Written Answers Nos. 448-467
448. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number and types of posts that are vacant in an organisation (details supplied) in County Cavan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9162/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra449. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth his views on a case (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9163/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 448 and 449 together.
As this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible. The Deputy will likely be aware that the industrial action by certain Forsa grades in the HSE has been suspended. The HSE has indicated that they have recommenced issuing replies to questions but there is a significant backlog of PQs and Reps to be responded to and has advised that they are working to get through these as soon as possible while at the same time managing the volume of current PQs and Reps.
450. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for an update on the action plan for survivors and former residents of mother and baby and county home institutions; for an update on the excavation work in Tuam to recover remains; and to provide an update on negotiations with religious orders in regard to redress payment contributions [9169/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraSignificant progress has been made in implementing Government's Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions across all 8 thematic areas but I would like to highlight in particular the following achievements:
Access to information
In June 2022, the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 was enacted to provide a full and clear right of access to birth certificates, birth and early life information for all persons who were adopted, boarded out, the subject of an illegal birth registration, spent time as a child in a Mother and Baby or County Home Institution or who otherwise have questions in relation to their origins. Statutory information and tracing services under the new legislation have been open since October 2022. Since services opened, over 10,000 applications for information have been completed.
Intervention at Tuam
In May 2023, I appointed Mr Daniel Mac Sweeney as Director of Authorised Intervention, Tuam to head up the independent Office that is charged with overseeing and managing the excavation, recovery, analysis and identification (if possible) of the children’s remains located at the Tuam site.
The Director’s initial priority has been to engage with relatives, survivors and former residents in relation to the intervention. He is also overseeing significant planning and preparation work for the excavation phase of the intervention, including arranging engineering works and securing laboratory premises and equipment, while also working on establishing core administrative and staff structures for the Office.
The Tuam Advisory Board, which I established last year to provide advice and guidance to the Director, has met twice in 2024 to date.
Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme
In July 2023, legislation to underpin the establishment of a Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme was signed into law. This Payment Scheme, when established, will provide financial payments and health supports to eligible applicants. It will be the largest Scheme of its type in the history of the State. Work to establish the Scheme has taken place over many months. This work includes preparing necessary regulations, establishing online information systems, rolling out trauma-informed training for staff and ensuring that all necessary communication and information for applicants is in place. This Scheme will be available to survivors living both inside and outside of Ireland and an extensive national and international information campaign will be undertaken. The Scheme is expected to open to applications on 20 March next.
National Centre for Research and Remembrance
In March 2022, the Irish Government approved proposals for a National Centre for Research and Remembrance. This Centre will stand as a national memorial and site of conscience to honour the lived experiences and dignity of all those who spent time in Ireland’s 20th century institutions, as well as the comparable experiences of those who were boarded out. In July 2023, Government approved the master plan for the National Centre campus. The master plan sets out a high-level floor plan of the campus, which includes:
• A museum and archive space
• A garden for reflection and remembrance.
• Purpose-built facilities for further and higher education and community-based family and parenting support facilities.
• 25 units of universal design social housing
An initial open consultation on the National Centre plan ran from July until September 2023. The responses to this consultation are now being analysed, and this analysis will directly inform the ongoing work on the development of the National Centre. There will be further consultations on specific elements of the Centre, as the project progresses.
Special Advocate for Survivors
In November 2022, Government approved plans to appoint a Special Advocate for Survivors. The role of the Special Advocate will be to amplify the voices of survivors to ensure that their views are central to the delivery of the State’s response. An open and transparent campaign to recruit the Special Advocate commenced in March 2023 via the Irish Public Appointments Service. That process has now concluded and I am pleased to confirm that Ms Patricia Carey has been appointed to the role.
Counselling support
Counselling support continues to be available free of charge through the National Counselling Service to those survivors who wish to avail of it.
In addition to these significant legislative, administrative and policy developments, the Irish State is also progressing a number of research and education initiatives in recognition of the importance of acknowledging, understanding and learning from our past.
