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Select Committee on Children, Disability, Equality and Integration díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 23 Mar 2021

Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Revised)

I welcome everyone to the meeting of the Select Committee on Children, Disability, Equality and Integration. Before we begin, I remind members who are participating to keep their devices on mute until they are invited to speak and when they are speaking, I would ask, where possible, that they would have their camera switched on and be mindful that we are in public session. In addition, I remind members of the constitutional requirements that members must be physically present within the confines of the place at which Parliament is choosing to sit, namely, Leinster House, in order to participate in public meetings and I will not permit a member to participate where he or she is not adhering to this constitutional requirement. Therefore, any member who attempts to participate at this meeting from outside the precincts will be refused.

The Dáil, on 16 December 2020, ordered that the Revised Estimates for public services in respect of the following Votes be referred to this committee for consideration: Vote 40, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth; and Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. Today's meeting of the select committee will consider these Estimates and report back to the Dáil. I remind members that only matters relevant to the Revised Estimates for 2021 can be discussed at this meeting.

On behalf of the select committee, I welcome the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, and his officials here today and thank them for the comprehensive briefing material provided, and advise that this material has been circulated to members in advance of the meeting. The officials from the Department accompanying the Minister are: Mr. Dermot Ryan, assistant secretary; Ms Laura McGarrigle, assistant secretary; Mr. Conor Rowley, assistant secretary; and Ms Carol Baxter, assistant secretary.

The proposed format of today's meeting is to invite the Minister to brief the committee on Votes 40 and 25 and we will then open to questions from members of the committee. I will call on members in the order that they have indicated. We are not under too much time pressure today and we can allow between seven and ten minutes from each member. If members want to indicate at any point, I would welcome that.

I invite the Minister to make his opening statement to the committee. Can the Minister hear me okay? I want to check the sound in the remote room where the Minister and the officials are. I am not sure we can be heard. I will suspend the meeting for a minute or two while we figure out the technical issues.

Sitting suspended at 3.34 p.m. and resumed at 3.36 p.m.

I apologise for that technical difficulty. I invite the Minister to make his opening statement to the committee, and members to indicate.

I welcome the opportunity to discuss the Revised Estimates for my Department for 2021, including that of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission.

As the committee will have seen from the briefing material provided to it last week, my Department is projected to spend €1.887 billion on current expenditure and €32 million in capital expenditure during 2021. This represents an increase of €82 million or 4% over the 2020 Further Revised Estimate. In addition, my Department has a further €4.1 million allocation for capital carryover.

While my Department continues to have responsibility for policy, legislation and services in respect of children and young people, we have taken on a significantly expanded role since October last with the transfer of additional functions from the Department of Justice. We continue our existing important functions in the areas of child protection and welfare, prevention and early intervention, adoption, family supports, early learning and childcare, youth services and youth justice. In addition, we now have the additional major areas of equality, integration, international protection and disability policy. I very much welcome these added functions, and the opportunities they present to create a more blended, cohesive approach across the various areas of Government policy affected. Further, very significant additional functions will be added during 2021 when responsibility for disability services transfers from the Department of Health.

Of course, the past year has been exceptional due to the challenges of Covid-19. I would like to start by acknowledge the significant impact that the pandemic has had on the work of my Department and its agencies. The early learning and care sector, Tusla, youth services and international protection accommodation have been particularly affected.

Tusla continues to deliver front-line services despite the need for level 5 restrictions. The early learning and childcare sector has worked hard, and I am pleased that we have been able to facilitate a phased reopening of the sector in recent weeks.

In the area of accommodation for international protection seekers, we have continued to adapt to ensure that users of facilities are properly protected. This has involved identifying processes and resources including the provision of separate accommodation to prevent and deal with outbreaks of the virus; reallocating shared accommodation to reduce the number of residents sharing rooms; the purchase of PPE; enabling older residents to cocoon; and deploying staffing resources to meet the increased workload.

I would like to acknowledge the tremendous efforts made across the whole of our sector in response to the pandemic. It has been an extremely challenging time and this year will require similar intensive efforts to combat the impact of Covid.

Turning to my Department’s Vote, we have provided the select committee with details of the funding allocations across the different programme areas, along with a summary by subhead, including details of changes over the 2020 figures. In terms of Vote spending, three areas on the vote represent some 89% of the Department's allocation, namely, Tusla, at 45%, early years programmes and schemes, at 33%, and asylum accommodation accounting for 11% of the overall allocation. I will now briefly address these areas in turn.

My Department's Estimate contains provision of €858 million for Tusla, an increase of €19 million or 2% over the 2020 final allocation.

