Kathleen Funchion
Ceist:877. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the total income for the early years' sector from State spending and parental spending. [15787/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraEarly Years Sector
Ceisteanna (877)
Freagraí scríofa
My Department does not record parental spending in the early years sector.
Data from the Independent Review of the Costs indicates that approximately, 42% of service income is from parental fees with the remainder (i.e. 58%) of income provided by the State.
My Department funds childcare providers through subsidy and grant schemes. The subsidy schemes, which are administered by Pobal, include ECCE, the National Childcare Scheme, CCSP and TEC. In addition, Programme Support Payments are made to providers each year, based on the number of children they have registered on each scheme. Capital grants are available annually, and providers are invited to apply for a grant under a competitive process.
All schemes, other than the capital grant programme, are operated on a programme year basis, which opens in late August. The 2018/19 Programme year ran from 27 August 2018 to 23 August 2019. The capital grant programme is operated on a calendar year basis.
For the 2018 /19 programme year, the last programme year for which full information is available, the total income paid to childcare providers under all Department funding schemes and programmes was €488.6million. As the budget for childcare increased in 2019/ 2020, and the number of services remained relatively stable, this amount will have increased. It is important to draw attention to the wide range which lies behind the average; the range varies from services with less than 10 part-time children to services with over 200 children, many of whom are full time.
Separate data has indicated that, on average, services receive 78% of their income from the State (this includes a large number of services which are ECCE only). Data also indicates that of all income earned by providers in the sector, 58% comes from the State, with the balance coming from parental income. This data is based on 2017/ 2018 income and both State investment and parental fees have risen since then.
Childcare Services
Ceisteanna (878)
Kathleen Funchion
Ceist:878. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the average amount of income a childcare provider receives from the State. [15788/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
My Department funds childcare providers through subsidy and grant schemes. The subsidy schemes, which are administered by Pobal, include ECCE, the National Childcare Scheme, CCSP and TEC. In addition, Programme Support Payments are made to providers each year, based on the number of children they have registered on each scheme. Capital grants are available annually, and providers are invited to apply for a grant under a competitive process.
All schemes, other than the capital grant programme, are operated on a programme year basis, which opens in late August. The 2018/19 Programme year ran from 27 August 2018 to 23 August 2019. The capital grant programme is operated on a calendar year basis.
For the 2018 /19 programme year, the last programme year for which full information is available, the total income paid to childcare providers under all Department funding schemes and programmes was €488.6million. This equates to an average of €108,600 in State funding for each provider in 2018/2019 Programme Year. As the budget for childcare increased in 2019/ 2020, and the number of services remained relatively stable, this amount will have increased. It is important to draw attention to the wide range which lies behind the average; the range varies from services with less than 10 part-time children to services with over 200 children, many of whom are full time.
Separate data has indicated that, on average, services receive 78% of their income from the State (this includes a large number of services which are ECCE only). Data also indicates that of all income earned by providers in the sector, 58% comes from the State, with the balance coming from parental income. This data is based on 2017/ 2018 income and both State investment and parental fees have risen since then.
Questions Nos. 879 to 881, inclusive, answered with Question No. 874.
Early Years Sector
Ceisteanna (882)
Kathleen Funchion
Ceist:882. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the income of early years providers received from the State and parents in July and August 2019. [15792/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The Department has estimated from analysis conducted by Crowe that State subsidies represent 58% of the total income for the early learning and care and school age care sector, with the remaining 42% coming from parental fees. This is spread over a 12 month period and can vary from month to month.
My Department operates a number of funding schemes which subsidise early learning and care and school-age childcare fees, either partly or in full. These subsidy schemes, which are administered by Pobal, include ECCE, the National Childcare Scheme, CCSP and TEC. My Department also funds capital grants and Programme Support Payments to providers, which are administered by Pobal.
The funding allocated to providers in July and August 2019, for the delivery of programmes in those months, including CCSP and TEC (for service delivery in July and August), ECCE (for service delivery in the last week of August) and capital and PSP payments in both months is as follows:
July 2019: €13.6million
August 2019: €16.3million
It is not possible to state the exact amount of income to private providers from parental fees in the months of July and August.
