Tuesday, 28 Jul 2020

Written Answers Nos. 693-712

Meat Processing Plants

Ceisteanna (693)

Matt Carthy

Ceist:

693. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if all materials, correspondence, reports and briefings regarding the two meat plants recently ordered to revert to manual grading of carcasses will be provided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19214/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1184 of 20 April 2017 governs the monitoring of carcase classification.

My Department fully endorses and supports the objective of ensuring a robust system of carcass classification and maintaining the confidence of farmers in it. To this end, carcase classification controls in slaughter plants are carried out by a dedicated team of specialist staff in the Beef Carcase Classification Section within my Department. Their remit under EU legislation is to carry out un-announced inspections to ensure that meat plants comply with these legislative requirements for classification. 277 inspections were carried out to date in 2020.

Performance of machine grading is monitored at each inspection to ensure the machines operate within tolerance at all times. As with any mechanical system, grading machines can from time to time fall out of tolerance. Where a machine is found operating outside of tolerance, DAFM instructs the factory to cease mechanical classification. When any mechanical system is found to be working outside of these tolerances, the meat plants concerned are instructed to revert to manual grading.

In this scenario, the factory must arrange for the classification machine to be serviced. When this service is completed, the Department is notified, and classification officers will proceed to conduct a further classification exercise (min 100 carcasses) to confirm that it is in working within the legal tolerances before mechanical grading is allowed to recommence.

In all cases, where a factory was instructed to revert to manual grading, manual grading is initiated, and this is advised to farmers through their remittance dockets.

Publication of details regarding factories that have been found to be non-compliant with the legislation is addressed in SI 254/2019 ‘European Union (Carcase Classification and Price Reporting) Regulations 2019’. This legislation outlines that the Minister may publish a list of factories where on-the spot fines were applied. However, no fines are applicable in these 2 cases. My Department is committed to publishing the list of non-compliant factories at the end of each calendar year.

Question No. 694 answered with Question No. 678.

Agriculture Industry

Ceisteanna (695)

Matt Carthy

Ceist:

695. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the total area used for agriculture here by sector and county, in tabular form. [19216/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Statistics on area farmed and livestock numbers are compiled by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on a regional rather than a county basis in most cases. The table details, in respect of 2019 shows:

- area farmed (Utililsable Agricultural Area) in June by region and by type of land use

- number of cattle in June by region and by county

- number of sheep, pigs, poultry etc by region

Number of Livestock in June (000 Head) by Region, Year and Type of

2019	Total sheep	Total pigs	Total poultry	Total horses and ponies	Total mules, jennets and asses	Total goats	Total farmed deer
State	5,146	1,616	..	82	9.8	8.7	..
Northern and Western	2,468	475	..	24.2	5.3	3	..
Border	1,039	435	..	5.7	2.2	1.5	..
West	1,429	40	..	18.5	3.2	1.5	..
Southern	1,476	731	..	33.9	3.5	3.6	..
Mid-West	227	200	..	11.1	1.9	1.8	..
South-East	549	240	..	12.8	0.4	0.7	..
South-West	700	291	..	10.1	1.1	1.1	..
Eastern and Midland	1,202	410	..	23.9	1	2	..
Dublin and Mid-East	905	117	..	16.8	0.4	1.2	..
Midland	296	293	..	7	0.6	0.9	..

.. indicates that the observation is missing or fall under the limit of discretion/uncertainty.

Further details are available on the CSO website.

Farms Data

Ceisteanna (696)

Matt Carthy

Ceist:

696. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farms here, within bands (details supplied), by county, in tabular form. [19217/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The CSO's 2016 Farm Structures Survey provides detailed information on the number of farms by size on a regional basis. The average farm size in 2016 was 32.4 hectares. However, farms in the Border Midlands and West region averaged 27.1 hectares in 2016, compared to 38.3 hectares in the South and East region. Data on farm size by county is not readily available.

Tables 1 provides a breakdown of the number of farms (Thousand) by farm size and region, based on CSO data.

Area of crops by region

2019	State	Northern and Western	Border	West	Southern	Mid-West	South-East	South-West	Eastern and Midland	Dublin and Mid-East	Midland
Area farmed (AAU)	4,524.4	1,516.9	669.7	847.2	2,025.7	740.0	487.9	797.8	981.8	523.5	458.3
Crops and pasture	4,002.8	1,272.6	544.5	728.1	1,829.4	695.5	467.1	666.8	900.8	474.9	425.9
Pasture	2,376.7	882.7	371.1	511.6	1,010.5	410.2	227.0	373.2	483.5	243.5	240.1
Hay	180.8	50.6	21.9	28.7	82.6	48.8	17.0	16.8	47.6	24.5	23.1
Grass silage	1,088.7	320.0	142.1	177.9	559.8	209.3	123.4	227.1	209.0	84.3	124.6
Total crops, fruit and horticulture	356.7	19.3	9.4	9.9	176.6	27.1	99.8	49.7	160.7	122.6	38.1
Beans and peas	8.1	0.1	-	-	3.8	0.3	2.8	0.8	4.3	3.5	0.7
Oilseed rape	9.2	0.1	-	-	3.5	0.9	2.2	0.3	5.7	4.9	0.8

