I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, to the House.
Adjournment Matters
Care of the Elderly Provision
I apologise to the Minister of State because I did not realise this matter would be taken so soon after I raised another issue with her last Thursday. On this occasion, I am seeking clarification with regard to changes that are being made in the area of elderly care. I have raised this subject with the Minister of State previously. It is back on the table now. I am proposing the establishment of a task force that would involve all the parties involved in this sector in a consultation process. It would not be a statutory committee or anything else. I should declare an interest by mentioning that Nursing Homes Ireland, which has raised this issue with me, was the body that nominated me to run for the Seanad on the industrial and commercial panel. While the members of the association are very appreciative of the fact the Minister of State has met them regularly, they feel there is a gap in this regard. This issue has been raised with me by a number of other organisations as well. The association has suggested that a task force could be established to meet, perhaps every six months at the initial stage, and go through the issue of the long-term planning of elderly care. I am not talking about elderly care in nursing homes. I am talking about home care packages and all the support services that will be needed by a growing number of people as time goes by. We need to work in conjunction with all the other players in this area to develop the services that give people support. That is why I requested this Adjournment debate.
I thank the Senator for raising this matter. I do not think this debate on how we should plan for the future has come too soon after our last debate.
The population of Ireland, like that of many other countries in Europe, is ageing rapidly. It is estimated that the number of people over the age of 65 will increase by nearly 220,000 over the next decade. This means that by 2024, there will be approximately 800,000 people over the age of 65. It is estimated that the number of people in the oldest cohort, those over the age of 80, will increase even more significantly, by approximately 42%, or 60,000, during the same period. These changes will have significant social and economic implications at individual, family and societal levels. The challenges arising from the ageing of our population can be met if we plan effectively to ensure the necessary adjustments are made over time to services, mindsets and the structure of our society as a whole. We have done a lot of work in this respect to prepare for the future. We have published the carers strategy and the national positive ageing strategy. The national dementia strategy is at an advanced stage of preparation. These strategies have been informed by extensive consultations with stakeholders, including the bodies mentioned by the Senator. The positive ageing strategy contains a large number of action areas relating to older people's participation in society, health and social care provision, financial and physical security and the need for an evidence-based approach to making policy. Preparations are in train for the implementation of the strategy.
Of course there are some areas in which more work is needed to decide how best we can meet the real challenges that face us. As we address these areas, we will be happy to hear the views of all concerned. The views that are expressed and the proposals that are made will be carefully considered on their own merits. As always, our priority will be to ensure the best outcomes for older people and taxpayers. We are pursuing an ambitious programme of reform for our health sector, for example, by developing and reforming how we provide social care and care for older people. The priority for 2014 is the development of an integrated model of care, with a strong emphasis on home care and community care. It is in that context that, at a policy level, we are looking at how well our current model of provision meets the needs and wishes of older people. Accordingly, the review of the nursing home support scheme, which was the subject of an extensive and structured public consultation process, will consider how we balance residential care with care in the community and whether this needs to be adjusted to better reflect what older people want and to deliver better outcomes for all. The review will be published in the coming months.
I assure the Senator that planning for future services will continue. It will be fully informed by the views and concerns of all stakeholders. All positions will be considered in a balanced and objective way to achieve the optimal outcome. I recently met representatives of Nursing Homes Ireland. It was a successful, open and frank meeting. Everyone agreed that there will be a deficit in the number of beds that will be necessary in the future. We discussed the type of community-based care structure that will need to be in place. We agreed at the meeting to develop an overarching plan to cater for the needs of the population as we age. This will involve elements of the various strategies we have already developed. It was also agreed that all the stakeholders - nursing home providers and other public and private service providers in community and long-stay care - will talk to one another with everyone's views being taken on board. This is a very positive development. It is within that type of planning that we will be able to consider what type of interaction will be necessary into the future. I hope my comments have been of some help to the Senator. I thank him again for raising the issue.
I thank the Minister of State for her comprehensive reply. I was particularly pleased to hear her closing remarks. Everyone agrees that the only way forward is to work together. All the people involved in this area want to work together and with the Department and the HSE to make sure plans are drawn up properly and carefully to ensure the best possible services are available for everyone who needs them. I thank the Minister of State again for her response.
