissioning of a service which could mean a number of helplines. It will take a look at the best way to provide a proper service and ensure that, as well as value for money, we get quality too because this is integral to such a project. It is consulting with Women's Aid as well as others who provide helplines and with this extensive review we will find a better way to provide the service for the women who need it.
It is important not to confuse people by having too many options in the way of helplines. The Minister said there were a number of helplines around the country but what people need is immediate access and to know that, when they are in a particular situation, they can ring a number and get somebody at the other end of the line. Will the Minister ensure there is no confusion with different helplines?
I completely agree with Deputy O'Sullivan. People need access and it needs to be clear. We need to have enough capacity and it needs to be done right. That is what Tusla is doing at the moment in reviewing the process and in due course it will invite service providers to apply so that we have a better service for the women and others who need it.
Child Care Services
Jan O'Sullivan
Ceist:8. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if progress has been made on the commitment in the programme for Government to conduct and publish an independent review of the cost of providing quality child care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23046/16]
This question concerns the commitment in the programme for Government to conduct and publish an independent review of the cost of providing quality child care, an issue which concerns all of us. We need to focus on child care. There have been some improvements with regard to the second early childhood care and education, ECCE, year but having a quality service for children is absolutely vital for their chances in life and the real cost for parents around the country.
The programme for Government commits to conducting and publishing an independent review of the cost of providing quality child care. I envisage that my Department will tender for independent expertise to conduct the review in the autumn with a view to commencing it later this year. The report will need to be finalised by the second quarter of next year and will be published. This commitment will be progressed in the context of broader policy work on the design and development of a new single affordable child care scheme.
Work is well under way on the development of policy proposals for the new affordable child care scheme which will greatly simplify the four current child care programmes for low-income families. These are administratively complex and not easy to understand. As part of the review, my officials are examining previous published research and analysis on the cost of child care provision. They are also assessing available data sources and scoping the precise requirements for the independent review.
I believe that the work we are now undertaking presents a real opportunity to develop much improved supports for affordable, high-quality child care. The review of costs will examine average costs, variations between regions and the reason for the differences. It will also deal with the links between costs and quality of child care supports.
I am committed to evidence-based future investment in high-quality child care programmes, including the existing ECCE scheme and the planned single affordable child care scheme. I look forward to working with all interested parties as this work proceeds.
The Minister may not be able to answer this question but I ask her to fight for money in the budget for this purpose. A significant amount of funding was put into the second ECCE year but the process needs to continue and we will be behind the Minister in fighting for funding for this when budget time comes. I also ask that the commitments be to direct subsidy rather than tax breaks, of which the Minister has said she is in favour. Direct subsidy is a much more proactive way to do it.
Is the Minister aware that some ECCE providers are concerned that they will have affordability difficulties with the contract they have been asked to sign? Correspondence from providers of child care services suggests that the expansion of the ECCE scheme will not be cost-effective for them, because of the fact that it does not involve all-year funding.
Deputy Ó Laoghaire wants to intervene.
I support Deputy O'Sullivan's point. I understand there is a review of the community child care subvention, ECCE and other schemes but it needs to be much broader. We need to examine how child care can be subsidised for a much broader range of ages and for the general body of children. This is vitally important.
The Deputy's question was about me working as hard as I can to increase investment in early years provision. I am committed to doing that and I will do that. I have met with child care providers and county child care committees in the past couple of months and I have supported them in their efforts to advocate and organise. They are amazing individuals. The challenges are to invest to ensure they are properly paid and so that we can expand as we need to. We also need to invest to provide the resources for ongoing learning. There are different aspects to the matter of looking for additional moneys.
I welcome the fact that the Minister will be campaigning for more money. It is a very low-income sector and contains within it people with very good qualifications, which we need. I hope the Minister will focus on the issue of low pay.
I am very aware of that and of concerns that some workers are paid close to the minimum wage and are requesting a living wage. I am also aware of concerns around non-contract hours.