The Government believes all relevant parties have a collective responsibility to respond to the legacy of these institutions. On 23 May 2023, Government approved my proposal to appoint Ms Sheila Nunan to act on my behalf in leading negotiations with relevant religious bodies with a view to securing a financial contribution towards the cost of the Payment Scheme. The negotiation process, while ongoing, is confidential. A full report will be provided to Government once the negotiations are concluded.
452. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide this Deputy with a copy of the contract that exists between his Department and the operators of a facility (details supplied). [9214/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is contracting emergency and short-term accommodation across the country in order to accommodate people who are seeking international protection.
Contractual arrangements for the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) accommodation centres are deemed confidential and commercially sensitive.
It would not serve the public interest to divulge the details of contracts, as it could prejudice the Department's negotiating position to deliver value for money with respect to other accommodation providers and locations.
453. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he is aware of an increase in providers leaving the core funding model; the steps his Department is taking on this issue; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that this move equates to higher charges for parents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9219/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraCore Funding is in operation since 15 September 2022 and has achieved very significant success in terms of the high levels of participation. 95% of providers participated in year 1 of the scheme and to date, 94% or over 4,300 providers have signed up for Core Funding Year 2, with applications still open. There are more providers in absolute terms participating in the Scheme this year.
These figures reflect greater engagement with the Scheme this year and numbers continue to grow. My Department is pleased with this high level of engagement and while my Department cannot mandate providers to participate in the Scheme, every effort has been made to carefully design the Scheme to achieve high levels of participation by providers.
Core Funding has increased by 11% to reach €287 million for year 2 of the Scheme, providing a sustainable platform for investment with increases for all services.
According to recent data provided by Pobal, in their role as scheme administrator, 15 services/providers withdrew in total from Core Funding, however, 12 of these services with activated contracts for Core Funding 2023/2024 withdrew before the start of the programme, therefore only 3 services have withdrawn during the programme year to date.
In Core Funding Programme Year 1, 1 service withdrew from the Scheme.
The above figures account for services who had an active contract during the relevant programme call (i.e. between 14th September 2022 – 31st August 2023 for year 1, 1st September 2023 – present for year 2) and have an application status of withdrawn – meaning they withdrew from the scheme and remained open.
It is a matter for providers to decide whether they wish to withdraw from Core Funding, the significant financial supports it offers to providers and the certainty it provides to parents through the associated fee freeze. However, I am confident that given the level of investment and associated supports, services should not need to take this step.
Special supports are available from my Department where a service is experiencing financial difficulty or has concerns about their viability, accessed through local City or County Childcare Committees (CCC). This support can take the form of assisting services with interpreting analysis of staff ratios and cash flow, financial support for services, as well as more specialised advice and support appropriate to individual circumstances.
I strongly encourage services to avail of these case management supports as an alternative to withdrawing from Core Funding and removing the benefits of Core Funding to parents.
454. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide a report on the provision of disability respite services in CHO7 in 2023 and to date in 2024. [9247/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra455. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the estimated number of additional respite hours that would be delivered by opening three additional full-time seven-bed respite centres. [9248/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 454 and 455 together.
As these questions refer to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible. The Deputy will likely be aware that the industrial action by certain Forsa grades in the HSE has been suspended. The HSE has indicated that they have recommenced issuing replies to questions but there is a significant backlog of PQs and Reps to be responded to and has advised that they are working to get through these as soon as possible while at the same time managing the volume of current PQs and Reps.
456. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the estimated full year cost of recruiting two additional senior staff grade physiotherapists and two additional clinical specialist in the area of psychology for each children's disability network teams. [9260/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible. The Deputy will likely be aware that the industrial action by certain Forsa grades in the HSE has been suspended. The HSE has indicated that they have recommenced issuing replies to questions but there is a significant backlog of PQs and Reps to be responded to and has advised that they are working to get through these as soon as possible while at the same time managing the volume of current PQs and Reps.
457. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number and location of summer camp-based specialist services for children with complex support needs that will be established in County Tipperary for summer 2024. [9261/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible. The Deputy will likely be aware that the industrial action by certain Forsa grades in the HSE has been suspended. The HSE has indicated that they have recommenced issuing replies to questions but there is a significant backlog of PQs and Reps to be responded to and has advised that they are working to get through these as soon as possible while at the same time managing the volume of current PQs and Reps
458. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of WTE clinical nurse specialists in behaviours of concern working within CHO areas 3 and 5 in 2023 and to date in 2024, in tabular form. [9262/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible. The Deputy will likely be aware that the industrial action by certain Forsa grades in the HSE has been suspended. The HSE has indicated that they have recommenced issuing replies to questions but there is a significant backlog of PQs and Reps to be responded to and has advised that they are working to get through these as soon as possible while at the same time managing the volume of current PQs and Reps
459. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of adults and children in direct provision centres, broken down by centre, in County Wicklow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9291/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra460. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of adults and children remaining in direct provision centres, broken down by centre, in County Wicklow, after their leave to remain has been granted, for the most recent date available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9292/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 459 and 460 together.
I thank the Deputy for this question. A response will issue to the Deputy in the coming days.
461. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he is aware that the proposed buildings to be used in children disability network teams in area 9 have infrastructural issues (details supplied); if these issues will be resolved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9301/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible. The Deputy will likely be aware that the industrial action by certain Forsa grades in the HSE has been suspended. The HSE has indicated that they have recommenced issuing replies to questions but there is a significant backlog of PQs and Reps to be responded to and has advised that they are working to get through these as soon as possible while at the same time managing the volume of current PQs and Reps
462. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if children's disability network teams in an area (details supplied) have been trained in the information management system. [9302/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible. The Deputy will likely be aware that the industrial action by certain Forsa grades in the HSE has been suspended. The HSE has indicated that they have recommenced issuing replies to questions but there is a significant backlog of PQs and Reps to be responded to and has advised that they are working to get through these as soon as possible while at the same time managing the volume of current PQs and Reps
463. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of current vacancies in children's disability network team area 9; and the number of current vacancies due to absence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9303/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible. The Deputy will likely be aware that the industrial action by certain Forsa grades in the HSE has been suspended. The HSE has indicated that they have recommenced issuing replies to questions but there is a significant backlog of PQs and Reps to be responded to and has advised that they are working to get through these as soon as possible while at the same time managing the volume of current PQs and Reps
464. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will report on his engagement with external stakeholders in respect of the provision of paid leave for persons who have experienced a pregnancy loss before 24 weeks' gestation, or to facilitate access to reproductive healthcare treatments; if he will list the stakeholders which have made representations to him on the matters; and the position of his Department in respect of the measure since the completion of a UCC study on the issue. [9312/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThank you for your question regarding the PLACES: Pregnancy Loss (under 24 weeks) in the Workplace report. My Department commissioned this qualitative research study to examine the workplace experiences of parents coping with pregnancy loss. The study examines whether policy interventions are required at a national level to better to support these bereaved parents in the workplace.
The study focuses on people who experience pregnancy loss prior to 24 weeks’ gestation, as people who have a pregnancy loss after 24 weeks’ gestation can avail of full maternity leave and paternity leave entitlements.
I published the research report on the 26th January, with the recommendations arising from this study will helping to inform Government policy, including the development of legislation to address the issue of miscarriage leave if required. As the research has been published so recently, consultations with stakeholders have not taken place.
465. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if it will be possible for a person to apply for the mother and baby institutions payment scheme if their relative who was the deceased relevant person died prior to 13 January 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9330/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme will be the largest scheme of its type in the history of the State with an anticipated 34,000 people eligible for its benefits. Given its scale and significance the Scheme has been placed on a statutory footing and enabling legislation - the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Act 2023 - was signed into law last July.
Section 37 of the Act provides that the personal representative of a deceased relevant person, who died on or after 13 January 2021, can apply to the Scheme. This was the date of the then Taoiseach's apology to survivors of these institutions on behalf of the State, ultimately launching a comprehensive package of support measures (of which the Payment Scheme is just one) agreed by the Government as part of the Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions.
466. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the supports available to assist childcare providers availing of ECCE funding with the extra costs associated with the new requirement to file detailed charter accounts reviewed by an accountant when previously childcare providers filed self-assessment accounts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9339/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraInvestment in early learning and childcare is at unprecedented levels with public funding exceeding €1.1 billion in 2024 for early learning and childcare – a clear demonstration from Government of the value of the sector.