Number of Cattle in June (000 Head) by Region and County, year and type of

Type of Cattle	Total cattle	Cows	Dairy cows	Other cows	Bulls	Cattle	Total cattle: male	Total cattle: female
2019
State	7,209	2,505	1,505	1,000	8	2,192	2,235	4,974
Northern and Western	1,736	570	172	398	3	593	548	1,188
Border	800	276	108	168	1	247	242	557
Leitrim	62	25	2	24	0	11	15	47
Sligo	111	39	8	31	0	34	32	79
Cavan	229	82	39	43	0	64	65	164
Donegal	185	62	22	39	0	62	63	122
Monaghan	212	68	37	32	0	76	68	144
West	936	294	65	230	2	346	305	631
Galway	445	139	38	101	1	167	148	298
Mayo	279	93	18	75	0	92	86	192
Roscommon	212	62	8	54	0	87	72	141
Southern	3,899	1,467	1,085	382	3	962	1,153	2,746
Mid-West	1,426	490	328	163	1	444	471	955
Clare	288	104	34	71	1	79	93	195
Limerick	438	155	119	36	0	127	138	300
Tipperary	700	231	175	56	1	238	240	460
South-East	1,035	375	277	98	1	284	316	719
Carlow	105	32	17	15	0	41	36	69
Kilkenny	365	125	94	32	0	114	122	243
Wexford	267	106	86	20	0	55	73	194
Waterford	299	111	80	31	0	76	86	213
South-West	1,439	602	481	121	1	235	366	1,073
Cork	1,093	454	379	74	1	186	285	808
Kerry	346	148	102	47	0	49	81	264
Eastern and Midland	1,574	468	247	220	2	636	533	1,040
Dublin	24	7	3	4	-	10	7	17
Dublin and Mid-East	713	221	129	92	1	271	232	481
Kildare	145	38	19	19	0	69	56	89
Louth	93	30	18	12	0	34	28	65
Meath	324	101	64	37	0	122	105	219
Wicklow	128	46	25	21	0	36	36	92
Midland	861	247	119	128	1	366	302	559
Laois	259	78	46	32	0	103	95	164
Longford	114	36	10	25	0	43	38	76
Offaly	256	64	33	31	0	127	94	162
Westmeath	231	69	30	40	0	93	74	158

Cattle results have been obtained from the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (DAFM) AIM system. Dairy cows are those kept principally to produce milk for human consumption.

Bulls used for breeding purposes only. The regional composition is based on the new NUTS (Nomenclature of Territorial Units) classification which came into effect on 1st January 2018 following an Amendment of the EU NUTS legislation.

Number of Livestock in June (000 Head) by Region, Year and Type of

2019	Total sheep	Total pigs	Total poultry	Total horses and ponies	Total mules, jennets and asses	Total goats	Total farmed deer
State	5,146	1,616	..	82	9.8	8.7	..
Northern and Western	2,468	475	..	24.2	5.3	3	..
Border	1,039	435	..	5.7	2.2	1.5	..
West	1,429	40	..	18.5	3.2	1.5	..
Southern	1,476	731	..	33.9	3.5	3.6	..
Mid-West	227	200	..	11.1	1.9	1.8	..
South-East	549	240	..	12.8	0.4	0.7	..
South-West	700	291	..	10.1	1.1	1.1	..
Eastern and Midland	1,202	410	..	23.9	1	2	..
Dublin and Mid-East	905	117	..	16.8	0.4	1.2	..
Midland	296	293	..	7	0.6	0.9	..

.. indicates that the observation is missing or fall under the limit of discretion/uncertainty.

Farms Data

Ceisteanna (697)

Matt Carthy

Ceist:

697. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the average amount of hedgerows in hectares; and the average amount of scrubland in hectares, per farm, by county, within bands (details supplied), in tabular form. [19218/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

My Department maintains linear hedgerow data in relation to a subset of farmers who have Ecological Focus Area obligations under the Greening Scheme, However, it does not currently maintain a national dataset on the area of hedgerows per county.

The information relating to scrub is currently being collated and will be forwarded directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.

The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 51

As previously indicated, this Department does not hold nationwide data on the area of hedgerows.

With regard to the average amount of scrubland per county, the following tables show the average area of scrub in hectares broken down by county and by farm size, based on the area claimed by applicants in 2020. Approximately 90,000 holdings have some area of scrub on their holding.

Please note that the number of holdings with areas in excess of 300 ha is relatively small and hence, for many headings, there are no results. It should also be noted that the average area of scrub takes account of any partial reductions applied in the Department’s land mapping system (Land Parcel Identification System – LPIS). Therefore, an area of 1ha with 60% scrub is included in the figures as 0.6 ha.