In terms of their own learning, there are concerns also about accessing the learner fund. We may need to examine the different schemes that have been developed over the years to ensure that they can access the moneys they need to allow them to continue on their learning path.
Domestic Violence Refuges Provision
Mick Wallace
Ceist:9. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans to increase funding to women's refuges to allow them to increase their capacity and provide much-needed services to victims of domestic violence; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22961/16]
We would all agree that women and children experiencing domestic violence are incredibly vulnerable and that the facilities in the State for helping them are not nearly good enough. The Minister said lately that funding for domestic violence services is being protected to the same level as that in 2015. I assure her that will not be nearly good enough for a deprived county like Wexford where the problem is particularly acute. Will the Government see fit to examine more closely the needs in such areas with a view to increasing funding?
I thank Deputy Wallace. At all times my priority and that of Tusla is to ensure that the needs of women and children fleeing domestic violence are being met in the best way possible. Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, allocates funding for a network of 60 organisations that provide services to victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence in Ireland. This includes 20 services that provide emergency refuge accommodation to women and children and 24 community-based domestic violence services.
In 2016, funding for domestic, sexual and gender-based violence services is €20.6 million, including €12 million for emergency refuge and support services, €4.6 million for other community-based domestic violence support services and €4 million to support rape crisis centres. Tusla is engaging with service provider organisations and other stakeholders to identify and prioritise future needs, including the provision of additional emergency accommodation spaces. Since the beginning of 2016, eight additional units of emergency accommodation have become operational and are supported by Tusla.
Domestic violence support services are provided through integrated community-based responses, with emergency refuge accommodation as one component of service delivery. Tusla’s primary focus is on achieving the optimum use of emergency shelter accommodation and focusing on prevention and effective community-based services to avoid in so far as possible the need for use of refuges by vulnerable women and families.
We all recognise that there are challenges to be addressed in ensuring that there is appropriate and safe crisis accommodation available to all women and children who require immediate shelter because of violent family relationships. I am committed to continuing our support for these vital services.
There is one women's refuge centre in Wexford with four family bedrooms serving the entire county. In 2014, it turned away 338 women and 259 children. The figures for 2015 are not yet collated but we are told they are as bad if not worse than those for 2014.
Recently, the women's refuge centre in Wexford submitted, for the second time, a comprehensive funding application through the capital assistance scheme to buy a property that would be converted into 12 self-contained rooms which would allow it operate its emergency accommodation in line with international best practice. The second application was submitted a year ago along with plans, full costing and all the relevant documentation, but it has disappeared. The centre has been on to its local government representatives, the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and other Departments but it seems it is being ignored by central government. It is finding it impossible to get feedback even about the status of its application.
I do not know if the Minister knows anything about this but I appeal to her to address that. We can only imagine where the 338 women who were turned away by the centre went that night. The State must take a serious look at this area.
I accept what Deputy Wallace outlined. I will take a look at that. It is important to investigate it. However, there is great need throughout the country in terms of other settings. There has been a slight increase in funding but I hear what the Deputy is saying, and it would be important to take a look at it again.
The Minister is probably aware that the level of unemployment in Wexford is at 20%. We have the highest suicide rate in the country and the third highest rate of teenage pregnancy. We probably have a few more problems than most counties, and I do not deny that there are problems throughout the country. The housing crisis has a direct impact in this area also. It is mainly women and children who end up homeless from a combination of domestic violence and the housing crisis. Recently, we had the launch of the plan to deal with the challenge that is our housing crisis. Regardless of what one thinks of its merits, it is a start. It will not have a serious impact for at least two years but organisations like the Wexford Women's Refuge centre need help now. Too many people will fall through the cracks in the next two years if the problem is not addressed in an active fashion.
The Deputy has put forward his case regarding Wexford and I have agreed to take a look at it. The action plan was very important to me and I was keen to ensure that within the context of the action plan we did something about the fact that some of the people who are moving into homelessness are fleeing their homes because of domestic violence. I have identified an action to provide additional emergency refuge accommodation places for victims of domestic violence and to provide a policy and guidance to housing authorities on the role they can play to assist victims of domestic violence in securing new independent tenancies. Additional emergency accommodation places will be provided in the context of that plan.
