Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 October 2014
353. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the additional expenditure his Department will need to incur in 2015 and 2016 to deal with demographic pressures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40439/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs part of the estimates process for Budget 2015 I am pleased to say that I secured gross funding of €1,010 million for my Department to deliver important reform and service developments to support children and young people next year. This includes a provision of €975 million in current expenditure and €35 million in capital expenditure, which in Vote terms, represents an overall increase of €13 million over the 2014 allocation.
The Estimate for 2015 contains significant additional resources to fund the services and programmes provided by the Child and Family Agency. This amounts to €635 million, which accounts for 63% of the Vote allocation, and represents an increase of €26 million or 4.3% against the 2014 provision. While I understand that this level of funding cannot address all of the challenges, including those of a demographic nature, that the new Agency faces in doing its work, I believe that the additional funding will allow the Agency not only to alleviate the pressures on the range of services currently in place, but also to build on the extensive programme of reform across the range of services for children and services which is well underway. The balance of funding in the Vote, which amounts to €375 million, relates to a range of other programmes administered by my Department including those relating to child-care and youth services.
Demographic change and its influence on the cost of implementing programmes and services is one of many considerations taken into account in securing and finalising expenditure provisions in the context of the annual Estimates cycle. This was the case when agreeing the 2015 provision for my Department and due account will again be taken of demographic factors when my Department is negotiating its allocation in respect of 2016. While it is important that unavoidable cost increases as a result of demographic pressures are not overlooked, it is also the case that demographic changes can lead to a reduction in programme costs. For example, the costs associated with the implementation of the free Pre-School Year in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme, which is administered by my Department, are showing a marginal demographic reduction in the number of children eligible to participate in the Pre-School Year in 2015.
