Vol. 927 No. 3
18. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her views on the lack of income progressivity in the universal child care subsidy as announced in budget 2017; and her views on whether the scheme is fair on households the income of which falls just above the income threshold for the targeted child care subsidy. [33783/16]
Does the Minister have concerns about the lack of income progressivity in the universal child care subsidy as announced in budget 2017? Does she believe the scheme is fair on households the incomes of which fall just above the income threshold for the targeted child care subsidy?
The new scheme which I announced recently is highly progressive overall. It will encompass both universal and targeted elements which can be incrementally expanded over time. International evidence indicates that systems based on universalism are associated with lower rates of child poverty and deliver better outcomes for all children, with disadvantaged children benefiting more when services are provided within a universal programme design. Progressive universalism further recognises the importance of the provision of additional support for those with the greatest need.
Eligibility for the targeted aspect of the new scheme is based on net parental income and the highest levels of support will be offered to those on the lowest incomes. It is fairer and more accessible than the current targeted subsidy programmes, under which many low income families are not currently able to access subsidised child care because of the requirement to be in receipt of certain State benefits or attending certain training programmes. It will also enhance targeted schemes.
For example, a person in receipt of the maximum level of subsidy under the current community child care scheme, which is by far the largest of the current targeted schemes, might face a weekly co-payment of €89 per week. Under the new scheme, a person in receipt of the maximum rate of subsidy will have an average weekly co-payment of about €12 per week.
The universal subsidy for children under three recognises that the cost of child care is generally highest when children are under three years of age and this cost can result in many parents having to stop work outside the home when paid maternity leave ends. Recent reports also suggest that cost and sustainability issues are affecting the availability of child care places for children under three years.
Finally, the Deputy has also asked about families above the income cut-off for targeted subsidies. While all targeted schemes, by their nature, have thresholds and cut-off points, the new affordable child care scheme is designed to be flexible, with the ability to adjust income thresholds, subsidy rates and income taper rates over time and as further Government investment becomes available.
I welcome the closing remarks on being flexible and on income subsidy adjustment. If I was a parent on €29,000, under joint income I could not avail of the €2,800 subsidy but would only get €900 per annum. If I want to progress in my career and I am on €28,000, where is the avenue for me to do so? I need to understand what options and what degree of flexibility are available to me but, at this moment, that detail is not there. Parents need to understand how the flexibility works. If I progress in my career and go from €28,000 to €29,000, how do I notify the Department? How is the child care provider protected in view of the change of income?
Some of the Deputy's questions relate to the workings of the scheme. The Department is working extremely hard to ensure this ambitious objective is achieved and to provide clarity to people on what kind of subsidy they will receive in light of their net household income. This information will be on the website, which we are designing and will have in place before the scheme implementation date of September 2017. If a person's net income changes over time we will make clear how that will ultimately impact on the child care subsidy available. We are working to develop and launch an information scheme to provide the information by the beginning of next summer.
Information and a new website would be very welcome as parents feel a little bit in limbo, as do the crèche providers. Given the new subsidy, does the Minister have any fears about the inflation of fees in crèches? There is a huge concern over this. The child care worker is among the lowest paid in the sector at the moment. They are looking after our most precious and are the first link to education but we are paying them, on average, €10.47 per hour. Is the Minister concerned about increases in crèche charges?
I am happy the Deputy asked that question because we have had discussions about it. Yes, I have a concern over this and there are different ways of addressing it. My primary concern is that, as the child care sector grows and as qualifications and workload increase, people within the sector are paid a better wage for what they do. As we implement the subsidisation programme there are possibilities that the sector will respond in certain ways but I have established an early years forum and I am discussing the issues with the sector. I have provided additional funding in recognition of non-contact time for 2017 and we will continue to discuss the issues as we move towards 2018.
19. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her views on whether the required capacity currently exists to meet the needs of the implementation of the single affordable child care payment; the plans she has in place to expand the capacity of the public child care sector over the coming years; the progress likely to be made on such capacity planning by the time the scheme is commenced; and if she is satisfied that all children seeking a place on the SACP scheme will have a place for 2017. [33785/16]
Baineann an cheist seo le cumas na Roinne agus na hearnála dul i ngleic leis an scéim nua atá curtha ar bun ag an Roinn. The question asks what the Department is doing in terms of capacity planning for the new scheme and whether it believes current capacity will be sufficient. If not, will sufficient capacity be in place when the new scheme starts in September next year?
I am very pleased that from September 2017, a new affordable child care scheme will be introduced to provide financial support for parents towards the cost of child care. Approximately 79,000 children will benefit from the new scheme in its first year, including 25,000 children who will benefit from the universal subsidy. An estimated 54,000 will benefit from the targeted subsidies, including 31,500 children who already receive support under the current targeted subsidy schemes and 22,500 new beneficiaries. Some of the new beneficiaries will already be availing of formal child care but without any financial support from the State at present.
My Department commissions an annual survey of child care providers in which capacity is a key area. As of April 2016, there were up to 20,000 vacancies in child care providers nationwide. However, the issue of capacity in the sector is complex and cannot be understood by reference to current vacancies alone. Some services, depending on their infrastructure, are able to increase and decrease capacity in response to demand through the recruitment of additional staff or adaptation of available space, while other providers are in a position to extend premises or move to a larger premises. The Department receives several hundred applications from new providers wishing to enter into contract every year, while a lower number of providers close.
While there is no clear evidence to suggest a lack of capacity for the new affordable child care scheme at this stage, my Department will continue to carefully monitor trends in this regard.
I would also like to highlight that capital funding for the early years sector of €4.5 million was made available in budget 2017, which will support strategic investment in capacity.
Finally, in order to meet the needs of parents whose preference is to use a childminder, and to build capacity to cater for increased demand in future years, my Department has commenced talks with Childminding Ireland in recent months to explore a number of options around how quality can be assured within the childminding sector.
I have significant doubts about how this will work in September next year. I have doubts about capacity and what this will mean for prices. The Minister and the Department have said that they do not expect there to be any issues but are keeping it under review. The Department states that it expects the scheme to improve labour market activation and participation but a degree of contradiction is inherent in not expecting a significant rise in capacity but expecting labour activation to increase.
It is important that increasing capacity and capacity planning are not market led. Such an approach was a disastrous failure in regard to broadband and has been a failure in many other areas. It has to be led by the State and the community sector. There has to be serious capital investment and while the Minister has outlined the capital allocation my recollection is that it has been reduced from the previous year's budget as a result of everything that is happening in Oberstown. I believe it needs to be increased.
The Department is monitoring this in different ways, such as through a Pobal exercise on vacancies and county child care surveys on capacity and place numbers. It is difficult to determine what the demand will be, or even what the current demand is in certain places, and to match demand and capacity.