County

<100

>=100 - <200

>=200 - <300

>=300 - <400

>=400 - <500

>=500 - <600

>=600 - <700

>=700 - <800

>=800 - <900

>=900 - <1000

>=1000 - <1100

>=1100 - <1200

>=1200 - <1300

>=1300 - <1400

>=1400 - <1500

>=1500 - <1600

County

<100

>=100 - <200

>=200 - <300

>=300 - <400

>=400 - <500

>=500 - <600

>=600 - <700

>=700 - <800

>=800 - <900

>=900 - <1000

>=1000 - <1100

>=1100 - <1200

>=1200 - <1300

>=1300 - <1400

>=1400 - <1500

>=1500 - <1600

Carlow

0.86

1.14

0.88

1.15

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Cavan

0.73

1.75

16.40

3.16

1.22

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Clare

1.71

9.42

9.52

1.84

10.89

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Cork

1.18

2.30

2.65

6.11

3.11

7.68

2.24

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Donegal

0.93

1.64

3.33

3.03

0.22

N/A

N/A

N/A

6.75

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Dublin

0.75

1.04

1.23

0.99

1.48

N/A

N/A

0.37

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Galway

0.94

2.24

3.27

3.88

1.34

1.64

3.15

1.95

N/A

N/A

N/A

14.10

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Kerry

0.90

1.74

2.69

1.54

4.95

3.38

4.33

17.28

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Kidare

0.45

1.02

2.38

4.25

1.46

2.47

9.41

4.00

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

4.48

Kilkenny

0.72

1.13

2.36

2.11

N/A

1.90

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Laois

0.77

1.04

1.94

3.53

0.43

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Leitrim

0.90

2.56

2.79

2.37

N/A

14.10

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Limerick

0.77

1.63

3.92

11.47

1.16

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Longford

0.59

2.66

5.84

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Louth

0.65

1.11

0.90

1.19

4.70

1.14

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Mayo

0.71

1.41

1.39

2.41

1.94

0.71

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

3.22

Meath

0.42

0.68

1.04

0.91

2.43

1.58

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Monaghan

0.62

1.57

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Offaly

0.75

1.83

2.80

0.86

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Roscommon

0.62

1.78

2.70

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Sligo

0.75

1.74

2.28

1.66

3.83

N/A

1.09

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Tipperary

0.70

1.44

2.77

3.40

5.61

1.66

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

10.06

N/A

18.75

N/A

Waterford

1.04

1.98

3.71

3.42

2.83

1.22

N/A

6.83

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Westmeath

0.68

1.32

2.08

2.54

1.34

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Wexford

0.47

1.01

2.17

1.81

4.13

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Wicklow

0.97

1.87

3.57

2.74

N/A

0.44

10.97

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

County	<5	5 - 10	10 - 15	15 - 20	20 - 25	30 - 35	35 - 40	40 - 45	45 - 50	50 -60	60 - 70	70 - 80	80 - 90	90- 100	>100
Carlow	0.09	0.88	0.54	0.51	0.38	1.09	0.82	0.84	1.36	1.22	1.19	0.54	1.02	1.46	1.12
Cavan	0.25	0.74	0.43	0.56	0.60	0.75	0.95	0.96	1.01	0.99	1.40	1.66	1.27	2.38	2.25
Clare	0.48	1.73	0.86	0.92	1.40	1.62	1.80	1.86	2.07	2.74	2.98	4.18	6.23	6.34	9.32
Cork	0.34	1.22	0.82	0.85	1.03	1.19	1.27	1.42	1.38	1.35	1.50	1.77	1.94	1.62	2.40
Donegal	0.43	0.95	0.66	0.68	0.79	1.00	1.19	1.19	1.33	1.28	1.26	1.45	1.91	1.80	1.85
Dublin	0.46	0.77	0.64	0.52	0.71	1.35	1.00	0.93	1.06	0.58	0.97	0.82	0.70	0.50	1.10
Galway	0.41	0.96	0.67	0.66	0.81	1.14	1.08	1.29	1.17	1.32	1.34	1.88	1.65	1.90	2.44
Kerry	0.37	0.92	0.71	0.60	0.76	0.85	1.03	1.04	0.82	1.18	1.29	1.43	1.72	1.65	1.93
Kidare	0.28	0.46	0.32	0.46	0.37	0.43	0.35	0.62	0.30	0.61	0.51	0.67	0.55	0.54	1.44
Kilkenny	0.33	0.73	0.42	0.45	0.44	0.74	0.80	1.00	0.89	0.85	0.73	1.01	0.93	1.08	1.28
Laois	0.52	0.78	0.60	0.62	0.77	0.71	0.83	0.77	1.00	0.98	0.71	0.99	0.76	1.03	1.13
Leitrim	0.30	0.91	0.47	0.57	0.71	1.04	1.24	1.42	1.44	1.38	1.56	1.71	2.03	2.37	2.77
Limerick	0.62	0.78	0.53	0.53	0.57	0.81	0.86	0.63	0.97	1.02	0.98	1.04	1.42	1.76	1.88
Longford	0.19	0.60	0.34	0.38	0.50	0.56	0.61	0.99	0.81	1.25	0.99	0.77	1.21	1.40	2.94