Child Care Costs
Ruth Coppinger
Ceist:10. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans to tackle the high cost of child care in the State; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23028/16]
What are the Minister's plans to tackle the high cost of child care in the State? This issue seems to have fallen off the Government's agenda but it is one of the most serious issues for young families. We have the highest child care costs in the European Union. It is a second mortgage for many families. A crèche place in Dublin, for example, can cost €998 a month compared with €280 in Finland, Norway, France, Spain, Belgium and Germany. The reason for this problem is the lack of investment.
Reducing the cost of child care is a key priority for me and for the Government. We have a number of commitments in the programme for Government relating to enabling access to high-quality and affordable child care, including subvention of child care for nine to 36 month old children. I am determined to deliver on these commitments. From September 2016, the extension of the early childhood care and education, ECCE, scheme will make free preschool available for 15 hours per week, 38 weeks per annum, to all children from the time they turn three until they go to school. Children can enter at three points in the year: September, January and April. On average, children will benefit from 61 weeks, up from the current provision of 38 weeks. Access to the average 61 weeks of ECCE can reduce the cost of child care by €4,000 per child. The current ECCE programme is accommodating 67,000 children, and this figure will increase to 127,000 next year.
We have also provided an extra €16 million in 2016 to create an additional 3,200 full-time equivalent community child care subvention, CCS, child care places, or approximately 8,000 places based on average uptake. My Department also extended the terms of this programme in March so that it could be provided by private child care providers across the country as well as community and not-for-profit providers. This was to ensure that eligible families, regardless of where they live, can access this important child care subvention. The full rate of CCS will reduce child care costs by €95 per week and is available to parents in receipt of social welfare payments including the one-parent family payment or family income supplement.
As with the previous Government, every time the issue of child care costs is raised the Government trots out the subject of the free preschool year. That scheme benefits parents who have children from the ages of three to five. Unfortunately it does not benefit anybody else. Children need care for more than 61 weeks of their childhood. The scheme offers to cover three hours' child care per day, so if a parent is working, he or she must still pay for the remainder of the day's care. There is a reason child care costs in Ireland are so high. It is because the State spends only one fifth of the OECD recommendation of 1% of GDP on child care. Ireland spends 0.2% of GDP. Only the UK is worse for child care costs than Ireland - obviously we have learned from them - and even the United States has cheaper child care costs. Ireland is the worst in Europe for child care costs. An Irish family with young children pays an average of 34% of its household income on child care. In Europe it is less than 17%. When one considers the cost of rent and mortgages right now, there are people who are absolutely crippled in paying for huge rent and child care. This is unsustainable.
I thank Deputy Coppinger. I identified those statistics and numbers again because that investment is reducing the costs of child care. Clearly that is not enough and I absolutely agree with the Deputy on that point. I agree that the scheme works for families with children from the ages of three to five and who are entering school age, but they are making the savings at that stage of their child's life. For those families who are on low incomes, the subvention allows them to save money on the costs of child care. That is what is happening.
In addition to that measure, there is the after-school child care programme which provides care for primary school children of eligible parents for a period of 52 weeks. Eligibility is determined by the Department of Social Protection. The after-school programme provides €40 per week towards an after-school place or €80 per week in situations where the child care service provides a pick-up service from the schools. These are the other ways in which the provision of child care services does save families money. I accept that it is not enough.
I hope the Minister will come up with something more imaginative then just the free preschool year, welcome as it is. After that provision is made, families still have to pay huge amounts in child care costs.
Ironically, the Government spends approximately €260 million per year on child care. This is about the same amount that Ireland will be paying to the EU for our leprechaun economic statistics. When one considers the figure in that context, it is very little money. There is a huge amount of untapped and untaxed wealth and resources in the State that could be used to subsidise child care. For example, if there were a progressive tax system, billions of euro could be raised to invest in child care.