However, the increase in allocation as represented in the Revised Estimates Volume, REV, figures does not reflect the additional funding secured in the Further Revised Estimate, FRE, in 2020, which was an additional €21.5 million, the transfer of education welfare services out to Vote 26, which was down €35 million, or the movement of funding from subhead B7 to subhead A3 for 2021 in respect of prevention and early intervention, which was an additional €9.5 million.

There is also an additional €5 million in the 2021 Estimates for unaccompanied minor refugees. When these elements are taken into account, the comparable year-on-year funding increase to Tusla amounts to €66 million. In recent years, Tusla has experienced an increased demand for its services, with significant budgetary pressures resulting. The 2021 budget addresses these challenges. It includes substantial increases to address deficits in a number of key areas, including private residential care. It will allow Tusla to support partners in the community and voluntary sector in responding to Covid and service demands, particularly in the area of domestic, sexual and gender based violence, DSGBV, services. It includes €5 million to support the agency to meet international commitments to transfer more unaccompanied minor refugees to Ireland. We will provide Tusla with the resources required to meet existing and anticipated levels of demand for its services in 2021.

Another significant portion of my Department's spending is on early learning and care, which has an overall allocation of €638 million, broadly in line with the original 2020 allocation. Funding in 2021 allows my Department to continue to meet the cost of the two-year early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme and allow for additional funding of €3.6 million under the access and inclusion model, AIM, which supports children with additional needs to access the ECCE programme. The allocation for the national childcare scheme, NCS, will meet the costs of delivering the scheme and support the sustainability and operation of the early learning and care, ELC, and school age childcare, SAC, sector in the current challenging environment. The funding provided in 2021 will also provide for the full-year cost of the increase to the standard and enhanced NCS hours, from 15 hours to 20 hours and from 40 hours to 45 hours, respectively, introduced in September 2020. I have prioritised a number of initiatives to improve ELC and SAC quality, including additional funding for the early years inspectorate, the Better Start and childminding initiatives, and for the ongoing roll-out of the First 5 strategy. I have provided additional funding of €5.7 million under subhead B5 for these and service delivery costs.

The area of accommodation under our international protection services has seen an increase of just over €17 million in 2021. In fact, when compared to the original 2020 allocation of €81 million under the Department of Justice Vote, the 2021 allocation of €218 million represents an increase of €137 million. We have seen a significant increase in the numbers applying for international protection in recent years. The total capacity has increased by 19.6% from the end of 2018 to the end of 2020. Much of this increase in capacity has been met through the provision of emergency accommodation, which has been contracted on rolling short-term contracts and which has proven to be much more expensive than designated accommodation centres under long-term contract. The increased demand has stretched the capacity of existing dedicated centres and we had an unwelcome reliance on other premises such as hotels and guest houses to provide accommodation on a short-term basis. We want to cease the use of emergency facilities as soon as possible.

Members will be aware that the programme for Government contains a commitment to end direct provision. I was very pleased to publish the Government's White Paper last month, setting out a new ambitious Government policy to replace direct provision. The 2021 allocation will fund planning for implementation of the new system of accommodation and supports envisaged in the White Paper. I am determined to replace the current system with one that respects the dignity of those seeking international protection. In the meantime, the funding for 2021 will support the current system as we phase it out.

In relation to the rest of the Vote, there are a number of policy areas that will be progressed in 2021. My Department is urgently working on information and tracing legislation to allow access to birth information for adopted persons, including the birth certificate. My Department is also working on the implementation of an action plan in response to the recommendations in the final report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes. In this regard I have just launched a consultation process on the development of an ex gratia restorative recognition scheme for former residents of mother and baby homes and county homes. The scheme will form part of the Government's comprehensive response to the commission's final report.

The 2021 Estimate will allow my Department to continue to provide funding in the important areas of equality, disability and integration. These are very important and challenging areas and the Vote contains funding streams for areas such as the National Disability Authority, refugee and migrant integration, gender equality, LGBTI+ and Traveller and Roma initiatives.

The 2021 Estimate has seen an increase of €5 million for youth services to some €70 million. This level of funding will support the delivery of a range of youth work programmes and services for all young people, including those from disadvantaged communities, by the voluntary youth work sector. The youth sector is essential to reach and address the most marginalised and vulnerable young people.

I believe that the significant increase in resources under my Department's Vote for 2021 allows for the continuation of vital services to some of our most disadvantaged communities and a number of important opportunities for a targeted development and improvement of services. I will continue to work closely with all sectors and stakeholders as we strive to maximise outcomes from the resources being considered today. I thank members for their attention and I will be pleased to answer any questions.