Louth	0.41	0.66	0.35	0.52	0.70	0.40	0.71	1.00	0.83	0.94	1.05	1.48	0.67	0.51	1.18
Mayo	0.35	0.72	0.46	0.62	0.67	0.75	1.04	0.93	1.05	1.06	1.05	1.26	1.39	1.28	1.46
Meath	0.17	0.43	0.33	0.28	0.33	0.45	0.45	0.35	0.52	0.49	0.61	0.75	0.62	0.60	0.78
Monaghan	0.29	0.63	0.43	0.54	0.59	0.69	0.80	0.93	0.92	0.95	1.19	1.19	0.81	1.32	1.57
Offaly	0.44	0.76	0.40	0.58	0.65	0.61	0.98	0.74	0.94	0.79	1.26	0.85	1.05	1.17	1.94
Roscommon	0.24	0.63	0.51	0.40	0.47	0.68	0.75	0.74	0.94	0.73	1.14	0.99	1.63	1.34	1.84
Sligo	0.26	0.76	0.41	0.55	0.62	0.79	0.92	1.12	0.85	1.25	1.58	1.75	2.84	1.15	1.74
Tipperary	0.22	0.72	0.39	0.42	0.54	0.54	0.64	0.87	0.79	0.82	0.97	0.89	1.06	1.27	1.69
Waterford	0.36	1.07	0.60	0.80	0.92	0.91	0.93	0.87	1.22	1.20	1.42	1.48	1.44	1.41	2.25
Westmeath	0.35	0.69	0.54	0.67	0.50	0.61	0.68	0.74	1.04	0.87	0.88	0.82	1.13	1.08	1.43
Wexford	0.21	0.47	0.28	0.29	0.43	0.54	0.41	0.54	0.45	0.47	0.60	0.63	0.70	0.88	1.25
Wicklow	0.39	0.98	0.63	0.61	0.69	0.84	1.28	1.12	1.00	1.17	1.35	1.42	1.31	1.55	2.24

Departmental Expenditure

Ceisteanna (698)

Kathleen Funchion

Ceist:

698. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the estimated cost of paying the overhead contribution for 2021 at the rate of payment made during 2020 and at an increased rate of 20%. [18659/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

In order to support the sustainability of the Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare Sector during COVID-19, my Department launched the Temporary Wage Subsidy Childcare Scheme (TWSCS). The TWSCS provided funding towards a portion of childcare staff wages to ensure that they were retained by their employer. The TWSCS also provided a contribution towards overhead costs.

The TWSCS operated from 6 April 2020 for a period of 12 weeks and over the course of this period €19.2m was allocated to childcare services to assist specifically with overhead costs. This payment was allocated to the 3,900 childcare services that signed up to and submitted applications to the TWSCS.

Applying the 12 week payment to a full year would amount to a total estimated cost of €83.2m. The estimated full year cost of an increased rate of 20% would be €99.8m.

Departmental Expenditure

Ceisteanna (699)

Kathleen Funchion

Ceist:

699. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the estimated cost of increasing the funding to the existing sustainability fund by 10%. [18660/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

My Department oversees a Case Management process through which local CCCs and Pobal work together to assess and provide support to early learning and care and school age care services. Sustainability Funding is accessed through Case Management and is available for community services presenting with sustainability issues following a financial assessment by Pobal. Pobal co-ordinate the overall case management process with the CCC administering initial, and on-going, case management assistance. 

In Budget 2020, funding for the Sustainability and Sectoral Employment Order Support Fund for the sector increased from €1.7m to €2.2m per annum in anticipation of the potential need to provide increased support to the sector if a Sectoral Employment Order is granted this year. The cost of increasing the funding in the existing sustainability fund by 10% would result in the existing budget rising to €2.42m. 

Adoption Data

Ceisteanna (700)

Matt Carthy

Ceist:

700. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the criteria required to meet the requirements of habitual residency in the context of adopting a child from abroad; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18831/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

As the subject matter of the Deputy's question relates to an operational matter for the AAI, I have referred the matter to them for a direct reply.

Adoption Data

Ceisteanna (701)

Matt Carthy

Ceist:

701. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs his views on the case a person (details supplied); and the procedure for naturalisation in cases in which a child from another country is adopted by parents here. [18832/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

As the subject matter of the Deputy's question relates to an operational matter for the AAI, I have referred the matter to them for a direct reply.