The richest 300 people in Ireland hold a combined wealth of €84 billion. This is an area that could be taxed. The corporation tax rate could be reviewed which would allow for €2 billion extra fiscal space in the economy this year. Those are the kinds of measures that are required. It makes a huge difference to children if they receive quality child care rather than what is available at the moment dependent upon parents' resources.
I thank Deputy Coppinger for her suggestions. I would be very interested in taking a further look at them with her. We are both agreed on the need to invest more. How to do that is a complicated process of identifying the best way to deliver access to quality and affordable child care for every child but especially for children from birth to six years of age and for a diversity of families.
While it is important to reduce the costs of child care, it is also important to ensure that people who work in the sector receive a living wage. We must also ensure the scale and coverage of delivery of child care. It is true that more money needs to be provided. I have acknowledged this in my reply with regard to the children who are not yet publicly subsidised, that is, children under three years of age.
Adoption Records Provision
Clare Daly
Ceist:11. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if her Department or Tusla will carry out a full audit of the 13,500 transferred adoption files from Saint Patrick's Guild Adoption Agency. [22972/16]
The Minister is aware that Saint Patrick's Guild Adoption Agency ceased to operate three years ago. The transfer of files, which we were told would take between one year and 18 months, has actually taken three years. For the record, will the Minister clarify why this has taken so long? Did the issue of indemnity arise as it did when the Bessborough files were transferred? Will a full audit of the 13,500 Saint Patrick's Guild files be carried out and will the Minister indicate a proposed timeframe for that process so people can have access to the information on their files?
Deputy Daly has identified the question of the possibility of carrying out a full audit of the records. I have been advised by Tusla that the records of Saint Patrick’s Guild Adoption Society transferred to Tusla on 25 May 2016. The records transferred include details of adoption and fostering arrangements of children from 1910 onwards. Tusla received in excess of 13,000 records from Saint Patrick’s Guild, which Tusla has advised are well maintained and in good physical condition.
Tusla has established a dedicated team which is reviewing and cataloguing the files so that Tusla can provide an information and tracing service for anyone whose information was held by Saint Patrick’s Guild. Tusla does not propose to undertake a full audit of these files at this time, but the agency will respond to requests from adopted persons who are seeking information. It is important that birth parents, adopted persons and relatives who are seeking either information on or contact with persons from whom they were separated as a result of the adoption, or both, are provided with a service as soon as possible.
Saint Patrick’s Guild was established in 1910 by the Sisters of Charity and is, historically, one of the largest agencies in the country involved in the facilitation of the placement of children for adoption. The guild was an accredited agency under the Adoption Acts 1952 and 2010 for the provision of information and tracing services. The guild advised the Adoption Authority of Ireland of its intention to cease operations from 31 December 2014. Tusla was in discussions with Saint Patrick’s Guild regarding finances, legal issues and logistics for a period of time before the transfer of records could be completed.
Saint Patrick’s Guild has maintained a waiting list of applications from persons seeking information and contact. This information has also been forwarded to Tusla. Tusla will be contacting everyone who has submitted an information and tracing request in respect of the adoption records of Saint Patrick’s Guild with a response to their request as soon as possible.
The Minister has confirmed that some works will be done in this area but I am not sure that it is going to be enough to organise and archive the files properly so that people can get the information they deserve. Perhaps the Minister would let the House know how many staff will be allocated? In the Bessborough situation, once the files were transferred, people were being told that they were in a queue and the process was not in place for staff to give that information.
Will the Minister tell us, and I know that indemnity against legal action arose in the case of the Bessborough files which were transferred, whether she has given indemnity to Saint Patrick's Guild against any future legal cases that might arise? Was this the reason for the delay? Potentially we are dealing with some criminal matters. We know that Saint Patrick's Guild was one of the biggest beneficiaries of the sale of babies to America years ago, having a quarter of those with definitely falsified records and illegal practices. A number of those victims are still alive who would be desperately seeking to access that information. Will the Minister clarify if indemnity is an issue and how access to the files will be dealt with?