I have confidence in the Department's ability to monitor that in an appropriate way, such that it can identify potential deficits in particular areas. On the other point made by the Deputy, there have been all sorts of estimations in of terms the required capacity to meet the anticipated increase in terms of labour activation.
The Minister will be aware that the Association of Childcare Professionals has indicated that it intends to hold a day of action and protest on 17 November. I commend it on that because I believe that workers and professionals in this sector have been taken for granted by previous Governments and by this Government. We are asking them to deal with an increase in capacity, and as a result a significantly changed sector, yet they are unlikely to see any improvement in their conditions. There has been no improved access to the Learner fund and because of that a significant category of workers is maintained in low-paid, insecure employment without any ability to progress. There was also a failure to deal with the seriously problematic and very unfair situation whereby child care workers are expected to sign-on during the summer months. These are people who have qualifications, which they worked very hard to achieve, and they deserve more respect and better pay. They deserve a fair deal from this Government.
I am well aware that the Association of Childcare Professionals is planning to organise. The association has been in communication with me in regard to its concerns. I am supportive of the right of people to raise their voices on issues of concern to them. This will assist me in my work as Minister in the context of budget 2018. I acknowledge that there is a day of protest planned and I believe that it is important that it happens and that the association gets an opportunity to raise its concerns. I have no difficulty with that.
I have indicated a number of times that while this is a radical new step in terms of the sustainability of the infrastructure we have in this country in relation to child care, it is only a first step. I have not been able to provide for everything in the context of budget 2017 but I have managed to identify and commit €14.5 million of my budget allocation for 2017 to current providers in respect of non-contact time, which was one of the key requests they had in terms of their conditions.
20. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the amount of funding allocated to Tusla in budget 2017 which will go towards implementing the provisions on aftercare contained in the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2015; and the progress being made by Tusla in ensuring that every child leaving care has an aftercare plan in place. [33784/16]
The backdrop to this question is the EPIC conference on care-leavers held in Dublin Castle about three weeks ago. The question posed to me and other members of the panel on that day, including representatives from Tusla and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, was how much funding allocated to the Tusla budget in 2017 will go towards implementation of the provisions on aftercare as provided for in the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2015. Perhaps also the Minister would give an update on the progress being made by Tusla in ensuring that every child leaving care has an aftercare plan in place.
I thank Deputy Rabbitte for her question. I am committed to implementing the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2015 which entitles eligible young people to a formal aftercare plan prepared by Tusla in collaboration with the young person leaving care. I am pleased that the Act places an explicit as opposed to an implicit duty, as is currently the case, on Tusla to satisfy itself as to the young person's need for assistance and support as he or she leaves care.
My Department is working closely with Tusla to ensure that the provisions of the Act can be fully implemented as quickly as possible in the coming months.
Currently, there are approximately 1,900 young people in receipt of aftercare services from Tusla. In the first six months of this year, 315 young adults were discharged from State care on reaching the age of 18. Approximately 98% of them were eligible for an aftercare service and 91%, or 280 young people, availed of it.
In regard to funding, the Deputy will be aware that I secured an additional €37 million for Tusla in budget 2017, bringing its total allocation to €713 million. Tusla will shortly prepare a business plan for my consideration, in which it will set out how it proposes to allocate its total funding for the year, including its spending plans for implementing the legislation on aftercare and in respect of all the other services it provides.
It is important to note that these costs arising relate only to implementation of the provisions of the aftercare legislation. Young people leaving care typically receive supports relating to accommodation, further education, employment and training, which are funded by other Departments. This means that the part of Tusla's budget for 2017, which is ultimately allocated to aftercare services under the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2015, will represent just a small proportion of the total spend by the State on those in receipt of aftercare services.
I believe that our young people leaving care deserve high quality supports throughout the system and that full implementation of the Child Care (Amendment) Act will be a key element of how our society helps them to make this critical transition in their lives.
I welcome that a business plan is being put in place by Tusla. On the day of the conference we heard that 6,144 children are in receipt of aftercare plans. A large proportion of these 6,144 children, who were in attendance at the conference, were of the view that they are not getting the aftercare plan to which they are entitled, and for two reasons. First, if they were in care for less than six months, they did not qualify and, second, if they were over 17 years of age they also did not qualify. I hope that this issue will be addressed in the context of the business plan. Another issue raised at the conference was the situation facing children who did receive an aftercare plan in that unlike every other child of 17, 18 or 19 years of age living at home if they fell out of education their aftercare plan fell apart.
I am aware of the conference. I met the director of the conference, Ms Jennifer Gargan, subsequent to it and I have offered to continue the conversation by meeting with some of the young people concerned to discuss the issues raised by the Deputy. The benefit of the new legislation is that it will entitle young people to an aftercare plan for the first time. This will make a significant difference in terms of some of the issues raised by the Deputy. Up to this point it has been a matter of good practice only to provide an aftercare plan but Tusla will now be required by law to prepare an aftercare plan. I believe this is an important part of helping young people to achieve their potential as they prepare to leave care. This will be an advance.
In regard to implementation of the legislation, Tusla has introduced a number of new practices and has developed dedicated aftercare teams. It has also standardised the financial supports that it offers to those leaving care and it is putting inter-agency aftercare committees in place at local level.
All of what the Minister has mentioned is welcome. In regard to the business plan, I would welcome inclusion in that plan of a mechanism to document that every child entitled to an aftercare plan has received it. I would also like to see provision within the plan of capacity to ensure that any child leaving care who, like any other children of his or her age, decides to drop out of or change course, can be accommodated to remain in the same environment. Everybody is entitled to a second chance. We are speaking in this regard about the toughest years in a child's life in terms of having to choose courses and so on. If they could remain in the same environment, it would be the best step forward.
I welcome the Deputy's passion and commitment on these issues. The Deputy is correct that it will be important that the relevant aspects of the legislation, once commenced, which I hope to do in the next couple of months, are monitored to ensure their effectiveness over time, which I can promise in terms of the ways in which Tusla has developed monitoring, statistics and percentages around how it is meeting its commitments.
That refers to policy objectives but also, in this case, legislative requirements. The business plan is necessary to identify how important this is in terms of my Department. That makes a difference in terms of the funding, about which the Deputy asked earlier. The Deputy's concern around ensuring that taking time out of education does not jeopardise the after-care plan is noted. I thank the Deputy.
21. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will develop along with an organisation (details supplied) a European youth centre in order to ensure that the potential of the centre is reached in the interest of national youth work development. [33872/16]
I thank the Minister for her work in office to date. The Department of Children and Youth Affairs announced earlier this year €26 million in capital grants with a closing date for applications in May. Announcements on successful applications were made in August with the total moneys to be disbursed across two strands. In Kerry, we had €96,000 among Tralee, Listowel and Castleisland. The application from the centre in Killarney was refused. The Minister had visited the centre and that visit was very much appreciated. It was considered to be a new development for the purposes of the application, but this is not accurate as it is an ongoing project which is now taking on further importance as part of Ireland's commitment to the Council of Europe having been labelled as a European youth centre.