I thank the Minister very much. I do not see anyone indicating yet. They should do so if they have any questions or comments. While waiting, I will ask the Minister a few questions myself. We have spoken a number of times about the increase in domestic violence during the pandemic or perhaps it is the case that it was highlighted more during the pandemic. It is very welcome that additional funding was ring-fenced for that, in particular for helplines operated by Women's Aid and the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre just before Christmas. Does the Minister expect the funding to continue? From his discussions with those in the sector, do they feel the funding is adequate or do they need an increase? I would welcome the Minister's comments in that regard. For the first time in Irish society, people are a lot more educated on domestic violence and perhaps how to identify if a friend or family member is in need. It would be great if the funding could continue.

Do we have an idea of the number of children with disabilities currently availing of the AIM programme? Does the Minister consider that it is working? Are we seeing an increase in children with disabilities since AIM has come into the system or do we need to look at that?

One issue has been raised a number of times. Given last year's lockdown and the situation this year, has consideration been given to providing additional time for children under the ECCE scheme? I accept there is an over-age exemption, but will an exception be made because of Covid and its impact? Is there a possibility that will happen?

Subhead D relates to positive actions for gender equality. We are in the evaluation period of the National Strategy for Women and Girls 2017-2020. Has a successor strategy begun? I would welcome the Minister's view on that, given that in recent weeks there has been a lot of discussion on gender equality and issues have been raised about the reality on foot of International Women's Day. We are learning more and the issue has been highlighted a bit more and it would be good to continue to build on the work. I would like to hear his opinion on a new strategy, given that the period from 2017 to 2020 has ended. I invite the Minister to respond to my comments and then I will bring in other members who have indicated.

I will take those questions. We secured a very significant increase in DSGBV funding. Additional money went to Tusla and it then allocated significant additional funding. Additional core funding of €2.7 million was provided, bringing the core funding for the DSGBV area up to €28 million. An additional Covid contingency fund of €2 million was also provided for this year considering the particular pressures which the Chairman identified the DSGBV services as being under. I would like to continue to grow the amount of funding we provide on a capital level to DSGBV services.

The Chairman is absolutely right. One of the very few benefits of Covid for the country has been to lift the lid on the levels of DSGBV taking place across the country. We need to respond to that through the provision of services. We also need to respond through the provision of other means. As the Chairman is aware, Tusla is undertaking a review of accommodation at the moment. By April or May, we will get the result of that, which will be very important in guiding our future investment in infrastructure throughout the country. I am conscious that it is difficult to get capital funding for additional DSGBV services in new locations. I want to look at that issue. As the Chairman knows, there is wider responsibility for DSGBV services across Departments and Government agencies. That is something we committed to in the programme for Government. It is being led by the Minister, Deputy McEntee, but I have also been feeding into it.

Work is ongoing on the provision of paid domestic violence leave and benefit recognising that poverty is often one of the main barriers preventing someone from fleeing a situation of domestic violence. It would be very beneficial to provide some kind of paid leave so that people can escape these situations.

Returning to the core of the Chairman's question, I want to see continued increase in current expenditure. I will continue to engage with the sector. I have met many of the groups since I became Minister. I have met representatives of Safe Ireland, the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre and others on a number of occasions. I will continue my engagement on those points.

Regarding ECCE, we have seen that AIM has been an incredibly successful programme. That is why we have been able to allocate an additional €3.6 million this year to broaden it. After three years of AIM being operational, we will carry out a root-and-branch review of it. Certainly, the sense is that it has been an extremely successful programme. Obviously, it provides specific benefits to a wide range of children and allows them to access the ECCE programme. I would love to be able to provide supports for children also accessing early learning and care outside the ECCE format. I would like to look at that. We want AIM to continue to grow, which is why we have provided additional funding to it this year.

The issue of an additional third ECCE year for children is a difficult one. We have engaged very extensively with the National Disability Authority, NDA, on the wider question of the early age exception. The NDA has always been very clear in its official guidance to us that children leaving childcare settings and going into the primary setting should do so with their own age group. Its position is that unless there are very exceptional circumstances, that transition should go with the year group and we all know the importance of those transitions. That has not changed in light of Covid. We are not considering a large-scale provision of a third year of ECCE at this point.

In the next two weeks, I will chair a meeting of the steering committee of the national strategy for women and girls. That has been extremely important in influencing Government policy. We recently published the research paper on period poverty, which is very significant. That has at least been able to provide a context for a discussion on the issue of period poverty and the Seanad is addressing a number of Bills relating to the provision of period products. I recently issued a directive to all direct provision centres requiring them to provide free period products to everybody in direct provision. That is just one example of the success of the national strategy for women and girls. During this year we will review that strategy and plan to introduce a successor strategy focusing on many of the areas it highlighted, including the leadership role of women in politics, and other areas of business and society. We will look to continue the progress that has been made so far.

