Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 November 2017
603. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her strategy to increase investment to all services and especially to children under three years of age, in view of the fact that this can be the most labour intensive and resource heavy area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50542/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy will be aware the measures that I introduced as part of Budget 2018 demonstrate my continued commitment to increasing investment in services for children including those children under 3 years of age. From September 2018 all children will be entitled to a full two years of the ECCE scheme or free preschool, as it has become known. This further enhancement delivers fully on a commitment in the Programme for a Partnership Government that is good for children, families and Early Years providers. I also announced investment to continue the childcare affordability measures introduced last September that are already benefitting 45,000 children, with 24,000 of these registered so far for the universal under-3 scheme, and 21,000 registered for the targeted schemes. The additional funding will ensure that the door remains open for further children and families to register and benefit from these subsidies throughout 2018. I have also recently commissioned an Independent Review of the Cost of delivering Quality Childcare which will assist me in seeking more investment for childcare over the coming years.
The introduction in September 2017 of the universal payment for under 3s (and for children who are aged 3 but do not yet qualify for entry into the ECCE Programme) addresses the issue where children under 3 years of age were the only age group of pre-school children for which no other universal State support for care and education was previously available, given that children aged 3 and older can participate in the ECCE Programme or school. The universal payment is a contribution towards the cost of childcare for under 3 years of age, given that many parents require full-time childcare for this age group. The Affordable Childcare Scheme, which will replace the existing childcare schemes, will provide for a continuation of this universal payment for childcare. In addition, it will for the first time provide higher payments for targeted subsidies for children under 3 years of age than for older age groups ( and the highest subsidies for children under 1 year old), to reflect the higher cost of provision for this age group, given the regulatory requirements on adult-child ratios. Let me also add that the issues facing childcare providers in the provision of services to under 3 years of age is one also being considered by a subgroup of the Early Years Forum.
As part of Budget 2018, I have also secured a 5.7% increase in funding for Tusla in 2018 which amounts €40.6m. The extra funding will be used to progress a number of key priorities including the introduction of mandatory reporting under Children First , addressing gaps in out of hours services and further investing in Family Resource Centres that deliver services to families in disadvantaged areas across the country. The additional investment will allow Tusla to recruit over 300 staff to respond to areas of identified risk and to meet increased demand for services. This includes resources for responding to expected increases in referrals following the introduction of mandatory reporting; management of unallocated cases and developing aftercare services. It will also allow for improvements in Tusla’s ICT systems and overall organisational structures, including governance.