Child and Family Agency
Ceisteanna (883)
Cian O'Callaghan
Ceist:883. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the protocols for notifying a parent that he or she is under investigation as a risk to his or her child; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15833/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The Deputy is referring to an operational matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. I have therefore referred the matter to Tusla, and asked that a direct response be provided to the Deputy.
Child and Family Agency
Ceisteanna (884)
Cian O'Callaghan
Ceist:884. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of parents per annum referred by Tusla for psychiatric assessment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15834/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The Deputy is referring to an operational matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. I have therefore referred the matter to Tusla, and asked that a direct response be provided to the Deputy.
Child Abuse
Ceisteanna (885)
Cian O'Callaghan
Ceist:885. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if Tusla will be required to publish data on child abuse cases, including the total number of cases investigated, the number of cases in which abuse was found and the number of unfounded cases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15835/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The Deputy is referring to an operational matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. I have therefore referred the matter to Tusla, and asked that a direct response be provided to the Deputy.
National Childcare Scheme
Ceisteanna (886)
Cian O'Callaghan
Ceist:886. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if guidance will be provided for parents attempting to re-register for the national childcare scheme online but who are unable to do so in view of the fact it requires a MyGovID account and public services card, which they have been unable to obtain in light of the closure of Intreo offices due to Covid-19; if the missed subsidy will be refunded; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15836/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
Parents whose children were availing of the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) before childcare services closed on 12 March do not need to make a new application arising from the re-registration process.
Those parents should contact their childcare service to make arrangements for their child’s return to childcare if they have not already done so. The services can re-register the child using the same award once that award hasn't expired. Applicants whose awards have expired will already have been informed of this and the steps to renew their award. All of this cohort have MyGovID accounts already.
For completely new applicants who already hold a Public Services Card and a basic MyGovID account, they can still create a MyGovID verified account, and thereby complete an online application for the National Childcare Scheme. Details on how to do this can be found by logging into a MyGovID basic account, available at www.mygovid.ie.
For new applicants who may be unable to follow this process, they can apply for the National Childcare Scheme without obtaining a Public Services Card, by completing a paper application form by post. For information on how to apply by post, parents can contact the Parent Support Centre on 01 906 8530, Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.
Parents will not be reimbursed for any period before they are awarded a childcare subsidy. It has always been communicated by my Department that subsidy awards are payable from the week they are claimed, and not the date of application. It is a key aspect of the scheme that all claims are paid in arrears based on the attendance of a child. As such, the child must be registered with a childcare provider and the provider must confirm that attendance. This is a key financial and governance control to ensure we are maximising the benefits of public monies and that the investment is following the child.
Further information and resources for parents are available at www.ncs.gov.ie.
National Lottery Funding
Ceisteanna (887)
Emer Higgins
Ceist:887. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 575 of 7 July 2020, the amount allocated to the discretionary national lottery funding scheme each year it was in operation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15899/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I can confirm that the Department of Children and Youth Affairs operated a discretionary National Lottery Funding Scheme from 2011 to 2014 in which grants were allocated to community groups and programmes to support children, young people and families. This scheme closed in 2014.
The records available to hand indicate that my Department’s Vote had a specific allocation of €500,000 in respect of this discretionary National Lottery funding in the years 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
As indicated previously, my Department currently has resource provisions for Youth Programmes and Services which are allocated under a distinct Subhead which is “part-funded by the National Lottery”. Under this arrangement the dedicated resource allocation contains a combination of Exchequer and National Lottery funding. As previously outlined, it is not possible for my Department to differentiate between the value of the Exchequer and National Lottery components of the funding resource.
Childcare Costs
Ceisteanna (888)
Jennifer Whitmore
Ceist:888. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if crèches are allowed to charge parents for holding a place for their child if the facility is drawing down Covid-19 funding supports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15917/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
My Department strongly encourages service providers to support parents as best they can as they re-engage with early learning and care services.
Childcare services which are reopening over the summer, and are in receipt of a Reopening
Support Payment, are not permitted to increase their fees above the level which was charged in March 2020, before the Covid closures. Where a service has reopened, but parents have decided to delay returning their children to the service, the service may charge the parents a fee to hold a place for their child.
Services have been asked not to charge a holding fee or deposit unless it is essential for the financial sustainability of the service, and if a fee is charged, it should be as low as possible.