Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and her officials. As this is my first opportunity to congratulate the Minister following the campaign in the run-up to the children's referendum, I am glad to echo the sentiments expressed by others. The impact of the €20 million allocated for the capital programme in Oberstown on some of the most disadvantaged and disenfranchised young people in the country is not to be underestimated. Having worked with and visited children in Oberstown and St. Patrick's, I have seen there is no comparison in terms of the service and the needs that will be met. This is something that has been spoken about regularly. Even in the most difficult financial circumstances the Government, and the Minister in particular, has been leading the way in this area.

Nobody here would disagree that the ECCE programme has been hugely successful, with a participation rate of 97% of young children and families.

The Minister will know that some of the providers and agencies that work with young people are concerned about the quality of the service provided. The Government is spending a sizeable amount of money on the provision of early childhood education. Deputy Healy is correct that for every €1 invested in a child under five, the saving is €16 because he or she is more likely to stay in school and then go on to further education and gainful employment, rather than ending up in prison. We are providing a lot of money to commercial as well as community providers and there is some concern about the quality of the service provided to children.

On the issue of youth services, it has come to my attention that the Department has decided that from January 1 next youth work funding for the various VECs around the country will be channelled through the CDVEC, the same body with responsibility for the infamous SUSI. Many in the voluntary sector and the VECs have expressed concern about how that will operate and what impact it will have on local input in terms of service provision and the allocation of funds. Such concerns might be alleviated by the provision of additional information on what this change will entail.