Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am contributing from within Leinster House. I thank the Minister for that outline of the revised Estimates. There is much to welcome, particularly the increases as outlined by the Minister. The capital allocation for international protection seekers is very welcome also.

I have a number of questions related to adequacy of funding, and whether the increases the Minister has described are sufficient to meet the greatly enhanced commitments for his Department.

The increase under the Tusla section is welcome but I am conscious that the Minister has said he will need to fund quite a significant number of additional posts arising from the expected increased demand due to the forthcoming birth information and tracing legislation. This committee was very actively engaged in the pre-legislative scrutiny of the Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022. I believe I can say that it is a matter of disappointment for us as members of the committee that the recommendation we made as to the mode of communication with adopted persons where a birth parent has expressed a no-contact preference. That recommendation was not taken up by the Minister's Department in the shape of the legislation. That is disappointing to us. It is relevant in the Estimates because we had recommended the communication would be by way of registered post. I am conscious there would be a significantly increased cost with regard to staff time in the alternative method of communication by phone or by meeting, which is provided for in the Bill. Will the Minister say whether there is sufficient funding here? The Minister is saying 100 additional front-line staff, but will that be enough to meet the demands coming from the new legislation?

On the early years funding allocations the Minister has spoken about the new core funding model. Clearly, huge expectation has built up among parents, providers and staff on that, and that it will be in place from the autumn so we would actually see significant reductions in childcare fees for parents. It is a huge issue across my constituency in Dublin Bay South. The cost of childcare is a huge issue for everyone. The Minister has described an increase of just over 10%. Will this be an adequate allocation to really create that radical change in the core funding model that parents, providers and staff are all expecting in the childcare and early years education sector in the autumn? Perhaps the Minister will say more on that.

On the mother and baby homes, the Minister does not refer in his speech to the amount that will be needed for setting up the redress scheme. Again, we are expecting to see that redress scheme for survivors in place by the autumn. I am aware that at page 31 there is a more detailed document where the set-up costs are described as being provided for within the funding that the Minister has outlined. I believe that the Minister's document says that the financial payments will be allocated separately, which is the actual payment of redress to survivors of mother and baby homes. Will the Minister expand on where that is going to come from, whether it will be within this year's allocation, or will it be pushed forward into the budget for 2023?