Have I covered all the Chairman's points?

Yes. I thank the Minister. I call Deputy Ward and ask him to confirm his location.

I am in Leinster House.

We are not under serious time pressure. The Deputy can have between seven and ten minutes.

I do not plan on taking too much time today. I thank the Minister for his contribution at the start. I know the Chairman already spoke about domestic violence, which has been very prevalent. In several meetings and engagements with community-based services, I have heard that they have seen an increase in the number of victims of domestic violence presenting. I am talking about some of the non-traditional supports. Those running youth services, for example, are hearing from young people who access their services that they see much more of it at home. Those running the family resource centres have also highlighted an increase in it. I ask the Minister to give an overview of the increase in expenditure in programme A. How will that contribute to targeting the needs of victims of abuse?

I am not sure if this matter comes under the Minister's remit and it may come under the Department of Justice but in response to a parliamentary question in November 2020, I was advised that more than 7,000 people had reported incidents of domestic abuse to An Garda Síochána. Some 5,500 of them were women, but 1,500 of the people who reported domestic abuse were men. I am aware that there is a programme for perpetrators of domestic abuse called Choices, which is for men, but it is not available for women who are perpetrators of domestic abuse. Does the Minister have any thoughts on that? I am not sure if it is under his remit. Are there any programmes for female perpetrators of domestic abuse? As we know, victims of female abuse can often face a particular stigma due to female violence not fitting into society's norms. Is there anything for that because it could help break the stigma?

Today I had a meeting with representatives of Transgender Equality Network Ireland, TENI, and BeLonG To to discuss some issues they have. I notice that gender-based violence, trans issues, surrogacy, assisted human reproduction, online safety and the shortcomings of women's health screening are constant and have emerged as core issues over 2020 and 2021. How is the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth keeping its finger on the pulse in respect of these issues?

TENI also raised the issue of the access to services for young trans people who are looking for them, particularly access to child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS. Seven recommendations were laid out in a report in 2020, none of which has been implemented yet. Does the Minister have any feedback on that? I appreciate that it might not come under his remit.

The Deputy asked about additional funding, which is related to a question the Chairman asked earlier. Tusla got an increase of about €66 million. We have also allocated an additional €4.7 million to services relating to domestic violence, of which €2.7 million is core funding. That gives it €28 million in core funding. We have also provided an additional €2 million just for this year to meet Covid costs over the year. It has total funding of €30 million for this year, €28 million of which is core funding that will be repeated in 2022.

I will be trying to grow that and I am committed to increased investment. Domestic violence is being reported more. I do not know if the incidence is increasing or if it is because people are coming forward more. In any event, it is important that people have confidence to come forward. We need to do more to make it easier for victims of domestic violence to come forward and to support them in doing so.

This ties in to the second question. Members have probably heard of the O'Malley review into the journey of victims of sexual crime published late last year. It was commenced subsequent to the Belfast rape trial and the discussion on how we treat victims of sexual crimes here. That was a significant body of work undertaken by Mr. O'Malley. The response to it is being led by the Department of Justice. One element of involves Tusla, in conjunction with the HSE and the Department of Justice, mapping out the services that are available to victims of sexual crime. Often this may include someone in circumstances of domestic violence. That will not always be the case but it is certainly relevant. The mapping exercise will be useful in identifying where there are gaps in service provision throughout the country. There are 16 rape crisis centres but not all areas of the country are served to the same degree. Getting that information will be important so that we can guide where we target resources in future.

Reference was made to the specific issue of male victims of domestic violence. That is a significant issue and it is important that it is raised. I met representatives of the charity representing male victims of domestic violence in January. We had a useful discussion during which they raised the issue of programmes to support women. The issue of female perpetrators of domestic violence was also raised. I cannot remember the full details now but perhaps I can get back to the committee on it. There is ongoing work in that area. We support the NGO in question and recognise its important work. Violence against men in a domestic setting should not be forgotten in this discussion.

It was great to hear of the engagement with the Transgender Equality Network Ireland and BeLonG To. Both organisations are represented on the national LGBTI+ inclusion strategy committee. I chair the co-ordinating committee of that group. We had a useful meeting last week. The strategy is divided into different pillars. Last week's pillar covered safety and society. Among the issues discussed were violence and hate crimes. There was a detailed update from the Department of Justice on the hate crime legislation on which the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, is working. The Minister intends to have the heads of Bill ready after the Easter recess. That important legislation will benefit LGBTI+ and trans people. It will deal with hate crime on the basis of race, gender, disability and a whole range of other areas. This is the type of legislation that Ireland has lacked for far too long.