My Department administered a capital funding scheme in 2016 for youth projects and services which was strictly limited to projects funded under a number of specific schemes.
An application for capital funding was received from Kerry Diocesan Youth Service, KDYS, in respect of a European youth centre. Unfortunately, the application was found to be ineligible by the appraisal committee for the youth capital scheme 2016 to 2017 as KDYS is not in receipt of funding under any of the specified schemes.
However, I am pleased to note that my Department provided funding of some €505,000 to KDYS in 2016 under other headings. These include funding for youth services under the special projects for youth scheme which supports projects that target young people who are disadvantaged, including young Travellers and young people who are out of school and at risk of drug or substance abuse or homelessness.
Work on the development of a new capital funding scheme for 2017 is under way. My Department is engaging with each education and training board's youth officer to identify the capital needs of the youth sector. I hope to announce details of this new capital scheme in the coming months.
I will be happy to explore the options for funding the European youth centre proposal further with KDYS having regard to the resources available to my Department.
I thank the Minister. I appreciate her response because I know her heart is in the right place when it comes to the centre in Killarney. She took time out to go there in the summer and I appreciated her visit, as did everybody there. Given that the Department's capital grants fund was €26 million, it appears not all the moneys were disbursed. I estimate that there could be over €600,000 available. I appeal to the Minister to partner with KDYS to develop the European youth centre. The service is open to significant departmental input to ensure that the development of this centre goes ahead in the interest of national youth work. It does not take me to tell the Minister for her to understand the great work centres like this are doing not just in Killarney town but throughout Ireland. She is far better at this than me in that regard. It is very important work. I appreciate her personal interest in it and the genuine concern she has shown to date. The way I summarise it is to say the Minister should send as much money as she can to Killarney.
As the Deputy notes, I visited KDYS during the summer and was impressed by the commitment, enthusiasm and professionalism I saw. Unfortunately, it was not possible to fund the European youth centre project as it did not fall within the previously established criteria for the scheme. That in no way takes away from the value of the work being done there. I am anxious to work with KDYS to support its work in future. My Department will be happy to work with KDYS to identify any other potential means to support its important work. As I have indicated, I am pleased that we were able to provide funding of €505,000 under the special projects for youth scheme.
I must correct the Deputy. The capital funding available was €2.6 million, not €26 million. That may be where the answer to his question lies.
I thank the Minister for that response. I appreciate her interest. All I ask is that she does her best for the centre which is doing Trojan work as she knows. I thank her for meeting with the manager and personnel working there who are giving great assistance to young people. Young people attending the centre and availing of the services there deserve great credit because they are engaging, working and participating in the schemes. We all really appreciate that. Ireland is in safe hands with the young people we have. All we need do is praise and encourage them while being positive in every way we can. The Minister as a member of Government and we as elected representatives must support them in every way we can. That is our job and what we are supposed to do.
I remember almost every room I saw in that centre. It is an extraordinary place and I was very impressed with the leadership and management team and with what it is doing and how it is reaching out way beyond its base. It is unfortunate that in terms of the capital funding scheme for 2016 the centre did not fall within the criteria because it was not receiving funding in relation to the four or five schemes operating in the Department for which capital was specified in particular. The refusal was part of the rational thinking in order to put in place capital for previously identified policies and investments. Having said all that, we are moving into 2017 and are putting in place criteria as we move forward in relation to the next round of capital funding.
22. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the way she will protect against the dual income trap, as articulated by a person (details supplied), the result of which is a greater level of support being provided for one parenting choice over another; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33818/16]
Why are we setting what Senator Elizabeth Warren has described as a dual income trap? In America, the experience was that incomes doubled because everybody started working, but disposable income fell due to a bidding war for property and the costs of health care, transport, tax and child care went up. Couples were left worse off. They were working all the time but were poorer and exposed. Where one person lost his or her job, the couple faced bankruptcy, which has happened wholesale in the USA, unable to cater for a family member who fell sick or children with special needs or any other variation from the hard-nosed economic model of getting everyone working all the time. That is what we are doing in our tax individualisation system, with our lack of care for caring work in our social welfare system and, now, in the new policy initiative which discriminates against the very parents who are most at risk in the dual income trap, those left on a single income. Why are we doing that?
The single affordable child care scheme is a major initiative I am pursuing specifically to ensure that the costs of child care are lowered for families, in particular those on lower incomes. Irish child care costs are among the highest in the world and the burden on many families is unacceptably high.
While this aspect of the Irish situation is similar to the USA, in other respects the situation in Ireland is quite different. Some countries are seeing undue pressure on women to enter the workforce or to return to work immediately after giving birth. However, the OECD and the European Commission have noted that the participation of women in the labour force in Ireland is significantly lower than in other countries. Parents should be able to access all the social, personal and economic benefits of participation in the labour force if they so choose while also being afforded the necessary flexibility and support to enable them to care for their children, particularly during their crucial early years.
I am committed to improving the situation of all parents and, in particular, all children, whatever care arrangements are chosen, and to reflecting international evidence on how to attain the best outcomes for children in policies brought forward by my Department.
I support the extension of parental leave for parents and will continue to work with my Cabinet colleagues to achieve this. The Government has also provided additional support for stay at home parents through the home carer tax credit, which has been increased to €1,100 per year.
The single affordable child care scheme has been criticised by some who claim that I am somehow discriminating against parents who remain at home to care for children or child minders or relatives who provide care for children. This is absolutely not the case and I am keen to advance support for all of these families, whether by enabling child minders to participate in the affordable child care scheme or by providing other means of support to families. If the Deputy has suggestions as to how I might address these needs, I would be happy to discuss these important issues with him.
I do not recognise the OECD or the European Commission as neutral observers. They are biased, in the sense that they are obsessed with the whole notion of economic growth and, in the case of countries which have a falling population, with trying to get as many people into the workforce as possible. They are pump-priming the dual-income trap, as happened in the US.
In response to the Minister's question on what we might do, I would take the evidence from Robert Putnam's latest book, Our Kids, and examine what the American model did. It destroyed social capital and created a deep divide in the country. We have to support parents on low incomes, in particular lone parents who lose out in a dual income trap society. However, we should listen to what Putnam said. It would be far better to go in the direction in which we were going, namely be neutral and give a cash payment to parents. That is what gives them security at the most critical point in time when we are growing our young children's brains.
All of the evidence, including the latest Growing Up in Ireland survey, shows that we should favour all parents, and not discriminate against some, which, I am afraid, is what is being done.
The dual income trap which the Deputy mentioned, as he knows, is the subject of a popular book written by Senator Elizabeth Warren and her daughter. It discusses the financial difficulties experienced by American middle-class families with children due to the steady rise in many fixed costs such as health care, child care and finding a good home. Senator Warren and her daughter argue that two income families today actually have less discretionary income left over compared to single income, mostly male breadwinner, families a generation ago.