Early Childhood Care and Education

Ceisteanna (702, 703)

Kathleen Funchion

Ceist:

702. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the cost of the wages portion of the ECCE scheme. [18989/20]

Kathleen Funchion

Ceist:

703. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the cost of the non-wages portion of the ECCE scheme. [18990/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

I propose to take Questions Nos. 702 and 703 together.

The broad components of the full cost of delivering childcare was identified in the Independent Review of Costs. The Review indicated a pattern of costs consistent with those found in other jurisdictions, including England, New Zealand and Scotland, which I identified a dominance of staff costs in the make-up of the overall cost figures. Specifically, staffing costs were found, on average, to account for approximately 70% of the cost of delivering childcare across all services, including ECCE-only services, with non-staff costs covering the remaining 30%.

ECCE providers are paid two different capitation rates. Providers with room leaders that hold a degree qualification (Level 7 or above) in Early Childhood Care and Education receive a higher capitation rate of €80.25 per child, per week, equivalent to €5.35 per hour, per child. An estimated 53.5% of ECCE providers are in receipt of the higher capitation rate. A standard capitation rate of €69 per week per child registered for ECCE, equivalent to €4.60 per hour, per child, is paid to services with Level 6 and 5 staff. In addition to ECCE capitation, funding provided to ECCE providers includes the Programme Support Payments, which total €19.4m across the full sector per annum, and AIM Inclusion Coordinator payments.

In a sustainable service, it is expected that funding related to the ECCE Programme covers the costs of delivering this Programme with a margin of profit or surplus for individual providers.

The Independent Review of the Cost of Delivering Childcare in Ireland, from which the above analysis derived, was undertaken by Crowe in 2018 on behalf of my Department. The brief included:

- analysing the current costs of providing childcare and the factors that impact on these costs;

- the development and delivery of a model of the unit costs of providing childcare that allows analysis of policy changes and variation in cost-drivers, including the potential impact of professionalisation; and

- providing an objective, high-level market analysis of the childcare sector in Ireland, including analysis of fee levels charged to parents.

The approach and methodology for this Review included:

- engagement with key stakeholders from the sector, including the Early Years Forum, provider representative organisations, the City and County Childcare Committees, statutory bodies, childcare professional training bodies, and academics;

- the administration of a survey to all centre-based childcare providers nationally, to provide the data on which the modelling tool would be based;

- the development of a cost modelling tool (and guidance document) to present the baseline cost data and enable the testing of the impact of a range of scenarios, namely changes to cost drivers on the unit costs of delivering childcare services; and

- a final report detailing the elements of the review, and the key findings.

This Review is intended to provide a robust evidence base for the further development of high quality childcare in Ireland. The outputs, including the costs calculator developed through this project are also intended to form a key input into the setting of capitation and subvention rates for future funding schemes and will be considered by the Expert Group convened to develop a new funding model.

The draft final report, cost modelling tool and guidance were subject to peer review. Arising from the external peer review, an additional piece of work was undertaken. Final outputs were received in January 2020, and preparation was underway to launch the report in April 2020. However, owing to COVID-19, its launch was postponed. Nevertheless, the data from this Review has already informed the work of my Department, in particular the Department’s funding response to COVID-19.

Childcare Costs

Ceisteanna (704)

Kathleen Funchion

Ceist:

704. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the portion of childcare costs that is made up by fees. [19048/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

An Independent Review of the Cost of Delivering Childcare in Ireland was undertaken by Crowe in 2018 on behalf of my Department.

This Review found that approximately 40% of the total income to the sector comes from parental fees. This percentage varies significantly across services. Many services rely entirely on State funding while others services rely exclusively on parental fees.

The brief for the Independent Review included:

- analysing the current costs of providing childcare and the factors that impact on these costs;

- the development and delivery of a model of the unit costs of providing childcare that allows analysis of policy changes and variation in cost-drivers, including the potential impact of professionalisation; and

- providing an objective, high-level market analysis of the childcare sector in Ireland, including analysis of fee levels charged to parents.

The approach and methodology for this Review included:

- engagement with key stakeholders from the sector, including the Early Years Forum, provider representative organisations, the City and County Childcare Committees, statutory bodies, childcare professional training bodies, and academics;

- the administration of a survey to all centre-based childcare providers nationally, to provide the data on which the modelling tool would be based;

- the development of a cost modelling tool (and guidance document) to present the baseline cost data and enable the testing of the impact of a range of scenarios, namely changes to cost drivers on the unit costs of delivering childcare services; and

- a final report detailing the elements of the review, and the key findings.

The project is intended to provide a robust evidence base for the further development of high quality childcare in Ireland. The outputs, including the costs calculator developed through this project are also intended to form a key input into the setting of capitation and subvention rates for future funding schemes and will be considered by the Expert Group convened to develop a new funding model.