Another point was raised on surrogacy. Today, I brought to Cabinet a review of the special rapporteur on child protection, Dr. Conor O'Mahony, on surrogacy laws in Ireland and what needs to be done. The report has to be published and brought to both Houses of the Oireachtas. I understand we will do that later today. The process will result in significant legislation. We discussed the matter at Cabinet today. Legislation is being worked on in the Department of Health. The Taoiseach indicated we needed to prioritise this area.

Surrogacy is a great gift to parents who are not in a position to conceive. It is also, however, a complicated area and one that needs regulation because it could potentially be exploited in a negative way. It is important to have a strong, fair and robust regulatory framework.

I raised a point relating to access to services for young trans people. The HSE produced the trans gender identity services report which makes seven recommendations. As far as I am aware, none of these recommendations has been implemented. Is this a matter for the Department or the Department of Health? I am unsure as to where this falls. Does the Minister have any thoughts on that or any input into it?

My apologies; I meant to comment on that. The issue of the regulation of trans healthcare falls across the Department of Health and the Department of Social Protection because the Gender Recognition Act falls within the latter Department. Direct service provision falls under the Department of Health. I am aware that the link between several Irish hospitals and UK healthcare providers in this area has broken down in the past year. We discussed this at the strategy meeting last week. A new endocrinologist is in the process of being hired. There are new supports on the mental health side of things as well. I am being honest in saying this is progressing slower than I would like. As I have said, the endocrinologist and clinical psychologist positions are now being filled. That will be significant in creating a new nucleus of service provision in Ireland. There is more to do in this sphere, undoubtedly. Maybe it is a matter on which we can engage later in the year.

Deputy Murnane O'Connor is next. I ask her to indicate her location.

I am here in Leinster House. My thanks to the Minister. I welcome this budget. It is important because everything we spoke about today relates to vital services. We need to ensure funding is available. This funding is always important but it has been especially important in the past year when so much has happened with Covid-19 and everything else.

I note one of the sections under childcare referred to a high-level goal of making childcare more affordable. This issue has been raised with my office. Many people want to know how we can achieve that goal. I know the Minister is working on it but we need to do more work to address it.

My second question relates to a study by Alcohol Action Ireland and University College Cork. The report found that approximately 200,000 children are living in households impacted by alcohol use with a further 400,000 adult children coming from such homes. The report recommended mandatory training in schools to recognise pupils who are experiencing trauma at home. What are we doing with that training? Is that provided for by the Minister in the Estimates? What funding is available for that important task?

Schools are focusing on well-being and I welcome that. Are we giving them the right resources? Will the Minister address the issues of early learning care, school-aged childcare and Covid-19 related supports? I am concerned about these issues.

It is clear from the other questions asked that many issues now cut across Departments. We go to one Department for one thing and to another for something else. We need to ensure when we are putting budgets that there is a working group that works with all the Departments. If I go looking for information, I find I am often told I have contacted the wrong Department and I should go elsewhere. That is very important, especially now with childcare. The Minister might come back to me on that.

The third issue I raise relates to Tusla. I welcome the €66 million in additional funding the Minister said he has provided. I am working with the Minister on a case involving funding near my home town. We spoke about domestic violence and so on. It is important that funding is provided now because we have such a large budget.

While we welcome that there is such a large budget, it is important in small areas like mine that services be kept going and there be no cuts. We have seen an increase in domestic violence over the past year, or as was mentioned, perhaps it has been highlighted more. It is important that we ensure that the resources go to those areas that need them. Will the Minister consider this point? It could be an issue.

The Minister mentioned how disability services were moving into his Department. That is welcome, as it will be important that the services under his aegis work together. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and the Minister will work well together.

The Minister discussed mother and baby homes, county homes and how he and his Department were working on adoptees being able to access their information. The 22 recommendations must be acted on urgently. It is important for survivors that, when they want to access their own information, we will have provided legislation to provide that access. We must pass that legislation and the 22 recommendations should be worked on straight away. From meeting the Minister, I understand how committed he is to doing all of this. Will he revert to me on the matter?

There is a further issue that might affect us in the long term. There has been a shortage of social workers, with fewer graduating. That is a concern. Perhaps the Minister will be able to give me some information on it.