However, their solution to the issue is to manage living costs for these families, such as housing, health care and education, and not to move back in time to an era when women were not given the choice to have a career and earn their own money. Instead, they argue that the solution to financial hardships lies in the sustainable pricing of necessary services.
One of the practical policy options they advocate is offering vouchers to families so they can send their children to good schools anywhere they choose. The book has its critics as well as its defenders, but we also must remember that it discusses the economic lives of the American middle classes.
I am a defender of the book and its analysis because I can see what it describes happening before my eyes in this country. Parents are experiencing rising mortgage, health insurance and transport costs because of the American economic model we are adopting.
I fully agree with the Minister that we have to address the rising cost of child care, in particular for those on lower incomes. The way to do that is to support all parents equally and get the budget allocation from the Minister for Finance. If we are serious about the most important task in our country, which is raising children, we should give parents the power to make the call how they do that.
We should not set up a system that discriminates against one form or the other and which will only reinforce the dual income trap. We need to listen to what Senator Warren said. We should provide support to everyone equally and let parents decide on the best way to spend their money. That gives them security and breaks the economic model towards which we are going. We have seen its effects on America and in the election there today. It kills social capital and a good environment in which to raise children.
There are some good things going on in America. Reference is frequently made to Nordic countries. They are moving away from home care allowance type schemes due to their adverse impact on women's employability and financial independence later in life. I would encourage a vigorous gender impact analysis before importing such policies here.
As I am sure the Deputy will remember, not long ago we had a policy that provided €1,000 per child to families to spend on early childhood care and education as they chose. It was available to all families, whether their children were being cared for in a crèche or by a child minder, parents or other relatives. This early childhood subsidy policy did not create equal access to preschool services and Ireland was widely criticised for failing to provide universal preschool provision. The Deputy knows this as he was in the coalition Government when the early childhood subsidy was discontinued and replaced by the universal free preschool year, the ECCE scheme. I hope the Deputy is content that the ECCE scheme is used by the vast majority of parents in Ireland and the take-up of the scheme is 96% of all eligible children.
I fully support the ECCE scheme and am very glad it is in place. That does not mean that we take an approach which all the experts says is not the right approach, namely 40 hours care. The Nordic model was mentioned by the Minister. There are brilliant examples from those countries.
23. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will provide a breakdown of all new funds allocated to early child care for 2017 and the way in which this money will be allocated; the Estimates for budget 2018 to maintain the services for 2018; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33334/16]
My question follows from Deputy Ryan's, in a way. There is no doubt that we need to move in the direction of assisting people with the punitive cost of child care. We also need to underpin parental choice. We need to ensure that it will actually achieve what the Minister hopes it will. Given the amount of money involved, I worry whether it can achieve that. Is €32 million the full year cost? Given that the money will come in September, what will the full year cost be? In some cases, which I will go into, will it not achieve its end.
I was pleased that significant additional funding was allocated to early child care in budget 2017. The largest volume of additional funding was provided to enable the full year costs of the expansion of the ECCE scheme into a second year, and I provided €67.6 million for this. In addition, the full year roll-out of the access and inclusion model, AIM, within the ECCE scheme was provided for with an allocation of €18.07 million.
A total of €12 million was provided to supplement existing funding provided for child care available on a targeted basis to families from lower income backgrounds. This funding will facilitate the replacement of a number of schemes with a new single affordable child care scheme from September 2017. A further €7 million was provided for a universal subsidy to be available to all children using formal child care who are aged 6 months to 3 years, or when they start ECCE if they are older. This will also be available from September 2017 as part of the new single affordable child care scheme.
I have made €14.5 million available to provide an additional payment to child care providers to recognise the increasing volume of work done outside of direct contact hours with children. This funding will provide an additional payment of seven days' funding to all ECCE services and an equivalent level payment to CCS and TEC services. I have provided €1 million to enhance the level of inspection of child care services provided by Tusla and the Department of Education and Skills, and a fund of €1 million to facilitate research into the sustainability challenges faced by community child care services, in particular, and to develop a process for addressing these. This additional funding will bring my Department's budget for early years from €345 million to €466.5 million, an increase of 35% on 2016.
Additional funding will be required in 2018 to meet the full year costs of some measures being introduced for September 2017. In the case of the new single affordable scheme, estimated additional full year costs in 2018 are approximately €44 million. Factors such as demography and uptake of schemes will also be important in determining the exact amount of additional funding that will be required in 2018.
The scheme does not start until September 2017. How long does the funding of 32 million run into next year? What is the full year cost of the universal and targeted elements? I am in favour of targeted and universal elements. I recognise that people working in child care have to be paid properly and so on, and that we need to develop capacity. Given all of those requirements and the fact that we need funding for a full year, can the funding really deliver on all of those fronts?
To what extent is the money that had been available to schemes that are now being wound up being rolled into this money? In other words, how much of the money is new money? I met a lone parent earlier. She explained that the closure of the community employment childcare, CEC, programme and the childcare education and training support, CETS, programme means that the maximum contribution those working on a community employment scheme had to pay is now gone. They will end up having to pay more. Lone parents will have to pay more. The new scheme will be a disincentive. We will not have labour activation, but labour deactivation.
The Deputy had a number of questions and I am with him in his sentiment in terms of his concerns. I hope that this will deliver what we are attempting to deliver. It is a first step towards introducing a radical new plan for child care. We have worked very hard to ensure it happens. I provided the Deputy with full-year costs. The year 2017 will be the first year of the full year of the second year of the ECCE scheme. We need money for that. It will also be the first year of making available the universal measure that is a subsidy for those aged under three years. That will start in September 2017. There is money available for that.
What months will it cover?
Let the Minister answer.
We need a lot of money for 2017 to cover the full-year cost of the two years of preschool plus the cost of the access and inclusion model, AIM. From September 2017, additional moneys will be available to introduce the single affordable child care scheme. This will include the targeted element in the new way that I am doing it as well as the subsidy for those under three years of age. That relates to the funding question. I did not have enough time to answer the other questions.
I think the Minister understood the other question. With the winding-up of the CEC and the CETS programmes, those who were availing of them are telling me that they will be required under the new scheme to make a bigger contribution to expensive child care from their already low incomes. Consequently, they will be in a worse position. It will be more difficult for them to go to work because the scheme is quite minimal. This is the problem. To make all these different elements work, we need a lot more money.
We do need a lot more money and I trust the Deputy will continue to raise his voice as we continue to prepare for the next budget because I agree with him in that regard. In terms of his initial comments and concerns, I too am concerned about those on low incomes. This new, targeted single affordable child care scheme is streamlining and simplifying those other targeted schemes that some of the people to whom the Deputy refers are on. These include the community childcare subvention, CCS, and training and employment childcare, TEC. By doing that, we are providing a way for those on lower incomes to pay less. There may be a few cases where there will not be the potential for the capping, if one likes, of the parental contribution. I think this is what the people who are coming to the Deputy are concerned about.