My Department funds private early learning and care service providers to provide the ECCE programme at a standard rate of €69 per week per child attending the ECCE programme. With the addition of the Core Funding Scheme in 2022, services providing ECCE who are also signed up to Core Funding receive a minimum of €79.20 per child per week in capitation.
This figure can rise to a maximum of €95.85 with additional funding for graduate lead educators and graduate managers for sessional services. Core Funding is tailored to the individual service and is specifically designed to contribute to its operating costs and sustainability of the service making it a more flexible platform for investment towards the operating costs of services.
In year 1 of Core Funding, €259 million was allocated to the scheme, contributing to services’ sustainability and significantly increased income for the overwhelming majority of services while providing greater funding stability.
99% of services that signed up to the scheme saw their income increase. Less than 1%, or close to 60 services, received top-up payments to ensure their income did not decrease for the same level of provision offered.
Core funding in its second year has a budget that has increased by 11% to reach €287 million, providing a sustainable platform for investment with increases for all services. To date, more than 94% of eligible providers have now signed up to year 2 of core funding.
This year, all services will have seen further increases to their core funding allocations from the second year due to the increased allocations towards non-staff overheads and administrative staff and time.
In addition, the Government introduced a number of targeted supports for small and sessional services in year 2 of the scheme to improve sustainability of these services, specifically a flat rate top-up of €4,075 for sessional-only services and a minimum base rate allocation of €8,150, which will benefit small, part time and school-age services. These measures saw the average allocation under core funding for sessional-only services increase by 32% this year.
In a continued commitment to supporting these services, these targeted measures will continue to apply in the 2024/2025 programme year.
Arising from Budget 2024, the Core Funding allocation for year 3 of the scheme will increase by 15% - to €331 million. This will support the delivery of a range of enhancements in Year 3 of the scheme to support improved affordability and accessibility for families, improved pay and conditions for the workforce and improved sustainability for providers.
Providers that had an active Core Funding Contract during the 2022/2023 Programme Year must provide validated Financial Returns as per their Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement.
Following constructive engagement with members and nominees of the Early Learning and Childcare Stakeholder Forum (ELCSF), including Childhood Services Ireland (CSI), Childminding Ireland, Early Childhood Ireland (ECI), the Association of Childhood Professionals Ireland (ACPI), the Federation of Early Childhood Providers (FECP), the National Childhood Network (NCN), the National Community Childcare Forum and Seas Suas, my officials have now finalised transitional arrangements for financial reporting to cover year 1 and year 2 of the scheme.
Financial reporting requirements in this transitional phase have been significantly simplified and streamlined. Specifically, in this transitional phase, the financial reporting requirement is for an Income and Expenditure report based on a significantly reduced set of Core Funding Chart of Accounts nominal codes, the sector has already been provided with the templates and guidance documents in relation to this.
This Income and Expenditure Report will need to be submitted onto an online reporting portal by either a qualified accountant from a registered practice or a registered professional; *ICAI, ACCA, CPA, AIA, CIMA, CIPFA.
My Department will be providing guidance to Partner Services in the coming weeks on how to upload the completed Income and Expenditure report. All early learning and childcare Department income information will be provided to the Partner Services through the financial reporting portal.
My Department are also working on other supports for providers in preparing and submitting these returns, including training supports and targeted financial supports for those that may need it.
Officials from my Department will continue to engage with representatives of Core Funding Partner Services on this and have committed to continued engagement on future development to the financial reporting requirement under Core Funding from year 3 of the scheme.
I would encourage any service experiencing financial difficulty and who would like support, to contact their City/County Childcare Committee (CCC) to access case management supports. Contact details for their local CCC can be found at www.myccc.ie.
* Please see list below:
ICAI - Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland
ACCA - Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
CPA - Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland
AIA - Association of International Accountants
CIMA - Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
CIPFA - Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy
467. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he is aware of a case (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9382/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
The Deputy will likely be aware that the industrial action by certain Forsa grades in the HSE has been suspended. The HSE has indicated that they have recommenced issuing replies to questions but there is a significant backlog of PQs to be responded to and has advised that they are working to get through these as soon as possible while at the same time managing the volume of current PQs.