We are going through the Covid pandemic, children have been at home and parents have been excellent at home schooling. The past year has been difficult for everyone. Proper funding must be provided to where it is needed now in order that we do not revert to the Minister in six months' time saying that certain areas are not accessing funding under his large budget.

I welcome the Minister's budget. It is a very good one and will help. We must work as much as we can to ensure that the services that need funding get it.

Does the Minister wish to respond to those points? Those relating to training and schools probably fall under the remit of the Department of Education rather than his Department, but perhaps he could discuss early years services and so on.

I will try to address Deputy Murnane O'Connor's questions. Affordability is essential and something on which we want to focus. The issue was raised on the doorstep at the last general election. As the Deputy knows, we are concluding a major piece of research on the funding model. Government policy, which will bind future Governments, has committed to a much greater and continued increase in investment in childcare. We will spend €638 million this year. That is a significant amount. We know that we must increase it, but we must also ensure that it is providing benefits, affordability and high-quality childcare that is accessible. Our funding model group, having looked at best practice around the world, will guide us in the best way for the State to ensure that this significant investment is delivering on these three objectives. The group is meant to report at the end of this year but I have asked that it bring forward some of its papers to this summer to inform me and my Department as we go into the Estimates process for 2022. I would like to begin some of this work in budget 2022.

Regarding quality, we all know that ensuring childcare professionals are well paid is important. That is why I was happy two weeks ago to write to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment asking it to create a joint labour committee, JLC, between employers and childcare professionals so as to start the process of setting a wage structure. We all understand that childcare professionals, who have always done amazing work, but particularly so during the pandemic, are not being paid enough. It is an almost entirely female workforce. We need to address this issue and the JLC would be an important step towards doing so.

Overall policy for schools falls under the Department of Education. However, my Department has engaged with Alcohol Action Ireland on its Operation Encompass project, which is one of the tools it uses to enhance awareness among children and young people of alcohol abuse and its links with domestic violence. That work is being led by the Department of Education but we have been engaging with it. It is an important issue. In particular, the link between alcohol abuse and domestic violence is one that we all understand well.

Providing ongoing funding for all domestic violence services is critical. In 2020 and 2021, Tusla allocated a specific fund to meet additional contingencies during Covid. In some places, this saw an additional workforce. Elsewhere, it involved IT upgrades as services moved online. It was used almost everywhere for PPE. In some places, it was used to pay for additional accommodation because existing accommodation units had to be reduced to allow for social distancing. I am aware of the case that the Deputy cited. The committee's Chairman, Deputy Funchion, and my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, are also well aware of it. My understanding is that work is ongoing at the highest levels within Tusla to resolve the case. We hope to see an engagement. Many Deputies have contacted me about this issue. I will continue listening carefully to service providers in the domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, DSGBV, sector, but my understanding is that there is a general degree of satisfaction with the 2021 budget allocation.

Like the Deputy, I am looking forward to the transfer of responsibility for disability services this year. I work closely with the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte. While taking on responsibility for disability services can create synergies where children are concerned, we will be taking responsibility for all disability services from children onwards. It is a big challenge and will double my Department's budget, but we are excited about getting involved in it.

Information and tracing are priorities for the Department. My officials and I had a good meeting with the Attorney General and his team on the legislation last week. We discussed what approaches could be taken. It will be the end of this month or early April when I bring to the Cabinet proposals for the heads of a Bill. Following the Cabinet's approval of those heads, we will bring them to the joint committee for pre-legislative scrutiny. Undoubtedly, all of the Deputies and their colleagues from the Seanad will engage in that. Subsequently, we will bring the Bill to the Dáil. It is a priority for me and I do not want to delay it in any way. We are taking a different approach to it. The drafting of the full heads of a Bill in just two or three months is ambitious but we will achieve it.

At the same time, we will continue working on the other 21 recommendations. I touched base with the team in my Department about a review of how we were getting on with each of the 22 recommendations. As the Deputy knows, the public consultation on the restorative recognition scheme will remain ongoing until 31 March. In that regard, we are trying to balance putting the consultation out to people and getting their views on what the scheme should deal with, while also moving quickly. As every member of this committee has stated, many of the people involved are of an age where they cannot wait a long time for a restorative recognition scheme to be devised.

For many years, Tusla was losing social workers year on year. In 2020, however, it had a net gain of 129 social workers. That is positive. The committee may have seen in recent days that Tusla announced a scheme whereby it would write to all of this year's graduating class offering to engage with them in advance of their graduation about potentially giving them interviews and jobs following registration. This is another example of how Tusla has seen that there is considerable demand for social workers in all areas. Tusla needs them and is taking active steps to try to secure as many of the graduating class as possible. However, we need more social work positions in third level institutions across the country. I have spoken to the relevant Minister, Deputy Harris, about this matter and will continue to engage with him.