I should have added a caveat to what I said about the recent meeting. It was agreed at the meeting that the policy element of all of this has to remain within the Government. Of course, Governments always take on board the views of others when developing policy. I thank the Senator.
School Completion Programme
I welcome the Minister, Deputy Charles Flanagan, to the House.
I welcome the Minister and congratulate him on his recent appointment. I do not think I have had an opportunity to do so publicly before now. Last Thursday evening, I attended a meeting with the dedicated people who are involved in school completion programmes in the Dundalk and Drogheda areas of County Louth. We all know about the fantastic service these vital programmes give to children who would otherwise be at risk of dropping out of education. As a former teacher, I have actively witnessed the huge benefit of school completion programmes. Indeed, I attended a summer literacy course that was offered at a national school in the Dundalk area and witnessed the valuable work that was being done there. I commend all involved. The attendance at last Thursday's meeting, which took place at the same time as a huge World Cup match, demonstrated the dedication of the people and how deeply they feel about the whole idea of school completion programmes.
I wish to ask the Minister about the letter they received signalling a proposed cut of 6.5%. In the past five years there have been immense cuts to the school completion programme. We see the importance of DEIS schooling, which is apparent from the recent press statement from the Minister on how DEIS is working and how school completion programmes are helping to assist young people to stay at school. Approximately 1,136 pupils are targeted in the Louth area for the school completion programme, which is vital for them.
I understand the Child and Family Agency has not yet finalised its proposals for funding of school completion programmes. The co-ordinators and educational partners are right to push the issue before it is too late and the proposals are finalised. I contacted the Minister’s office last week, following receipt of the invitation to the meeting, as that was one of the proposals signalled.
If we deal with the situation early and examine the effect of the proposed cuts, the matter can be addressed. I am aware that once the proposal for funding is finalised by the Child and Family Agency, the school completion programmes will then formulate their retention plan or service plan. We have time to address the issue before programmes will be asked to further scale back their services and children are adversely affected, which is what will happen. The valuable after-school, in-school and holiday work that is done will all be affected.
I understand the ESRI is undertaking a review of the entire school completion programme. Will the Minister provide an update on it and when it is expected to be published? I would also appreciate if he would please outline the future policy for school completion programmes and the engagement he had to date with the providers on the issue.
I appreciate there are many considerations and decisions. Those who work in the school completion programme fully understand that cuts had to be made but they must be weighed. I wish to highlight the matter at an early stage when we have time to address the issue before it becomes a much larger problem. We must ensure that we protect DEIS initiatives to provide the best outcomes for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children.
One point made at the meeting last week is that it costs an average of €90,000 to keep someone in prison. It has been proven that school completion programmes assist in keeping people out of prison. One must take into account the money that we will save in the long run if we invest the money in children and education.
I thank Senator Moran for raising this important issue, with particular reference to her area of Dundalk. I acknowledge the points she made about the importance of the scheme to children in her area.
The school completion programme aims to retain young people in the formal education system to completion of senior cycle and to generally improve the school attendance, participation and retention of its target cohort. It is a targeted intervention aimed at those school communities identified through the Department of Education and Skills' DEIS action plan for educational inclusion. It involves 124 locally-managed projects and related initiatives operating across 470 primary and 224 post-primary schools to provide targeted supports to approximately 36,000 children and young people. There are five school completion programme projects in County Louth with a combined allocation of just over €l million this year.
The programme's project model approach gives local communities the autonomy to devise innovative approaches to address the needs of young people most at risk of early school leaving. The programme is one of three service strands within the continuum of the educational welfare service being implemented by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, to support children, their families and schools. The other service strands are the home-school-community liaison scheme and the educational welfare service. The objective is to deliver a strategic integrated approach to school attendance, participation and retention to enhance the support available to children, their families and schools. Local projects work in an integrated way with the agency's educational welfare service strands, and with voluntary and statutory agencies.