The draft final report, cost modelling tool and guidance were subject to peer review. Arising from the external peer review, an additional piece of work was undertaken. Final outputs were received in January 2020, and preparation was underway to launch the report in April 2020. However, owing to COVID-19, its launch was postponed. Nevertheless, the data from this Review has already informed the work of my Department, in particular the Department’s funding response to COVID-19

In a sustainable service, it is expected that the income to services (derived largely through parental fees and/or State funding) covers the costs of delivering childcare with a margin of profit or surplus for individual providers.

Domestic Violence Refuges Provision

Ceisteanna (705)

Eoin Ó Broin

Ceist:

705. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the allocation made for domestic emergency refuges and step-down accommodation for 2020. [18159/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

In 2020, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs is providing Tusla with core funding of €25.3m for almost 60 organisations that deliver services for victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV). Tusla estimates that additional funding of some €0.75m will also be provided to DSGBV service providers this year, in order to support continuity of service during the current public health emergency arising from covid-19.

Tusla funding includes coordinated supports for services that provide emergency refuge and non-refuge accommodation to victims of domestic violence. Tusla does not provide funding for step down accommodation.

Commissioning of DSGBV services, and allocations to individual service providers, is an operational matter for Tusla. I have asked Tusla to respond to the Deputy with regard to its allocation to emergency refuge accommodation providers in 2020.

Childcare Services

Ceisteanna (706)

Gerald Nash

Ceist:

706. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the closure of a crèche (details supplied) in County Louth; if his attention has also been drawn to the circumstances of the closure of the facility; if his Department and agencies are available to assist the service to continue under an alternative management structure; the details of the amount of funding provided to the organisation in 2019 and to date in 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18214/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

On 8 July, Pobal were contacted by Louth CCC regarding this service due to concerns that the service was to close. From this date, the circumstances have been monitored by Pobal in conjunction with Louth CCC. On 13 July, Louth CCC wrote to the service to offer supports to explore preventative measures to avoid closure and look at restructuring the service in order to continue to provide childcare for parents in the community. Louth CCC also advised of the re-opening and capital funding grants currently available through the Reopening Funding package for Childcare services announced by the Minister on 10 June.

My Department oversees a Case Management process through which local CCCs and Pobal work together to assess and provide support to early learning and care services. This can include help with completing and interpreting analysis of staff ratios, fee setting and cash flow, as well as more specialised advice and support appropriate to individual circumstances. Financial supports, which are also accessed through Case Management, are available for community services presenting with sustainability issues following a financial assessment by Pobal. Pobal co-ordinate the overall case management process with the CCC administering initial, and on-going, case management assistance. Any service wishing to remain open and which requires support to do so should contact their local CCC in the first instance

Case Management support is available for services in a situation like this, and this was offered by Louth CCC. However, the final choice as to whether to engage with this support or to close are private business decisions..

In response to the above supports currently being offered, the service in question informed Louth CCC that their decision to close was irreversible as they were unable to recruit suitably qualified staff.

The amount of funding provided to the organisation in 2019 and to 22 nd July 2020 is detailed in the table:

*2020 payments listed below are to 22nd July 2020.

Programme Call	Payments in 2019	Payments in 2020*
CCS 2018	€13583.00	0.00
CCSP 2018	€10773.40	0.00
CCSP 2019	€6063.00	€5257.00
CEC 2018 (AS)	€3737.00	0.00
CEC 2018 (PS)	€6672.00	€-96.00
CEC 2019 (AS)	2675.00	2887.50
CEC 2019 (PS)	2160.00	2320.00
Covid 19- Wage Subsidy	0.00	19402.17
ECCE 2018	26502.44	0.00
ECCE 2019	19340.25	17553.69
NCS 2019	0.00	1335.70
NCS Capital	750.00	0.00
NCS TSP	700.00	0.00
Total	€92,956.09	€48,660.06

National Childcare Scheme

Ceisteanna (707)

Kathleen Funchion

Ceist:

707. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the estimated cost of increasing the subsidy under the affordable childcare scheme from €20 to €100 per child, per week. [18222/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

The estimated full year additional cost of this measure would be €81m, in a full year.

The National Childcare Scheme subsidy payments are paid weekly and are calculated by taking the hourly subsidy awarded to a child and multiplying it by the number of hours they attend a service or the maximum number of hours awarded to them per week (whichever is fewer).

The National Childcare Scheme's existing universal element allows all children aged under three years or over three and not yet qualified for the ECCE scheme, a minimum subsidy of €0.50 per hour for the maximum number of hours allowed under the scheme.

The cost of a universal subsidy of up to €100 weekly, which would increase the universal subsidy to €2.23 per hour, would be calculated by:

- establishing the number of families with children under 15 years by income bracket (data supplied by CSO)

- profiling these families by reference to the age of their children

- estimating the proportion of children in each income bracket and age range using centre-based care and

- calculating estimated subsidy rates based on income levels and age profile and

- applying estimates of the average hours used by age group for term time and non-term time

	Increase
September to December 2020 cost	€30m
2021 cost	€81m

Childcare Services

Ceisteanna (708)

Kathleen Funchion

Ceist:

708. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the estimated cost if the State were to provide by way of direct payment to childcare providers the money necessary to fund the sector, such as pay increases to the living wage of €11.90 per hour for current level 5 childcare staff working in the sector. [18226/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

As the State is not the employer, my Department does not determine the wages of staff working in early learning and care or school-age childcare settings. 