I thank the Minister for coming before us today and talking us through the Estimates. My questions cover the framework. I will start with youth organisations. I know there was a €5 million increase allocated to those but young people have been particularly hard hit during Covid and there are many who would have disengaged with the education system and from their social circles and are in real need of supports. Does the Minister think the €5 million increase is sufficient? Are there any opportunities? Would he like to expand on that?

In respect of direct provision, the Minister spoke earlier about period poverty mechanisms and measures, which are really welcome. When I think about period poverty, it is reflective of a poverty within the system - that women are not in a position to afford the basic fundamental essentials for themselves. I know the Minister has proposed very significant changes for the direct provision system, which are welcome, but until they are in place, will there be additional funding or measures for people in direct provision outside the period poverty measures? Obviously, we all recognise that direct provision is not a system we want and one that requires fundamental reform but it will takes years for that fundamental reform to happen. Is the Minister looking at measures in the interim?

The consultation in respect of the restorative recognition scheme about which the Minister spoke is up at the end of the month. He said he needed to move quickly with it because in many instances, we are talking about older people. Has a budget been set aside for any financial redress payments? I did not see it in the Estimates. Is there anything there for that or does the Minister anticipate that it would be next year before anything like that is sorted if that is what was needed?

Regarding the childcare sector, there was no breakdown of Covid supports within the Estimates. It would be interesting to see that breakdown. Obviously, we have not gone back fully. When the payments that go out to early education workers are suspended, is there any analysis by the Department of the impact of that suspension? I know quite a number of early education workers were put on the pandemic unemployment payment. It was a key issue for the Minister and Department to maintain that connection between the provider and the staff but, unfortunately, that did not seem to happen. I think 4,500 childcare workers were receiving the pandemic unemployment payment. We do not know at this point whether they will go back into the sector or whether that linkage has been broken to the point where it is irretrievable be it through the fact that they have got another job or will not go back into the sector. Has there been any analysis by the Department of that? Does the Minister expect that a significant number of staff will not go back into the sector? Does he have any contingency plans in case that happens? It would probably be more to do with geographical areas as it might hit some areas more than others. Has the Minister looked into that?

In respect of D4 relating to refugee and migrant integration, there was a plan to have 2,900 resettled refugees by 2023 but even more recently than that, last September there was an agreement by the Minister involving a number of refugees from the Moria camp, in particular unaccompanied minors. My understanding is that none of those refugees has been resettled in Ireland. When people are in dire straits and emergency situations, it is unfortunate that we are looking at a six, seven or eight-month delay in resettling those children and families. Could the Minister provide us with an update on that? Have any of those unaccompanied minors been resettled? I think my last parliamentary question on it was last month so I am not sure what the latest development is.

I always want to grow the support we give to the youth sector. I was delighted to give it an additional €5 million this year. I think it had been looking for €4.7 million so we were able to go a bit beyond what the sector wanted. I want to be able to continue to support it on its current spending. We also gave additional capital supports in terms of IT grants and small Covid grants to many youth services across the country. One grant was €100, which is very small but in the context of these organisations, which are used to making a little go a long way, I know it was really appreciated when we did that last year. The additional €5 million will provide six new Your Place Your Space, UBU, services across the country. Those six have already been identified. There are an additional two new UBU services - these are the services targeted at areas of disadvantage - and they will be allocated later on this year. There will be a tendering process. There will be six services to meet existing gaps and two brand new services. Having eight new services in a year is very significant and we are delighted to be able to do that. I know the sector is under pressure at the moment and that many organisations have lost fundraising opportunities or subscriptions but the Government is providing significant additional support this year and I hope to be able to continue to do that. I continue to engage very closely with the sector and provide support any way I can.

In respect of direct provision, under the new scheme outlined in my White Paper, people in phase two who are living independently will be able to avail of an international protection support payment, which will be linked to the social welfare payment. That will be significant if they are living independently but not yet working. Obviously, we want to support them in gaining access to work and there will be significant changes in that respect. We made it clear that it will take a number of years to move to this new system. The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and I made a significant announcement two weeks ago regarding removing the financial costs of accessing higher and further education so the €3,600 cost to enter a post-leaving certificate course will be removed. This will be particularly significant because for many people, that might be more accessible or appealing than a full third-level course and might be more immediately beneficial in terms of increasing labour market attractiveness. This is a very significant measure that removes a very significant barrier in the way of those in the international protection process upskilling themselves while they are waiting for a decision. This is something I was delighted to be able to do in conjunction with the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science in addition to what I said about period poverty and access to driver licences and bank accounts. There is a range of short, medium and long-term actions we must continue to work on in this area.