That is what I am talking about.
I assure the Deputy that no one will be worse off. Most of them will be better off, but it will depend on what they are earning and the number of children, etc. This goes back to Deputy Anne Rabbitte's question. It is hard for people to understand fully how they will benefit because it will depend on their family type. However, the whole point of the single affordable child care scheme is to ensure that those the Deputy is speaking to ultimately benefit more.
24. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the status of the child focus of the national action plan on housing and homelessness; the number of children currently being supported; the ways in which, for example, transport, more nutritious meals, if living in hotel accommodation, and so on are being supported; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33331/16]
As the Minister is aware, a few weeks ago there were almost 2,500 homeless children throughout the country, with over 2,000 of those in Dublin alone. In July, the Minister held a summit of agencies working on the front line with homeless families, including Focus Ireland, the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, ISPCC, and Barnardos. She promised a whole series of concrete and costed supports, including free transport, more nourishing food, crèche placements and so on. Last month we heard from Focus Ireland that the Minister has delivered on virtually none of those steps and my experience representing families is that the Minister has delivered nothing.
I appreciate Deputy Broughan's question.
Homelessness among children and families remains a serious problem. In September there were 1,173 families in emergency accommodation, including 1,568 adults and 2,426 dependants. I am committed to supporting the implementation of Rebuilding Ireland: the Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness. We have made some progress in this regard, but more remains to be done.
The Dublin Region Homeless Executive, DRHE, is working to provide free public transport for family travel and school journeys for those homeless families in the Dublin region that are residing in hotel accommodation. Each family is being given five 24-hour family Leap cards, which will be valid for use on all Dublin transport systems, allowing for family days out at weekends or during holiday periods. Distribution of the family cards is almost complete. This will be quickly followed by the distribution of the school journey cards.
My Department is funding research, commissioned by Focus Ireland, to identify issues regarding access to food and potential nutritional impacts on families in emergency homeless accommodation. My Department is also enhancing access to early years services for homeless families through a new community child care subvention scheme for homeless children. It will provide part-time childcare for children up to six years of age. It is planned to launch the scheme next January.
Also, I recently secured the agreement of the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government that the provision of accommodation for young people leaving State care would be eligible for funding under the capital assistance scheme operated by his Department. My Department and Tusla will work to ensure that any accommodation proposed, and ultimately delivered, will be provided with the appropriate levels of protective factors for the young person making the transition to independent living.
I welcome the Minister's comments about transport and the weekly child care subvention.
The Minister promised action on developing a voluntary safety guidance code for hotel staff. She was to work with the ISPCC to develop this code. Children are using locations where there is no Garda vetting of staff or visitors who are coming and going. Not that long ago there was an assassination in one of the large hotels on the north side where homeless children live.
The Minister also promised to co-ordinate with the Department of Health to provide additional child care support workers to work with the homeless children and to develop care plans. How many of those support workers has the Minister and the Department of Health managed to put in place? She also promised action on supports for children with disabilities as well as action on the particular problem of families fleeing domestic violence.
I note what the Minister has stated about nutirition but the reatlity is that people often depend on McDonald's, Burger King and so on because they have no cooking facilities. This is one of the reasons we need urgent action.
Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire had a supplementary question.
It was recently reported that Edel House, a shelter in Cork that deals with women and children, had to turn away 281 children last year. This reflects how serious the problem is in Cork. A number of families have told me that they are worried about registering as homeless, particularly those that are in contact with Tusla, be it for whatever reason. Good families, doing the best for their children, are worried about registering as homeless and availing of emergency accommodation because they fear how Tusla will view it. Will the Minister assure the House that the Department and Tusla will contact emergency homeless services and ensure that they will make every effort, in all circumstances, to house family units together?
The Minister has a minute to conclude.
On Deputy Broughan's questions, the DRHE is best placed to advise on a safety guidance voluntary code for child safety in emergency accommodation. I understand it has worked with Tusla and that there is a draft national quality standards framework to cover this area of the action plan and that an information guidelines booklet is also being developed in line with this objective. We are also working with the DRHE, which is in the process of identifying the most appropriate accommodation setting for services assisting pregnant women who are homeless.
It is intended that a model of extended service provision will then be developed and most likely rolled out on a phased basis once such premises have been secured. We have provided two workers to work with Focus Ireland in assisting families in emergency accommodation. In terms of the budget for 2017, I am working with Tusla on identifying if we can provide additional support workers in that regard. I am also discussing this matter with the Department of Health.
To respond to Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire's question, I can give the assurances he seeks.
I thank the Minister for responding to one or two of the issues I raised. The reality, however, is that at least 2,500 children will be homeless on Christmas Day. Since the Minister's appointment, the number of homeless families has increased by 80 per month. While the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Simon Coveney, has primary responsibility for homelessness, the Minister has a duty of care for the children in question. She made a commitment that hotels, guest houses and similar types of accommodation will not be used to accommodate vulnerable families and children. Is the Government remotely on target to fulfil this commitment? In the interim, is it possible that all the commitments given to the key agencies last July will be delivered?
On a separate matter, women who flee domestic violence and abuse with their children are often co-tenants or co-owners of a house, which means they find it impossible to immediately access homeless services. Will the Minister take up this matter?
The Deputy's final point is an important one which I will take up.
On the overall impact of the plan for rebuilding Ireland, I am aware that the number of children who are homeless is increasing. I am also aware of the efforts being made by the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government to address this issue. He set a very ambitious objective at yesterday's committee meeting regarding reviewing the progress made on the housing plan. There are two key elements involved in meeting the targets that have been set out. The first will be the success of the rapid build programme. Some 1,500 rapid build housing units are to be delivered by 2018. Approximately 350 such units are advancing or will be on site by the end of 2016 and a further 650 units will be initiated and delivered in 2017. This as something to do with the increase.
Another aspect of trying to reduce the increase in homelessness will be the reform of the housing assistance payment, HAP, scheme. A HAP homeless pilot has been operational since February 2015. Reforming the HAP to ensure it is more effective will result in the creation of approximately 550 tenancies by the time it is completed.
25. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if her Department is considering offering care to some of the unaccompanied minors who were removed from the camp at Calais recently; the arrangements that are under consideration for these children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33534/16]
What action is the Department taking in respect of children who were living in the Calais camp? The Minister will be aware that it is the will of the Dáil that Ireland provide accommodation for 200 such children.
As Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, I am deeply concerned by the plight of the children who were in the Calais camp, particularly the many unaccompanied minors who were at the front line of this terrible situation. I have asked Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, to review its ability to provide safety, protection and hope to greater numbers of unaccompanied children and assess the additional resources that may be needed. This work is ongoing. Options to expand our existing emergency and humanitarian supports for these young people who have no family or relatives form part of this review. While I have not had many discussions with Tusla, I have held discussions with the Immigrant Council of Ireland and Cabinet colleagues to review this country's response to the overall migrant crisis, including recent events in Calais.