There are two parts to the Deputy's question and I will deal with the issue of indemnity first. I assure the Deputy that I will commit to investigating the matter of indemnity.
With regard to the importance of the work of the investigations and how Tusla is managing the process, the agency has informed me that it now has a designated records storage facility in Dublin for the long-term storage of the adoption records. The Saint Patrick's Guild files have been transferred to the facility and a dedicated team is reviewing and cataloguing the files so they will be able to provide an information and tracing service for anyone whose information was held at Saint Patrick's Guild. Priority is being given to individual cases having regard to the particular circumstances of the case, including the age and the health of the individual concerned.
I would appreciate if the Minister would get back to me on the issue of indemnity. I am not blaming her for not knowing but it is critical for the survivors. In making those inquiries, could she deal with whether the Garda will be called in if any irregularities are unearthed because potentially serious criminal matters may be uncovered?
If there was any question of Saint Patrick’s Guild being indemnified against that or the State’s being liable we need to know. Some of the victims of the crimes that happened in that institution need to know that as well. Would the Minister be open to meeting a delegation from the Coalition of Mother and Baby Home Survivors, many of the members of which were involved with Saint Patrick’s Guild? They would give the Minister invaluable assistance on the protections that need to be put in place to deal with a historical record of people’s identity. It is so important for those involved, many of whom are ageing. The clientele is dying out and they have a right to know, as much as anybody else, where they came from and who they are.
I accept the concerns of the people involved, which the Deputy articulated. Like her, I am committed to investigating the issue. I would be willing to meet the survivors because hearing testimony or bearing witness directly is integral to the development of the best policy and practice the Government can provide. I thank the Deputy for bringing this matter to my attention.
Child Care Services Funding
Bríd Smith
Ceist:12. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of the 500 after-school child care scheme, ASCC, places taken up now that the eligibility for 52 weeks is ending; the measures put in place to provide child care for these children at the same affordable rate; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22963/16]
Having listened to the Minister's previous response, I will probably ask her to meet more women for a different reason. She is probably browned off answering questions about child care schemes and the various ways of funding them. My question is specifically about the after-school child care scheme that was introduced when the previous Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection cut the one-parent family payment to ribbons on the premise that this would put lone parents back to work and take them out of the so-called social welfare trap. She did so on the basis of providing excellent Scandinavian-style child care, which, I am afraid, still only exists in Scandinavia. Could the Minister comment on this scheme and the progress relating to it?
As of 18 July 2016, there were 739 children availing of the after-school child care programme. This equates to 318 after-school places. Of the 450 parents who are registered for ASCC this year, 29 have used their 52-week maximum allowance.
For parents who have used their maximum allowance, the community child care subvention programme and the community child care subvention programme, private, may be options. Both of these provide funding to child care services to enable them to provide quality child care, including after-school care, at reduced rates to low-income working parents. Parents qualify as disadvantaged or being on low incomes on the basis of means-tested entitlements.
Further details of these programmes are available through the city and county child care committees. The after-school child care programme has a budget of €1.5 million for the 2015-2016 academic year and has capacity to provide 340 whole-time equivalent after-school places annually. Each eligible parent is given a maximum allowance of 52 weeks of ASCC. This allocation does not have to be used consecutively but when it is exhausted, the parent's eligibility ceases. ASCC child care places are subject to availability and are allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. The programme pays child care services €40 per week for an after-school place or €80 per week in situations where the child care service provides a pick-up service that collects or brings the child to and from school. The programme also provides a full day-care rate of €105 per week, for a maximum of ten weeks, to cater for school holiday periods. In all cases, the maximum fee payable by parents is €15 per week per child.
