James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the committee for the opportunity to discuss the 2015 Revised Estimates for Vote 40 of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. The Revised Estimates for 2015 allocated gross funding to my Department of some €1,026 million, which includes over €991 million in current funding and €35 million in capital funding. When appropriations-in-aid receipts of just over €26.6 million are taken into account, the net current funding allocated to my Department in 2015 is some €1,000 million, an increase of €26 million on the 2014 Estimate of €974 million.

Under the new performance accounting arrangements introduced in 2012, the subhead structure of Vote 40 is based on three programme areas: programme A – children and family support programme; programme B – sectoral programmes for children and young people; and programme C – policy and legislation programme. There are two main elements to my Department’s Vote in 2015. First, the Estimate for next year contains significant resources to fund the services and programmes provided by the Child and Family Agency, or Tusla. This amounts to €643 million, representing 64% of the Vote. The balance of €383 million relates to other programmes funded directly by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.

The establishment of the Child and Family Agency, or Tusla, in January 2014, saw the delivery of a key programme for Government commitment. This was a historic development and a significant milestone in the programme of this Government to fundamentally reform the delivery of services to vulnerable children and families. In 2015, the agency will have a budget of €643 million, including over €12 million in capital funding. This is an increase of €34 million, or 5.6% over the 2014 provision. While I understand that this level of funding cannot address all of the challenges the agency faces in doing its work, this additional funding will assist the agency in alleviating service pressures in our child welfare and protection services and to also build on the extensive programme of reform, which is well under way.

I met the board of the agency before Christmas and had a useful exchange of views on challenges and opportunities facing it in 2015. Further, I have issued a performance statement to the agency under the Child and Family Act 2013 setting out overall priorities for 2015. The agency is currently finalising its business plan for 2015, which will set out its plans for the year and how it proposes to deploy its resources. I look forward to working with the agency to deliver the best possible outcomes for children and families in 2015.

The agency is also developing a commissioning strategy that aims to ensure that the services it funds are clearly focussed on specific outcomes for children and families and are demonstrably cost-effective and efficient. We have a responsibility to our citizens to ensure that public funding delivers the best possible outcomes for all our children and families.

The 2015 capital provision for the agency is €12.4 million, an increase of €5.6 million over the 2014 provision. Among the important projects that will be advanced are the next phase of the roll-out of the national child care information system and the related upgrade of the agency’s ICT infrastructure. The 2015 provision will also allow for some upgrading of special care facilities. There will also be resources available to support minor capital development works during the course of 2015, including maintenance of existing facilities. I take this opportunity to acknowledge the good work undertaken in its first year by the board of the agency, led by Ms Norah Gibbons, and all of the staff in the agency led by the chief executive, Mr. Gordon Jeyes.

The 2015 Estimate provision contains a sum of €357 million that will allow my Department to deliver a significant level of public services, as well as a number of new policy measures that I will address over the remainder of my statement. The policy framework Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures is the first national policy framework for all children and young people, from birth to age 24. To maximise resources and achieve the best outcomes, it takes a cross-Government approach to working for children and young people. To bring the commitments in this framework to fruition, my Department is developing an implementation plan across a range of Departments and statutory agencies.

The Children First Bill 2014, which will put elements of the Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children on a statutory footing, was published in April 2014. The core aim of this programme for Government commitment is to raise awareness of the issues of child abuse and neglect, and to clarify the role we all have to play in addressing these, in order to improve the care and protection of all of our children. The Children First Bill aims to make the best safeguarding practice the cultural norm for anyone and everyone who works with children. It has completed Second Stage in the Dáil and I anticipate Committee Stage will be scheduled in the near future. I wish to reassure Deputies that in recognition of the fact that this legislation will create new statutory obligations, the commencement date will be scheduled to ensure that the range of sectors involved have adequate time to prepare for implementation.

I am pleased to say that there will be no reduction in funding for youth services in 2015. An amount of €50 million is being allocated in 2015 to support youth services throughout the country. My Department administers a range of funding schemes and programmes to support the provision of youth services throughout the country, including young people living in disadvantaged communities. Funding from my Department supports youth work provision to some 380,000 young people, involving approximately 1,400 staff in 477 projects, with the vital support of 40,000 volunteers nationwide. I never let the opportunity pass when I speak of volunteerism in this sector to express my appreciation and gratitude, and that of the Government, to the generosity and enthusiasm of these volunteers who make so much possible for us and young people.

This Government recognises the vital importance of investment in the early years of children’s lives. In 2015, my Department will provide over €260 million to support the child care sector to enable children and parents access high quality and affordable child care. To yield these positive outcomes, we know that quality service provision is crucial. In that regard, a range of reforms under the early years quality agenda, aimed at improving the quality of services in the early years sector, is under way and new standard operating procedures have been introduced. Legislation to underpin a number of reforms under the quality agenda has also been introduced. This legislation provides a statutory basis for the registration of early years services, and will introduce a range of new enforcement powers for inspectors at a pre-prosecution level. Regulations to give effect to the legislative changes will be published soon. Under the proposed new system, all early years services will have to be registered in order to operate.

I warmly welcome the fact that budget 2015 has allocated a further €13.6 million in capital investment funding towards the completion of the national children's detention facility project under way in Oberstown, Lusk, County Dublin. In addition to the capital project, the allocation of an additional €1.8 million, in current expenditure in 2015, will provide for the increased operational costs of the extended Oberstown facilities under its expanded role.

The legal framework for detention of children is also being updated to provide for the legal amalgamation of the three existing children detention schools. Also, the repeal of all current legal provisions which permit the detention of children in the adult prison system. I am committed to working with the Oberstown board and campus management to ensure that the current change programme in the children detention school system is completed successfully.

In conclusion, there is no doubt that 2015 will be another busy year for my Department and its agencies. I intend to build on the hard work and effort by all involved in working with children and families – both State and voluntary organisations – in order to deliver on this Government's commitment to fundamentally reform the delivery of child and family services. I hope my statement is of assistance to the committee and I look forward to its input and our discussion on these issues.