School completion programme projects typically provide a range of supports which are delivered at a targeted, whole school or whole class level. They include initiatives where appropriate - in-school, after-school, out-of-school and during holiday periods. The supports include initiatives such as breakfast clubs, homework clubs, after-school supports, mentoring programmes and therapeutic interventions. Projects seek to ensure that schools have in place the appropriate procedures to monitor, identify and respond to attendance, participation and retention issues. They also provide transfer programmes to support young people transitioning from primary to post-primary school.
Since its establishment earlier this year the Child and Family Agency has operational responsibility for the school completion programme, including the allocation of funds to projects within the programme. In 2014, €26.456 million has been made available to the agency for the programme. Individual school completion programme projects are funded in accordance with the academic year, which runs from 1 September to 31 August, thus crossing two financial years. Funding is currently issued in three allocations, typically in September and December with a final drawdown in May. I recognise the importance of the scheme in the Dundalk area, as has been outlined by Senator Moran.
As with all major spending programmes, the school completion programme budget was subject to examination under the terms of the 2011 comprehensive review of expenditure. The process identified a requirement for savings of 6.5% per annum across the programme over the period 2012 to 2014. I am advised that proposals have yet to be formulated by the agency on the funding for school completion programme projects in the coming 2014 to 2015 academic year. As an initial step the agency invited all school completion programme projects to commence planning for the next cycle of the programme within the available funding parameters. The agency has commenced the detailed process of evaluating and approving the 2014-15 school retention plans for individual projects. It is anticipated that the agency will advise projects of the outcome of the process and of their allocations in time for the start of the new school year on 1 September. The agency will continue to work closely with local management committees, schools and local school completion programme co-ordinators to assist projects through the process. The potential for any changes in the funding allocated to the programme in future years is a matter to be considered in the Estimates and budgetary process having regard to the resources available to Government.
The Senator will wish to note that an operational review of the school completion programme has commenced. The objectives of the review are to identify best practice in supporting school retention, to clarify roles and responsibilities and to build upon the valuable learning and experience to date across the programme. It is anticipated that the review will assist in identifying the reforms necessary to consolidate the programme on a sustainable footing for the future and ensure that available funds are targeted to those services which provide the greatest contribution to educational outcomes for young people at risk of educational disadvantage.
I thank the Minister for his response. I am slightly disappointed as I knew exactly what the school completion programmes did. I have all the information. I also received the information in the Adjournment reply, verbatim, in a letter I received from the Minister last week. I do not just speak about Dundalk; I speak about County Louth as a whole, where last week it was reported that between 2010 and 2015 a total of €785,804 has been cumulatively lost to projects. The Tusla mission statement refers to putting the child first. We must put the child first. I plead with the Minister not to proceed with the proposed cut. Why send out letters to people and ask them to work within the current parameter? They could be cut again but nothing has been decided.
That is the reason I raised this issue for debate today as it is relatively early in the year and we have time to put in place provision so everybody will know the position. The Minister said it is hoped the review will be completed by September and that the position will then be known, but we should know the position now in June because national schools are finishing up at the end of the week for the summer holidays. We should be aware of the position in June to know what plans can be made in September and not have to wait until the end of August to find out exactly what will happen. I ask the Minister for a definite answer for these schools in the five areas that have school completion programmes in County Louth and for other schools throughout the country to ensure we have a much clearer picture of the position and can give our children the chance they deserve.
I accept the Senator's point about putting the child first. I also accept her point that investment in after-school projects such as this are, in effect, a long-term investment for the future. I advise her that the Child and Family Agency will continue to work closely with local management committees in County Louth, with schools and with the local school completion programme co-ordinators and that projects such as the one she mentioned in County Louth will be assisted throughout the process. I acknowledge what she said about the timeframe. It is important and timely that we have had the opportunity to discuss this matter in the Seanad this evening in the advance of the new school year plans being set in place to give consideration to the situation in County Louth. I hope through local dialogue between representatives of the Child and Family Agency and the school projects involved that we can meet the requirements of the young people in County Louth.
I thank the Minister, Deputy Flanagan for attending the House.
The Seanad adjourned at 5.55 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 25 June 2014.