I raise this because there is a cohort of parents caught in an anomaly. They are the people I mentioned who suffered badly due to the cuts in the one-parent family payment. There is a back-to-work family dividend, which has been gradually cut when they have gone back to work. Is the Minister aware that in June of this year 8,100 lone parents lost €14.90 per week, per child because of the cut in that back-to-work family dividend? Coincidentally, many of them would have exhausted their 52 weeks' after-school child care just as the summer holidays kicked in and the schools closed, which is creating hardship upon hardship for quite a significant cohort of lone parents. Will the Minister comment please?
I thank the Deputy. I was not aware of those statistics. I am distressed to hear that. I would be very committed to looking for ways to ensure that as they move on to different ways of providing public support the lone parents and their families get back what they may have lost through previous cuts. I have identified some of the ways to do that within the programme for Government.
The child care places are a concern of mine. The way to move forward and correct that is to look across the board, particularly at after-school places. Are they in the appropriate locations? Are they available for women and men who as single parents have specific needs for their children because of their working arrangements? I think this is why some of the schemes in the past have not supported them. A cross-departmental group has been established to deal with after-school care. I promise to bring the concerns the Deputy has identified to the work of that group.
I appreciate the Minister answering, comprehensively and at length, the various questions, or sometimes the same question asked in different ways about child care, supports, etc., but the Government is not stepping up to the plate. Several other members of the Government, such as the Ministers for Social Protection, Finance and Education and Skills, should be involved. There has to be a much more holistic approach to child care than the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Zappone, answering the questions about where the money is divvied out.
One of the groups that lobbied us during the election campaign - and one of those I was most impressed with for its presentation and ambition - is Start Strong, which advocates early childhood education. It makes the obvious point very well that the greater the investment in young children, the bigger the return as they go through life. There is less chance of them falling into addiction, going to prison or experiencing any other problems. It reckons €1 billion is required to get this right. Somebody, it could have been the Minister or Deputy Coppinger, quoted a sum of approximately €300 million earlier. That is a third of what is required to get this right in our small little country. Perhaps we could chat with other Ministers about the need to address this. It is not just a problem for the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.
I welcome Deputy Bríd Smith’s presentation of cost-benefit analyses of quality child care and the importance of dealing with prevention and early intervention with other Ministers. I am trying to voice that to them. I am in complete agreement with what the Deputy says. This goes across the board. We need to ensure that those who govern the nation can see this. I think they understand the development of the arguments about the importance of prevention and early intervention to save money later. If one accepts and understands that, one has to invest earlier during that period. I accept what the Deputy is saying and I welcome her comments.
Adoption Legislation
Jan O'Sullivan
Ceist:13. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs when she expects to publish the adoption (information and tracing) Bill; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23040/16]
I have raised this issue with the Minister before. It concerns a commitment on timing for the publication of the adoption (information and tracing) Bill. It is intended to publish it before the end of the year. Is there a more precise date? Has any consideration been given to incorporating this particular element into the adoption Bill that has passed Second Stage? That might speed up the process, rather than having two parallel Bills.
Work on drafting the adoption (information and tracing) Bill is under way and I am committed to publishing it as early as possible after the summer recess. The heads and general scheme of the Bill were published in July 2015. It was then referred to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children for pre-legislative scrutiny, and the committee published its report in November 2015, as I know the Deputy is aware.
Following consideration of the report, a revised scheme was developed which amended the previous suite of measures to balance the right to identity of the adopted person with the right of the birth parent to privacy and to be left alone. The Government approved the drafting of this Bill, taking account of the report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children on the pre-legislative scrutiny of the general scheme and heads of the Bill in December 2015.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Bill is intended to facilitate access to adoption information and operates on the basis of presumption in favour of disclosing information, in so far as is legally constitutionally possible, for domestic and inter-country adoptions. The Bill will, for the first time, provide a statutory basis for the provision of information related to past and future adoptions. It will provide clarity around the information that can be provided and the circumstances in which it can be provided.
One of the key provisions in the Bill is to give an adopted person aged 18 years or over who was adopted prior to commencement a statutory entitlement to the information required to apply for his or her birth certificate, subject to certain conditions. The Bill also provides that an adopted person whose adoption was effected after the commencement of the Bill will be given his or her birth certificate at 18 years of age.
