Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to discuss the Revised Estimates for my Department for 2023, including that of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. As members will have seen from the briefing material provided last week, my Department is projected to spend €3.173 billion on current expenditure and €103 million on capital expenditure during 2023. This represents an increase of €463 million or 16% over the 2022 Supplementary Estimate.

This allocation provides for a range of key services to children and young people, including those delivered by Tusla, and across the early years and youth services sectors. It provides for major resources to other key programmes, including the provision of accommodation and other supports for international protection applicants and Ukrainian beneficiaries of temporary protection, as well as other refugees under the refugee resettlement programme. The allocation allows us to continue to address the major legacy issues relating to mother and baby institutions and birth information and tracing services. In addition, there are allocations across the areas of equality, integration and inclusion. This includes funding towards gender equality, human rights, LGBTI+ issues, Traveller and Roma issues, migrant integration and disability policy. To outline my Department’s Vote in more detail, I have provided the select committee with details of the funding allocations across the different programme areas, along with a summary by subhead, including details of changes over the 2022 figures, as allocated following the Supplementary Estimate last year. In terms of the Vote allocation in 2023, 91% of the Department’s funding is concentrated in four areas of the Vote, namely, early learning and childcare, 31%; Child and Family Agency - Tusla, 28%; Ukraine-related spending, 20%; and international protection accommodation services, 12%. Youth affairs and administration each account for 2% of the overall allocation. The balance of 5% is spread across the remaining programmes and subheads in the Vote. I will now briefly address the various areas in turn.

The early learning and care allocation of €1.025 billion represents an increase of €319 million or 45% on the 2022 Supplementary Estimate allocation for subheads B3, B4 and B5. During 2023, I intend to continue to reform the early learning and childcare system to bring together the best of community and private provision, focus on children’s rights and quality outcomes, reduce inequalities and, critically, substantially reduce costs to parents.

In this regard, 2022 saw the introduction of the core funding scheme. This commenced with the start of the September 2022 to August 2023 programme year, and will continue into the next programme year from September this year. I am pleased to inform colleagues that I have secured additional funding to cover the costs of increased levels of capacity and numbers of graduates in year one and for a number of enhancements in year two of the scheme. I am also pleased to be in a position to enhance the national childcare scheme, NCS, by offering supports to a greatly expanded cohort of children and families at significantly higher subsidy levels. Effective since January, the minimum subsidies have increased from 50 cent per hour to €1.40 per hour.

My Department continues to meet the cost of the two-year early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme and the associated access and inclusion model, AIM, which supports children with additional needs who access the ECCE programme. The funding for this area will also enable the delivery of a range of regulatory and quality supports for the implementation of the national action plan for childminding, Nurturing Skills, the workforce plan and the ongoing development of the registration and inspection system, as well as policy development commitments set out in the First 5 strategy and the programme for Government.

My Department’s Estimate contains provision of €917 million for Tusla, which is broadly in line with the 2022 supplementary allocation and represents an increase of €50 million on the original 2022 Revised Estimate, exclusive of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, DSGBV, funding. It is important to note that funding under Tusla subhead A3 has been split between A3 and A7 for 2023, with funding for DSGBV services, which had previously been shown under A3, now shown under A7. The funding will allow Tusla to respond to a number of challenges, such as addressing increasing demand for its services, and to roll out strategies to improve residential and foster care in Ireland. The budget will allow Tusla to continue its expenditure on its capital programmes, further develop its ICT infrastructure and initiate priority projects, including its estates strategy. It will also allow that agency to support the community and voluntary sector, which delivers services on its behalf. It will maintain support for DSGBV services and address recommendations arising from Tusla’s accommodation review of refuge provision.

In early 2022, following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, our Department was tasked by Government with providing short-term accommodation and other supports for Ukrainians fleeing the conflict and in receipt of temporary protection. A new subhead was added in 2022 as part of the Supplementary Estimate to cover Ukraine-related expenditure which was new to the Vote. An allocation of €641 million, which is 20% of the Vote, is provided in 2023 to meet the costs associated with the provision of accommodation for beneficiaries of temporary protection orders arriving from Ukraine. The allocation represents an increase of €48 million or 8% on the 2022 Supplementary Estimate allocation.

