Written Answers Nos. 110 to 116
110. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the status of the South West Kerry Family Resource Centre (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2635/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are currently 109 communities supported through the Family Resource Centre Programme which is funded by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. The Family Resource Centre Programme is a national programme with its own dedicated budget. Tusla provides core funding to Family Resource Centres to cover the employment of two to three members of staff and partial overhead costs. In 2015, Tusla provided €13.09m in funding for the Family Resource Centre Programme.
Family Resource Centres (FRCs) are front-line services rooted in the communities they serve. Acting as a focal point within their communities, Family Resource Centres provide a holistic service of child, family and community support and advocacy to all children and families in their communities. While Family Resource Centres operate an open-door policy and provide many services and development opportunities at a universal level, they also proactively target specific cohorts within their communities.
In 2015, the South West Kerry Family Resource Centre received €94,636 in funding from Tusla under the Family Resource Centre programme. This included the salary for a full time co-ordinator, a full time administrator and partial overheads.
The Centre also received a counselling grant of €5,200 from Tusla in 2015.
As the Deputy will be aware, I announced a significant increase in the funding allocation to Tusla for this year. Tusla has available to it some €676 million in funding, representing an increase of €38 million over 2015.
The increase in funding for 2016 significantly strengthens Tusla's base funding level and gives the Agency greater capacity to respond to identified demand in 2016.
111. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if a free preschool education place is available to a person (details supplied) in County Louth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2683/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraCurrently, children are entitled to one year’s free pre-school (i.e. 38 weeks during the academic year) under the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme. For the 2015-16 programme year, children who were born between 2 February 2011 and 30 June 2012 are eligible.
In Budget 2016 it was announced that, from September 2016, children will be eligible to start free pre-school when they turn age 3, and can continue in free pre-school until they start primary school (once the child is not older than 5½ years at the end of the relevant pre-school year i.e. end June). As part of the reform of free pre-school, children will be able to enrol in free pre-school at three different points in the year – September, January and April – so that they can access free pre-school as soon as possible after they reach age 3. In September 2016 children born between 1st January 2012 and 31st August 2013 will be eligible. In January 2017 children born between 1st January 2012 and 31st December 2013 will be eligible, and so on.
As the Deputy does not provide the exact date of birth, I cannot be precise as to when the child concerned can avail of the ECCE programme. However, the details and dates above should be of assistance. Further information is available on the Department's website - www.dcya.gov.ie.
112. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the status of funding for the free preschool year for a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2529/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe childcare support programmes funded by my Department are administered by Pobal through the Programmes Implementation Platform (PIP).
These programmes include the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) programme, which supports low income and disadvantaged families in community childcare facilities, and the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme providing the free pre-school provision to eligible children before they commence primary school.
Funding for the CCS programme is approved to the childcare service, for the full programme year, based on the level of service the child has been registered for on a particular designated week in October. CCS services manage their annual budgets based on the level of funding approved for children registered in the service in that designated week and therefore must be guaranteed to maintain this funding for the remainder of the programme year. It is for this reason that parents must commit to the child’s attendance with the service for the period of time they registered the child for.
If a child leaves the childcare service before the end of the period for which they are enrolled they will not be eligible to participate in the CCS programme or any other childcare funding programme for the remainder of the programme year, as it would be considered to be ‘double funding’. If, however, the childcare service is in a financial position to incur the loss of the child’s CCS funding then the service can choose to voluntarily release the funding/child from the CCS programme, in which case the child would be in a position to register for another childcare funding programme in another service.
On registering a child for the CCS programme the parent signs a 'Parent Declaration Form' confirming that all the registration details are accurate and that they are aware that, once they have registered the child for the CCS programme, they cannot transfer the child to any other service or childcare programme without the service provider's voluntary release of the childcare funding.
My Department has been advised by Pobal that the child to which the Deputy refers was registered for subvention support under the CCS programme in a participating community childcare facility. The parents of this child subsequently removed the child from the community service. As I already pointed out the childcare service may retain the CCS funding, unless they choose to voluntarily release it. However, I understand that this particular service has decided to release the funding, and therefore the child may now register for the ECCE programme.
113. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the full year cost in 2017 of increasing the capitation grant to the early childhood care and education scheme to €67.50 for the basic rate and to €78.50 for the higher rate. [2601/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraAt present, children qualify for the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme when they are within the qualifying age range which is 3 years and 2 months to 4 years and 7 months in the September of the relevant year.
The extension to the ECCE programme which was announced in Budget 2016 will allow children to access the free pre-school programme from the time they are 3 years of age until they start primary school. This measure will come into effect from September 2016. The extended provision, when fully rolled out, will mean that children will have access to free education - either in pre-school or primary school - from the age of three.
The start up date for the introduction of this new measure was decided so as to allow pre-school providers an adequate timeframe to make any necessary infrastructural or service changes and to put in place extra staff resources to accommodate the additional numbers benefiting from the programme, which is estimated to increase from 67,000 to 127,000 in a given programme year.
The extension to this programme will cost an additional €47m in 2016. The full year additional costs of this extended programme will be in the region of €114m. These costs already include a restoration of capitation fees to pre-2012 levels with effect from September 2016 (i.e. €64.50 standard capitation fee and €75 higher capitation fee per child per week).
Increasing the basic and higher capitation fees further to €67.50 and €78.50 per child per week respectively is estimated to cost an additional €14m in 2017. These estimates assume 33% of children are attending higher capitation services (as is currently the case).
114. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 510 of 21 April 2015, when improvement works will start on Carndonagh Community Hospital in County Donegal; when the new extension to accommodate the needs of older persons in the Inishowen area will commence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2528/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter it has again been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
115. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health his views on correspondence regarding the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2533/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy's question relates to service matters, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive (HSE) for direct reply to the Deputy. If the Deputy has not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days, he can contact my Private Office and they will follow the matter up with the HSE.
116. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Health the number of staff and the number of vacancies by job title, in the National Rare Diseases Office in the Health Service Executive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2537/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy's question relates to service matters, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply to the Deputy. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