According to the Living Wage Technical Group, the "living wage" in Ireland in 2019 was €12.30 per hour. On that basis, the data below is presented with reference to a wage of €12.30 per hour, rather than €11.90 per hour. Based on figures available to my Department (drawn from the Pobal Annual Early Years Sector Profile 2018/19), of approximately 26,000 practitioners working directly with children, it is estimated that 60% (or 15,600) are paid less than €12.30 per hour. The remaining 40% (or 10,400) are paid more than €12.30 per hour.

On this basis, it can be estimated that the annual cost of raising the wages of all early learning and care and school-age childcare practitioners to at least €12.30 per hour would be approximately €30 million. This figure represents an average increase of 12% in gross pay. The additional cost to employers for this in terms of employer PRSI and holiday pay would be €6m, bringing the total cost to €36m.

My Department does not currently have a breakdown of this cost specifically for raising the wages for practitioners who hold a level 5 award as their highest qualification. It should be noted, however, that a proportion of those working in the sector who have qualifications higher than level 5 (at levels 6, 7 and 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications) also earn less than €12.30 per hour. For example, while data from the 2018/19 Pobal Annual Early Years Sector Profile shows the average wage of practitioners with a level 6 qualification to be €12.63 per hour, the average wage for early years assistants working in non-ECCE rooms who have a Level 6 qualification is €11.18 per hour. 

Early Childhood Care and Education

Ceisteanna (709)

Kathleen Funchion

Ceist:

709. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the estimated cost of increasing by 15% funding for the access inclusion model. [18227/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

The 2020 allocated budget for the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) is €43 million.

This funding covers the cost of the seven levels of AIM, which encompass a range of both universal and targeted measures. The majority of this funding, €26 million, is for Level 7 Additional Assistance. This Level 7 funding is intended to facilitate either the recruitment of additional staff or to compensate services for a reduction in the adult-to-child ratio in the pre-school room, supporting the meaningful participation of all children in the room in the ECCE universal pre-school programme.

A 15% increase in funding for the overall Access and Inclusion Model would cost an additional €6.45 million per annum, bringing the total budget allocation to €49.45 million per annum.

Early Childhood Care and Education

Ceisteanna (710)

Kathleen Funchion

Ceist:

710. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the estimated cost of increasing the higher and lower capitation grants by €5, €6, €7, €8, €9 and €10, respectively, by week, for the ECCE scheme in 2019 if it is introduced in September 2020; and the estimated full-year cost. [18228/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

€297m euro has been allocated to the Early Childhood Care and Education programme in 2020; the proposed increases in the Deputy’s question have been built upon this year’s allocation.

The Early Childhood Care and Education programme runs for 38 weeks each programme year. The standard capitation rate paid to providers is €69 per child, per week. The higher capitation rate paid to services is €80.25 per child, per week. The programme currently provides 15 hours of free childcare per week.

Under the current ECCE payment calendar breakdown below, there are sixteen payable weeks in the period between September and December. The first table displays the projected 2020 financial impact of increasing the capitation rates from the beginning of the 2020/2021 programme year.

		2020 Cost (€m)
Change	2020 Cost	Increase
No Change	€125.0
Plus €5	€133.3	€8.2
Plus €6	€134.9	€9.9
Plus €7	€136.6	€11.5
Plus €8	€138.2	€13.2
Plus €9	€139.9	€14.8
Plus €10	€141.5	€16.5

The following table displays the full year financial impact of increasing the capitation rates in line with the question tabled by the Deputy. These workings are also based on the parameters used to cost the current allocation.

		Full Year Cost (€m)
Change	Full Year Cost	Increase
No Change	€297.0
Plus €5	€316.5	€19.5
Plus €6	€320.4	€23.5
Plus €7	€324.3	€27.4
Plus €8	€328.3	€31.3
Plus €9	€332.2	€35.2
Plus €10	€336.1	€39.1

As AIM funding is intrinsically linked to ECCE capitations any increase in rates or durations for the ECCE programme has an impact on associated AIM costs.

While AIM Level 7 is awarded on a weekly basis €195 per week, the underlying basis for this figure is the cost of ECCE capitation for 3 children. If a €5 increase in ECCE capitation was required, there may be a need for a corresponding 6.7 % increase in AIM Level 7 costs.

2020 allocated funding for the AIM Level 7 supports are set at €26m based on current AIM level 7 projected applications and approvals.