In terms of restorative recognition, there is no allocation for the payments as yet. This must be subject to a Government decision. I hope to bring a memorandum to Cabinet later in the spring with regard to that following the result of the interdepartmental group process. This process is going well. It has this public engagement process about which I spoke a few moments ago. The interdepartmental group involves civil servants hearing and getting written submissions from survivors - both individuals and groups - and gaining an understanding of what they see as important. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, IHREC, has agreed to provide some information to the interdepartmental group in terms of what did and did not work well with previous redress schemes and in particular, how we can ensure that human rights concepts are central to the redress scheme being designed. I am really grateful to IHREC for its involvement. It will draw up a paper and present to the interdepartmental group as well.

I will, obviously, then be engaging with religious congregations about their potential contributions to this scheme. That is important. The bespoke medical cad will also be a part of those considerations.

The Deputy also mentioned the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, for early years childcare professions and those who were not kept on by their employers. That did spike in January and it was disappointing to see that because we put significant supports in place through the employment wage subsidy scheme. The enhanced rate available in January was meeting 80% of wage costs of the average childcare provider. I do not see any need for childcare providers to have to go onto PUP. That number has decreased and although I do not have the up-to-date figures, I can provide them to the Deputy, if necessary.

As the Deputy knows, childcare is reopening on a phased basis and the ECCE scheme is now fully open. It will close for a couple of weeks over Easter and early learning and school-aged childcare will kick back in from 29 April. It will probably be after Easter when the entire sector is reopened and that will probably be our best chance to reassess needs and longer-term losses.

I know there was an article in some newspapers approximately two weeks ago that discussed the risks of extensive closures of services. From my engagement with parents and the advisory council that talks to its providers, my sense is that parents want their childcare services back and will continue to use them. The Deputy alluded to the areas in which they are located and that, in the medium to long term, there may be some changes in that area. Even if we see a much greater return to remote or flexible working, which we probably will, I believe that the vast majority of parents who currently avail of childcare, be it ECCE, wider services or school-aged childcare, will continue to want to do so. We will continue to support that sector in what might be an evolving situation. We will continue to offer supports to the sector.

The Deputy also mentioned unaccompanied minors. Unfortunately, level 5 has meant that there have been major restrictions on our ability to engage in terms of unaccompanied minors or the wider Irish refugee protection programme, IRPP. We brought over a group of 165 Syrian refugees from camps around Beirut in Lebanon in November. I met them at a hotel in Santry after they had done their quarantine. It was an amazing experience to meet all those people, particularly the children, all of whom were translating for their parents and who were excited about starting life in Ireland. That was the most recent consignment of refugees who arrived under the IRPP.

Next week, we hope to send a group from Tusla and the Garda to Greece to begin the process of bringing 14 unaccompanied minors to Ireland. As the Deputy knows, when the fire in Moria took place, we only had the capacity to bring over an additional four refugees because of budgetary issues. We secured additional funding so that we now have capacity to bring over 14 refugees, who have been identified. There was a significant issue on the EU side. The EU changed the manner in which it was deciding who could qualify as an unaccompanied minor to be taken by member states. That caused a delay in October and November and, when the higher levels of lockdown took place, journey were not taking place. Tusla officials will be going over to Greece in the next week to, we hope, bring over 14 identified unaccompanied minors. We have put in place a range of supports in terms of private residences. We are also looking at developing a new fostering scheme specifically for families fostering unaccompanied minors. These children are usually a good bit older than other children entering foster care. We will be looking to bring over more children. We have an existing commitment to take 28 children and we need to meet that. We are hoping to bring over 14 unaccompanied minors in the near future but we now have the funding to meet that full commitment of 28.

It was great to get €5 million in this area but it does not go a long way. We are putting in place an extensive range of supports for these young people, as is appropriate and correct. It is money well spent but it is costly and that is why €5 million gives us provision for a number of young people in the 20s or 30s.

On behalf of the committee, I thank the Minister and his officials for attending and dealing comprehensively with the questions from the committee. I know that some of the questions technically fell outside the remit of the Revised Estimates but, in general, it was a good discussion. The Minister might keep the committee updated on any of the recommendations from, or negotiations with, the Labour Relations Commission or how that progress is going. We would all be interested to hear that and we welcome the fact that the process has started.

I should have said at the start of the meeting that we received apologies from Deputy Sherlock.

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