The largest cost element is in relation to accommodation through commercial sources in large part, but also through pledged accommodation and other sources. Funding has also been provided for the cost of modular housing and for expenditure in relation to early learning and care, Tusla and youth affairs supports and services.

The allocation for costs associated with the provision of accommodation for international protection seekers has seen an increase of €33 million to €395 million in 2023. The funding will allow for the continuing provision of accommodation to those seeking international protection. The allocation also includes funding towards implementing the recommendations of the White Paper to end direct provision and to establish a new international protection support service. International protection accommodation is demand-led with requirements for accommodation and services increasing as numbers of new international protection applications increase. Since the latter half of 2021, there has been a sharp increase in the number of new arrivals seeking international protection accommodation in Ireland. Indeed, in 2022, there has been a record increase in the number of new arrivals seeking such accommodation, with just over 15,000 new arrivals.

Deputies will be aware of the current acute pressures on our accommodation system, which will be exacerbated in 2023 in the context of a potential sustained demand for international protection. I am working closely with colleagues across Government in seeking to address the pressures of this on an already stretched system. This year will again be very challenging for the Department in meeting both international protection and Ukrainian accommodation requirements.Depending on a range of potential variables, I expect that the funding provision for these areas will come under pressure in the course of the year and I will be keeping the Government regularly informed as we monitor cost pressures on this front. As well as providing for increased immediate accommodation demand, I am continuing the purchase of accommodation in the community with a focus on larger properties for international protection applicants in order to progressively increase the provision of State-owned accommodation.

There is a new subhead included under Vote 40 in 2023. In responding to the final report of the commission of investigation into mother and baby and county home institutions, the Government approved a suite of 22 specific measures. Action 20, the mother and baby institutions payment scheme, is a key element of the Government’s response to the findings of the commission. This is a demand-led statutory scheme that is anticipated to provide financial payment to 34,000 survivors and former residents, of whom approximately 19,000 will also receive an enhanced medical card.

Of the €800 million allocation agreed by the Government for the scheme, funding of €10 million is being made available in 2023. This allocation has been provided to meet the initial costs of establishing all aspects of the executive office to administer the scheme, including staffing, IT infrastructure, training, national and international information and awareness-raising campaigns, outreach and engagement, and business processes. Over and above this allocation, further funding will be provided on the opening of the scheme, in order to meet the costs of financial payments and medical cards for survivors and former residents. This additional funding will be provided by way of Supplementary Estimate.

On the rest of the Vote, there are of course other important policy areas that will be progressed in 2023. The 2023 Estimate will allow me to continue to provide funding in the important areas of equality, disability, inclusion and integration. These are very important priority areas and the Vote contains funding for areas such as the National Disability Authority, refugee and migrant integration, gender equality, and LGBTI+, Traveller and Roma initiatives. As I mentioned, each of these areas are in receipt of additional funding in 2023 compared with the final 2023 allocation following the Supplementary Estimate in 2022.

The 2023 Estimate has seen an increase of €2.8 million for youth services to €76 million. This level of funding will support the delivery by the voluntary youth work sector of a range of youth funding programmes and services for all young people, including those from disadvantaged communities, as they re-establish following the period of Covid-19 restrictions. These investments are particularly essential in supporting our most marginalised and vulnerable young people.

I am pleased to advise the committee that the significant increase in resources under my Department’s Vote for 2023 allows for the continuation, targeted improvement and growth of the extensive and wide range of vital services and supports provided by my Department to people and communities throughout the country, including our most vulnerable, marginalised and disadvantaged. Deputies may be assured that I will continue to work closely with all sectors and stakeholders, as we strive to maximise outcomes from the resources being considered today. I thank the Chair and members. I look forward to responding to their questions.