The following tables captures the impacts that the outlined increases, based on a pro ratad and corresponding percentage increase, would have to the estimated allocation for AIM Level 7 support costs for the period September to December 2020 (table a) and for a full year ECCE programme from September (table b).

Table a.

		2020 Associated AIM Cost (€m)
Change	2020 Cost	Increase
No Change	€11.0	€0.0
Plus €5	€11.7	€0.7
Plus €6	€11.9	€0.9
Plus €7	€12.0	€1.0
Plus €8	€12.2	€1.2
Plus €9	€12.3	€1.3
Plus €10	€12.5	€1.5

Table b.

		Full Year Associated AIM Cost (€m)
Change	Full Year	Increase
No Change	€26.0	€0.0
Plus €5	€27.5	€1.5
Plus €6	€28.1	€2.1
Plus €7	€28.4	€2.4
Plus €8	€28.8	€2.8
Plus €9	€29.2	€3.2
Plus €10	€29.5	€3.5

Childcare Services

Ceisteanna (711)

Kathleen Funchion

Ceist:

711. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the estimated additional cost in 2019 of increasing the universal minimum subsidy across the affordable childcare scheme if the minimum targeted subsidy is increased so as never to be below the universal subsidy, in 50 cent intervals up to an additional €4.50 reaching €5.00, assuming a start date of September 2020; the estimated cost for a full year; and the number of children that would benefit. [18229/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

The table summarises the estimated ascending costs within the scenario described where the universal minimum subsidy is increased in 50 cent intervals up to €5.00 across the National Childcare Scheme, assuming the minimum targeted subsidy is increased so as never to be below the universal subsidy. September to December 2020 and January to December 2021 costs are provided.

The cost estimates are arrived at by:

- establishing the number of families with children under 15 years by income bracket (data supplied by CSO) and

- profiling these families by reference to the age of their children and

- estimating the proportion of children in each income bracket and age range using centre-based care and

- calculating estimated subsidy rates based on income levels and age profile and

- applying estimates of the average hours used by age group for term time and non-term time.

The scheme’s cost model is based on key assumptions around the preferences and behaviours of parents relating to working hours and childcare choice, rates of growth in demand, and certain metrics are extrapolated from available data. As such, all estimates remain heavily caveated insofar as the scheme represents a considerable departure from existing schemes and this renders estimates inherently challenging.

It is particularly difficult to estimate the behavioural changes that will result from significant increases in the level of subsidy available. The greater the increase in subsidy, the less reliable are the estimates. It is therefore possible that the total costs – and numbers of children benefiting – may be significantly greater than indicated in the table below, especially for the larger increases in subsidy rates.

It should be noted that the figures in the table for the number of children benefiting relate only to children whose parents claim the universal subsidy. As increases in universal subsidies automatically result in increases in targeted subsidies for most or all beneficiaries of targeted subsidies, a larger number of children would benefit whose parents claim targeted subsidies.

Universal Rate	.50c	€1	€1.50	€2	€2.50	€3	€3.50	€4.00	€4.50	€5.00
Sept to Dec 2020 Cost	Zero	€8m	€17m	€27m	€37m	€48m	€60m	€75m	€95m	€122m
2021 Cost	Zero	€ 25m	€ 52m	€ 81m	€ 112m	€ 145m	€ 180m	€ 224m	€ 285m	€ 365m
Total number of children under 3 estimated to claim a universal subsidy	15,900	16,300	16,700	17,100	17,500	17,900	18,300	18,700	19,100	19,500

People who qualify for enhanced hours are always better off on targeted subsidies, so people with children who qualify for the universal rate will receive higher targeted subsides.

With the significant level of rate increases costed above, the volume of applicants could increase in large numbers, hence, annual review and re-costing will be required as investment increases.

School Completion Programme

Ceisteanna (712, 729)

Kathleen Funchion

Ceist:

712. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the estimated cost of restoring the school completion programme to 2010 levels. [18230/20]

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

Ceist:

729. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the estimated cost to restore the school completion programme to 2010 levels. [18717/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

I propose to take Questions Nos. 712 and 729 together.

In January 2014 Tusla, the Child and Family Agency was established and as part of the remit of the Agency, it took on the functions of the former National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB): chiefly the Education and Welfare Services (EWS). The EWS comprises the statutory functions relating to Educational Welfare Officers; the operationalisation of the Home School Community Liaison Scheme; and the funding of the School Completion Programme (SCP).

The 122 SCP projects are funded in line with the academic term, commencing in September each year. Funding provision for the SCP in the 2020/2021 school year stands at €24.7 million. Tusla has advised that full-year cost of restoring the SCP to 2010 funding levels would be in the region of €7.3 million per annum.

As the Deputy will be aware, An Taoiseach announced, as part of his recent speech on the formation of Government on Saturday 27 June, that “Educational welfare functions will be returned to the Department [of Education].” Discussions are currently underway between the two Departments in that regard.

A referred reply was forwarded to the Deputy under Standing Order 51