It is important to emphasise that we already provide significant assistance to unaccompanied minors who arrive in Ireland on an unplanned basis. In the past five years, Tusla has taken an annual average of 100 referrals of unaccompanied children seeking asylum, with approximately 70 of these being received into care annually. Thus far this year, 104 unaccompanied children have been referred to Tusla services, of whom 58 remain in care. Tusla has a dedicated social work team for separated children seeking asylum, which provides support, assessment and care to children arriving alone in Ireland. Approximately 30% of children referred are reunited with family members or are found to be over 18 years of age.
Under the Irish refugee protection programme, Tusla has made an initial commitment to relocating 20 unaccompanied minors from camps in Greece in 2016-17. Staff have visited centres in Greece and are currently in Athens to continue the intake process for unaccompanied young people aged 16 and 17 years who have indicated a desire to be brought to Ireland. I am eager to expand our ability to make a greater commitment to these most vulnerable children.
I speak for many when I say I find it impossible to understand the reason the Government has been so slow in accepting unaccompanied child migrants and migrants in general. The Minister may be aware that when I was Tánaiste I reached an agreement with the Taoiseach that Ireland would accept approximately 4,000 people and would have the services in place to facilitate this number.
The plight of migrant children, many of whom have experienced extraordinary difficulties on the journey to Europe, speaks to everybody. I cannot understand the constant references to reviews and talking to people. While I accept the Minister's bona fides in this matter, why is it necessary to engage in constant reviews with Tusla?
Many children are in need of protection. I acknowledge that many of them have never heard of Ireland and that this may be an issue because most of them want to reach the United Kingdom. If children are brought to Ireland, will they be facilitated, to the greatest possible degree, in foster care? Will the Minister provide a guarantee that they will not be placed, alone and friendless, in direct provision centres and will not be institutionalised?
I was aware of and acknowledge Deputy Burton's work on this issue and I appreciate her frustration. I, too, am frustrated and I have expressed concern about the slow pace of delivery of the programme to resettle 4,000 refugees. While the programme has made a slow start, I understand from the Tánaiste that it is increasing in rapidity.
With regard to my responsibilities, as I indicated, Tusla staff are on the ground in Greece this week. The age criteria that will apply to the children Ireland will receive have been changed to facilitate accepting older children who wish to come here, the number of whom appears to be increasing.
Perhaps I should have been a little clearer in my earlier response. I was not engaging in reviews with Tusla but examining with Tusla how we could develop capacity and what resources would be required to take additional unaccompanied minors.
Will the Minister outline the specific steps she has taken on this issue? If we are to assist children and focus on older teenagers, as the Minister appeared to suggest, speed will be needed because 16 and 17 year olds will soon become adults. According to the census, 11% or 12% of the population are immigrants who are not originally from Ireland. Many of the nationalities represented in the Calais camp have significant communities in this country. There are, therefore, many possibilities in this regard.
We know from the work done by various UN organisations that it is possible to do this quite well and to provide children who come here with a basis for education. Many of our schools have done brilliantly on this, absorbing and integrating the children quickly and getting them to leaving certificate level.
What is the reason for the slowness in this case? While State resources are not unlimited, we have many. This involves 200 children in particularly difficult circumstances over a period of time. What commitment will the Minister give that this will be addressed within, say, the next three months?
I have already acknowledged and agree with the Deputy on the pace of this process. I have also indicated that, unbeknownst to the wider public, in any one year Tusla receives 100 unaccompanied children. That is already going on, in addition to the other commitments the previous Government worked on and negotiated. It is important to put that on the record.
To increase the capacity again, there are several items which need to be put in place, whether it is accommodation, lodging or additional social workers. That takes a certain amount of time. I am aware of the reality, as well as the concern of the people and of the House to be able to do something as quickly as possible.
26. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which she remains satisfied that adequate protection is in place to ensure early reporting and prompt action in cases of suspected child abuse, whether in State institutions, foster care or in the home; the number of outstanding cases awaiting attention; the average timescale for investigating such issues; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33514/16]
Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, holds the statutory responsibility for child welfare and protection. It is the appropriate body to receive reports relating to children at risk, whether in State institutions, foster care or in the home. Tusla provides the Department of Children and Youth Affairs with regular detailed reports on key performance and activity indicators relating to referrals and management of child abuse. I assure the Deputy that Tusla deals immediately with emergency cases, including, for instance, if a child has been abandoned or is in immediate physical danger or at risk of sexual abuse.
Each referral received by the agency is assessed and dealt with on an individual basis by the duty social work team. At the end of the first quarter of 2016, Tusla reported approximately 60% of the referrals received were of a child welfare concern. The remaining related to child protection concerns where the concern was of abuse, including neglect. Tusla refers child welfare concerns to the relevant family and community support services. At any stage, if circumstances change or new information comes to light and there is concern about abuse, including neglect, the child protection pathway is followed.
At the end of August 2016, the number of cases awaiting allocation to a social worker stood at 4,727, a 30% decrease since December 2015. The number of high-priority cases awaiting allocation was 639, a 36% decrease on December 2015. Of the 639 high-priority cases awaiting allocation, 267 were waiting less than a month, 190 between one to three months, and 182 more than three months.
The Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, inspects Tusla child welfare and protection services, statutory children's residential care centres and foster care services while Tusla inspects children's residential centres run by the private and voluntary sectors. My officials pay close attention to the findings of these inspections, follow up with Tusla and report to me on progress made.
The additional funding of €37 million which has been secured for Tusla in 2017 will provide increased resources to meet identified risks and service demands.
I thank the Minister for her comprehensive reply. How satisfied is she with the speed with which the follow-up takes place in all circumstances? How satisfied is she with waiting lists and, where reporting has taken place, of the remedial actions that have taken place? Is she aware of any need for improvements in those areas?
I indicated the percentages of decreases in the number of unallocated cases. Since 2014, a plan has been in place to ensure the processes will continue to be reduced. This is the second year of a three-year initiative to tackle the issue of child protection cases, such as, for example, awaiting an allocation to a social worker. In each case, the percentages are going down according to the plan.
Obviously, this requires additional resources. I get regular reports on the speed with which this is happening. From my monitoring of it to date, it appears it is continuing to meet its target. It will need at least another year to ensure it is properly done, however.
Is the Minister satisfied that adequate provision is now being made to ensure the minimum delays occur after a reporting of a case? Is she satisfied that there is a reporting system which will conclusively indicate that remedial action and preventive measures have been taken to safeguard the welfare of the child?
If there are serious concerns of abuse, neglect, etc., the children in question are dealt with immediately and taken away from the situation. Although they may not have an allocated social worker, that does not mean they are not being seen. There are various social work teams monitoring to the extent required. From the initial assessment, they will monitor the child's priorities and needs until the child receives an allocated social worker. I have confidence in that but, obviously, the sooner the child gets an allocated social worker, the better.
27. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if her Department has studied the figures provided by the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government regarding the underspend of Traveller accommodation budgets by all but one local authority; the consequences for living conditions for Traveller children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33535/16]
This question concerns the recent revelations that only a tiny fraction of moneys allocated for Traveller-specific accommodation are being drawn down by local authorities. This has a significant impact on all Traveller families but particularly on children. What is the Minister going to do about this? It has been a problem for several years, not just on her watch. Now that apparently we have more moneys than we used to, it is particularly outrageous that they are not being accessed.
As Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, I take an interest in all matters concerning the well-being of children. I am particularly conscious of the plight of vulnerable groups, including Traveller children, who we are committed to supporting.
The Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government has informed me that housing authorities are responsible for the assessment of the accommodation needs of Travellers, as well as the preparation, adoption and implementation of multi-annual Traveller accommodation programmes in their areas.
I am conscious that to date, just €1.729 million of the €5.5 million allocated for Traveller accommodation for 2016 has been drawn down. However, it is usual that the bulk of capital-related expenditure for Traveller-specific accommodation occurs in the last quarter of the year, having regard to lead-in times for planning, design and construction of capital projects. To ensure maximum expenditure and delivery of accommodation, local authorities submit quarterly profiles of expenditure to the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government. In this regard, I am assured expenditure during 2016 is being closely monitored by that Department. Contact is ongoing with every relevant local authority to ensure drawdown is maximised. I will work with my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Simon Coveney, to ensure this capital funding is utilised to the full.
Current funding for accommodation-related supports operates in tandem with the capital programme. Current funding of €4.3 million is being provided in 2016. Over €3.2 million has been recouped to local authorities in 2016 to date, of which €0.943 million was self-funded by local authorities from surplus local property tax receipts. A similar level of current funding will be provided in 2017.
I am pleased to note that capital funding of €9 million is being provided for Traveller-specific accommodation in 2017, an increase of €3.5 million, 64%, on the 2016 allocation. This is the second consecutive year the Traveller accommodation capital budget has been increased. Included in this is provision to assist local authorities with the costs of capital works arising from the fire safety review of Traveller-specific accommodation.
I hope the Minister is not suggesting there will be a sudden rush in the last quarter to produce Traveller-specific accommodation plans. If so, she is obviously oblivious to the fact that this has been going on for years. It was going on during the boom, when councils had a lot more money than they have now. In fact, Travellers from the Blanchardstown Traveller groups staged a demonstration several years ago outside the offices of Fingal County Council.
Let me give the Minister a few startling facts. Some 29% of the funds allocated to local authorities have been drawn down. There is no point in talking about increasing them if they are not even using what they are getting. A total of 5,584 Travellers are in unsafe and overcrowded accommodation. Five children died last year in one incident in Foxrock. Normally when people die in Foxrock, we hear a hell of a lot more about it.
Dublin City Council has drawn down only 17% of its allocation. It has no plans on its books to build any accommodation in 2017. I have checked this with Dublin city councillors. Galway has the highest number of Travellers seeking accommodation but the council has drawn down only 3.25% of its allocation. Hats off to Clare and Kildare, which spent 0% of their allocations. This is a problem that they have no interest in acting upon. It is a really systemic problem.
I share Deputy Coppinger's concerns over these issues. I have shared them for a number of years. I wish to make a couple of points on what the Deputy said. I am glad she put her remarks on the public record. I hope this will encourage the Minister specifically responsible for what we are now speaking about to be motivated to ensure, or find ways to ensure, there is a drawdown.
The Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness provides for the commissioning by the Housing Agency of an expert independent review of Traveller accommodation expenditure and the delivery of units, having regard to the targets contained in the local authority Traveller accommodation programme. That review has commenced and is due to be completed in the second quarter of 2017. The review will provide factual information and will be a key platform for the special working group to progress its work effectively, as committed to in the programme for Government. That working group will be established as soon as possible after the completion of the review.
The other point raised concerned the conditions for Traveller children, particularly regarding the accommodation issues we are speaking about. It is in this regard that my Department will have more responsibility. Things are going on in that regard.
I should also have said hats off to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, which has not drawn down any of its funds, despite the fact a tragedy took place in its area. Apparently, the Ballyogan work is under way and the money will be recouped retrospectively.
The Traveller infant mortality rate is 12 children per 1,000. That is a shocking figure in a so-called developed country. The rate is four times that of the settled population. I am sure the Minister knows the causes of infant mortality are associated with sanitation, access to medical care and access to clean drinking water. Many of the bays for Travellers do not have electricity. This is simply unacceptable.
The housing committee tried to reach an agreement whereby councils would be overridden, if necessary. This is because there is clearly a problem with councillors from a couple of the big parties, in particular, and also among other parties and independents, in respect of allowing Traveller-specific accommodation.
Could I ask the Minister about something I know she could do? I realise this may take time and it is not specifically her responsibility; it is that of the Minister responsible for housing. Could she end the education cuts that have affected Travellers, including Traveller children, since the period of the bailout, particularly in respect of visiting teachers?
On that question, I raised the matter with the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Richard Bruton.
With regard to some of the Deputy's initial comments in her final contribution, my Department allocates funding - €220,000 in total in 2016 - to a number of projects and organisations working specifically with young Travellers. The overall objective of the funding to the youth sector is to support the personal and social development of young people outside, but complementary to, the formal education system. It places particular emphasis the youth work needs of young people between the ages of ten and 21 who experience social or economic disadvantage.
In taking up my Ministry, I took the chair of the consortium on Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures, the national strategy for children and young people. A number of objectives, particularly in regard to Traveller and Roma children, have been identified. I am overseeing and chairing the consortium to ensure, to the extent that I can and within my Ministry, we move towards tackling the inequalities in health, education and other areas for Traveller children.
28. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her views on the report Childcare, Early Education and Socio-Emotional Outcomes at Age 5 by the Economic and Social Research Institute (details supplied) and to make particular reference to the finding that high-quality child care can offset disadvantages, such as social disadvantage; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33532/16]
My question relates to child care. I am sure the Minister noted the survey that showed children brought up in a child care setting with a childminder or in a crèche fare no better or no worse than children brought up by their parents. That is very important because there is much guilt felt by women in this regard. High-quality care in a centre can offset potential negative effects of social disadvantage and family factors, which I saw as a teacher in west Tallaght for many years. Children who had been in centre-based settings were more able to learn readily when they came to school.
I am delighted to see research being produced that uses the excellent data provided by the Growing Up in Ireland study funded by my Department. I aim to ensure that all child care policies are firmly grounded in evidence, and I welcome this report as a contribution to that evidence base. The study is a useful contribution to our knowledge about care of children at age three and the impacts of this care. The single affordable child care scheme will be open to children from the age of six months up to age three on a universal basis, with targeted support for those most in need at that age range, and for older children. As such, children in the age category captured by the study will qualify for funding under the new scheme. Many of them are likely to qualify for funding under current schemes.
