Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 July 2023
92. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to address the steps he will take in budget 2024 to address disadvantaged children in early years education given the significant levels of child poverty being experienced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32485/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis question relates to the steps in budget 2024 that will address disadvantaged children in early years education, given the significant levels of child poverty being experienced.
I am committed to tackling disadvantage through high-quality early learning and childcare that is affordable and accessible. In line with a commitment in First 5 and informed by recommendations in Partnership for the Public Good, officials in my Department are currently tailoring a policy response to progress the development of a new strand of funding, the equal participation model. Through this work, services will be provided with a proportionate mix of universal and targeted supports to support children and families who are experiencing disadvantage to access services.
Following a detailed scoping phase, the consultation phase took place from December 2022 to May 2023. This phase included semi-structured interviews, thematic workshops, both in-person and online, focus groups and an online surveys. Non-governmental organisations representing the different cohorts the equal participation model aims to reach, for example, the Traveller and Roma communities, homeless persons, refugees, migrants and lone parent families, were engaged with during that process, as well as early learning and childcare providers, educators, practitioners and their representative bodies. Traveller, refugee and migrant parents, parents with a disability, parents of a child with a disability and one-parent families were also engaged with in that process. The policy is currently being drafted. It will be of real benefit. We will learn from the access and inclusion model, AIM, which includes a good mix of universal and targeted supports.
Other measures we have taken include the pilot of the provision of hot meals, which is currently under way. It has now been completed and is being evaluated. As the Deputy will be aware, early in my term of office, we removed the wraparound hours. Deputy Funchion flagged with me early on the practice of the wraparound hours and the impact it was having, perhaps, on Traveller children attending after-school programmes. We put in the finance earlier to remove that. The equal participation model will be exciting and we are working on developing that policy at the moment.
I wanted to raise the issue of meals in pre-schools as I have received good feedback on it. Will that continue? It is a pilot scheme but it was very successful.
On the policy the Minister referenced that is being drafted, does he envisage it will be ready for the budget or is it a longer term project? In the area of poverty, particularly child poverty, anything we can do to assist children and families is welcome. We had a lot of back and forth about the hours over the years and it was a welcome change. It was significant for families. Sometimes we all fall into the trap of thinking of early years education as childcare and thinking of it in terms of getting to work, but there are many advantages for children, especially those who come from vulnerable situations so that was welcome.
I want to know specifically about the pre-school meals.
I would like to advance a significant number of issues in this year's budget. We have spoken about some of them already, such as cutting costs for all parents, bringing childminders into the scheme so that parents can benefit from the national childcare scheme, NCS, and extending AIM so that more children with a disability can access more hours in early learning and care. We have to see where the equal participation model is in its development. I would like to extend the meals in pre-school settings, but there are many demands in this sector and this is only one part of our broad Department.
It is a little early in the process but I am looking to advance meaningful measures. The Deputy will be aware that the Taoiseach highlighted the issue of child poverty. It an issue of real importance to all three parties in the coalition. Certainly the equal participation model is specifically designed to tackle child poverty.
If it is early in the process, that gives us the opportunity to keep asking - asking early and asking often. That is good to know. I welcome that.
I also want to reference childminders coming into the scheme. That will be welcome in general. A huge number of people rely on childminders. Not everyone, including those of us in this Chamber, has a nine to five, Monday to Friday type role. We rely heavily on childminders. That will be significant for people in a disadvantaged situation because they often rely on childminders with whom they may have developed a relationship and a bond of trust. The scheme may not be of benefit because they fall outside it at the moment. I came across a single parent recently who was struggling to find a place. The person qualified for all the schemes and could get a childminder but could not afford that service. That is a good example of where it can be of benefit.
The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and I will adopt Deputy Funchion's mantra of asking early and often in all our engagements with the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform in the next-----
In your case, you have to answer early and answer often
The Deputy is right about childminders. I am conscious that thousands of parents rely on childminders and were not able to get the benefit of the significant cuts we were able to bring in to the cost of childcare for parents using centre-based childcare . I am also conscious that some childminders are concerned about the process because it will involve a degree of regulation. That has to be the case. If a significant State subsidy is going to be given, there has to be a regulation. I have always said it will be appropriate regulation. It will be designed for childminders and recognise they are in a different situation from those providing centre-based childcare. I want to create appropriate regulation they will feel comfortable signing up to, thus allowing parents to benefit.