I thank the Minister for her reply. This is a really important issue for many people who for years have tried to get this kind of information and have gone to all kinds of lengths. The rest of us take for granted having our birth certificates and knowing about our origins, yet there are people who still have not been able to get that information. That is why I am persisting with this issue.
I hope the Minister will be able to publish the Bill as soon as possible after the summer recess. She may be able to publish it before then. We need to pass this legislation as quickly as possible. I ask that consideration be given to dealing with the tracing and information aspects within the Bill that has passed Second Stage.
Getting Dáil time, bringing a Bill before the Seanad and so on takes time. Passing two Bills presents challenges in terms of getting time within the two Chambers. Getting this done is a priority. There will be questions around balance, but it is important that the presumption is in favour of disclosure. I wish the Minister well with the Bill but I want to make sure it is published.
In my earlier reply I tried to indicate that we are dealing with the issue. I very much appreciate that the Deputy has consistently asked questions that help me to maintain pressure in terms of the work of the Department.
I hope to publish the Bill as soon as possible after the summer recess. We are waiting for a redraft of the Bill from the Office of the Attorney General and I hope that will be with us tomorrow. I checked that information before coming to the Chamber. When we receive it, we will go through it again. As the Deputy knows, there may be challenges in terms of reviewing the Bill and dealing with any outstanding policy issues. The Bill is an absolute priority for me.
The Deputy is correct; there are two Bills. In that regard, they are some of the primary Bills on which the Department is working. I understand the Department does not have a significant workload in terms of other aspects of legislation.
I urge that that happen as soon as possible. We are not particularly overloaded with legislation in the Chamber, and I do not know how overloaded we will be in the autumn. It tends to be the case that a lot of Bills come together and we may be fighting for space at a later stage in the year. I again urge that this work be done as quickly as possible.
Child Protection Services Provision
Anne Rabbitte
Ceist:14. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her views on the inadequate central referral system used by social worker services and the absence of a central ICT system. [23056/16]
I ask the Minister to outline her views on the inadequate central referral system used by social work services in the absence of central IT. I take on board that the Minister has answered many of my questions on the absence of a central IT system, but I would like to hear her views on how that is impacting on social workers who are trying to make referrals through a central system.
As I said earlier, ICT is critical to providing effective social work services for vulnerable children and families. This question is very similar to one that was asked earlier.
The Deputy specifically focused on how important ICT is for the work of social workers. It is absolutely critical, as the current HIQA report and others have indicated. When the ICT system is rolled out, it will ensure a much better service for social workers in the 17 Tusla administrative areas. Each administrative area has put in place, to the best of its ability, supports to ensure the ICT system is as good as it can be in the context of where they are working.
One aspect of the national child care information system we would particularly welcome is that not only would it be more efficient and supportive of social workers in particular administrative areas, but there would be a way of connecting that across the board throughout the country in terms of finding information on particular children no matter where they are. As I indicated previously, the system has been piloted in Tusla's mid-west region. It intends to roll out the system nationally over the coming year, and I will continue to support it as a key priority.
The Minister has hit on the kernel of the issue, namely, the lack of communication among social workers. If a child in Galway moves to Dublin, social workers cannot access the relevant data. That is where things are falling down.
I welcome what the Minister said earlier. If we have the correct IT system in place in 2017 and money is ring-fenced from capital funding, that will go a long way towards helping families and, most importantly, children. It will enable social workers to do their jobs, communicate, prevent abuse and protect children in future.
In light of some earlier questions from Deputy Shortall, this would be a critical aspect of the retention of social workers. I hope this will be one of the best systems that are possible. A lot of time was spent on consultation throughout the country with users and providers to design a particular system. In light of that, I hope and expect that the new system will considerably increase the capacity of social workers to work and, therefore, be supportive of the ability of Tusla to retain its employees.
Written Answers are published on the Oireachtas website.