The study's findings that half of children are in non-parental care at age three, and that more than half of these are in formal child care services, mirrors the Department's existing knowledge of usage patterns. The study also found that family financial difficulties, such as debt problems and difficulty making ends meet, were associated with poorer outcomes for children. This accords with international evidence. Findings such as this strengthen my commitment to working with the Department of Social Protection and other partners to reduce child poverty and deprivation. In relation to the impact of care, overall the study suggests that five year olds cared for in centre-based care, or indeed other forms of non-parental care at age three, are as emotionally and socially healthy as children in parental care. The study also finds that a range of other factors relating to child and family characteristics are of far greater importance for five year olds' emotional and social well-being. Some evidence that centre-based care provides more beneficial effects for children from disadvantaged backgrounds are noted in the study but the effects are small.
The Deputy referred in particular to the issue of high-quality care and the potential this has to offset social disadvantage. The study does not comment on quality of care available in Ireland directly. Rather, it highlights a need for more research on the quality of child care settings and providers and on differential impacts of different levels of care quality. I am committed to initiating a baseline review of quality in the sector as an initial step towards this.
I am glad the Minister mentioned the Growing Up in Ireland survey and the scheme she introduced in the budget because the survey finds 42% are brought up by family relatives, 31% are brought up by non-relatives, as in childminders, and only 27% are brought up in centre-based crèches, yet the scheme she introduced in the budget caters only for the minority of parents who use centre-based crèches. The difficulty with childminders is that many are not registered. Many are women who could not afford to go back to work and who mind, for a short few years, the children of neighbours or others they know.
The Government has chosen to introduce a scheme that will benefit a minority of parents directly at the expense of a child benefit increase to all parents.
Child benefit needs to be restored and there must be radical reform. The system should be tweaked to facilitate more families and made available to all families on an equal basis.
The approach that I have taken under budget 2017 is a radical new departure, but it is just a first step. A key aspect of this first step has to do with ensuring more efficient and targeted support for lower income families, in particular those with children and that are living in poverty. It will be effective in that regard over time and more effective - I agree that a policy choice was taken - than increasing child benefit universally by €5 or so on. We decided that targeting child care subsidies that, in their initial phase, supported lower income families in a stronger way than medium or higher income families would be more effective in reducing child poverty and supporting people.
I was not for a minute suggesting that it was one versus the other, namely, a choice between restoring child benefit or providing childminding services. The only way to ensure that all families can access child care is for it to be publicly provided and viewed as being important for children and for allowing women to work on an equal basis. Just as first and second level education is now accepted as being something that the State should provide, the same should be the case for preschool child care. When the Minister mentioned on RTE radio what she had introduced in the budget, she stated that she had decided to give money to public services rather than parents. The problem is that child care in Ireland is not a public service. It is utterly private. It has been outsourced to the private for-profit sector, leading to the highest child care costs and badly paid workers who have poor conditions of employment and a lack of fulfilment. An investment of €2 billion is required if we are to reach the level of service that is provided in countries like those in Scandinavia, but that would involve us taxing multinationals and ending our position as a tax haven.
I do not want Ireland to be a tax haven either. The Deputy's major point was on moving towards child care being publicly provided. Some aspects of our child care system are publicly provided, namely, preschool. A significant portion of the budget that I have delivered for 2017 will ensure that we have two full years of free preschool. Strictly speaking, it may not be public provision in the same way as our school system has developed, but funds are available for two full years of private, not-for-profit and community preschool services. In this sense, there is public provision of that aspect of child care.
29. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the plans she has in place to deal with the potential loss of substantial funding to the youth work sector as a result of withdrawal of EU PEACE funding post Brexit. [33539/16]
Baineann an cheist seo leis an ról atá ag an Aontas Eorpach i maoiniú cláracha ar nós PEACE. The programme and the EU have taken an active role in recent years in promoting peace and reconciliation. Much of the funding went to youth projects, particularly in Border counties, North and South. What steps does the Minister intend to take to ensure that provision is not lost in those counties?
I understand that funding under the PEACE IV programme has been secured until 2020. We will examine needs in the area for after that period. The EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation is a unique Structural Funds programme aimed at reinforcing progress towards a peaceful and stable society in Northern Ireland and the Border region of Ireland. It represents the EU's commitment to supporting the peace process across the region and was initially launched in 1995.
The PEACE IV programme 2014-20 represents a European Regional Development Fund investment of €229 million and will provide support to projects that contribute towards the promotion of greater levels of peace and reconciliation. The programme places a strong emphasis on promoting cross-community relationships and understanding in order to create a more cohesive society. The core objectives of PEACE IV will be to support actions that develop and deepen reconciliation between divided communities; increase tolerance and respect; promote increased community cohesion and contact; enhance cross-Border co-operation; and address the legacy of the past.
PEACE IV proposes activity in a number of areas, including children and young people. Under this theme, there is a focus on activities for disengaged young people. The programme makes reference to the potential of youth work initiatives and, in this regard, my Department has been actively engaged with its counterparts in Northern Ireland and with the youth sector to maximise the fund's potential. PEACE IV is a valuable programme and I will work to ensure that we derive the full benefits from it.
I thank the Minister for her reply, but the answer largely reads as if there has been no change in the situation since the referendum. Of course, that is not the case. When the President of the European Commission, Mr. Jean-Claude Juncker, was asked whether PEACE funding would continue after Brexit, he stated that it would not. He stated that, until the treaties ceased to apply to a member state that had notified in accordance with Article 50 its intention to withdraw from the Union, the member state would remain a member of the Union with all rights and obligations of a member state, including those related to the implementation of the PEACE IV programme, and that this would cease at the time of Brexit.
These programmes are neatly tied together in a cross-Border manner. The British Government has committed to matching funds until the middle of next year but no further. As soon as Article 50 is engaged, the future of the PEACE IV programme and the subsequent PEACE V programme is under threat. What implications will this have for youth projects in Border counties?
My plan is to keep funding in place post Brexit. That is what I will work towards. I am happy to receive suggestions from the Deputy on how to support this. He was present in the Chamber when questions relevant to this matter were directed to the Taoiseach regarding PEACE funding and our commitment to what has been secured and guaranteed. On 3 November, calls were made for proposals, with a closing date for applications in January 2017. My Department has been working with its Northern counterpart to put in place the first tranche of funds in this regard. There may be some additional challenges from Brexit, but there is a Government commitment, particularly in terms of my Ministry, that PEACE funding will continue. We are working towards that objective.
That concludes questions to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.
I am entitled to ask a supplementary question.
The Deputy is, but we are out of time. We must operate in accordance with the clock and the time allocated.
