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

While I understand this level of funding cannot address all of the challenges the new agency faces, the additional funding will allow it not only to alleviate the pressures on the range of services in place but also to build on the extensive programme of reforms across the services for children and families which is well under way.

My Department will continue to work closely with the board and management of the agency to monitor performance and governance issues. In this regard, internal efforts to improve cost control and achieve the full benefits of cost containment measures initiated in 2014 are expected to be seen in 2015, particularly in respect of legal costs. I do not want to spend taxpayers' money on legal services which do not advance the cause of children.

The agency is working to develop and implement a commissioning strategy which will be designed to ensure the services it funds are clearly focused on specific outcomes for children and families and demonstrably cost-effective and efficient.

As regards capital funding, the 2015 provision for the agency is €12.4 million, an increase of €5.6 million on the figure for 2014. Among the important projects that will be advanced, as part of the agency's capital programme, 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 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 the maintenance of existing facilities.

Reform is a common thread running through all areas of my Department's Vote in 2015. In the Child and Family Agency the reform programme will continue. Good progress is being made in advancing a wide-ranging and necessary programme of reform of child welfare and protection services. Particular areas of reform which are receiving priority attention include a stronger focus on the alignment of resources and processes to ensure referrals are subject to initial assessment, prioritisation and response in line with national policies; further development of the in-take-assessment policies to support and respond to increasing numbers of reports and ensure a continuing focus on implementation of standardised business processes; finalisation of plans for the roll-out of a model of out-of-hours service throughout the country; the development of a quality assurance framework; and piloting and initial roll-out of the national child care information system.

When making orders in child care proceedings that best serve the welfare and well-being of children, the courts must carefully weigh up all considerations. To inform this process from the child's perspective, the court may appoint guardians ad litemto represent the child who provide a very valuable service in that regard. However, it is also an expensive service. To ensure we have a service that is both high quality and cost-effective, my Department is working on proposals for the reform of guardianad litemservices. These proposals cover a range of matters, including the basis on which the service is operated, for example, the status and role of guardians ad litemand their qualifications, as well as the financial sustainability of the service. I intend that legislative proposals for this reform will be available early in the coming year.

The 2015 Estimate provision contains a sum of €375 million that will allow my Department to deliver a significant level of public services, as well as a number of new policy measures which I will address in the remainder of my statement.

Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures is the first national policy framework for all children and young people from birth to age 24 years. 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 through engagement with partners across a range of Departments and statutory agencies. We are also in the process of establishing an advisory council which will harness expertise and experience both within the NGO sector and academia, as well as from independent experts and individuals who have specific expertise in working with and for children and young people. I am confident that the advisory council will play a crucial role in realising the goals of Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures.

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 this year. 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 them in order to improve the care and protection of all 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 shortly. I reassure the House that, in recognition of the fact that this legislation will create new statutory obligations, the commencement date will be scheduled to ensure the range of sectors involved have adequate time to prepare for implementation.

I am pleased to say there will be no reduction in funding for youth services in 2015, which was a key priority for youth organisations and my Department. The Department administers a range of funding schemes and programmes to support the provision of youth services for young people throughout the country, including those living in disadvantaged communities. I have recently had the opportunity to meet a number of the organisations involved and was most impressed by the range and diversity of their work. Funding from my Department supports youth work provision for some 380,000 young people, involving approximately 1,400 staff in 477 projects, with the vital support of 40,000 volunteers nationwide. I express my thanks to these generous and selfless volunteers, without whom we could not hope to reach so many young people. In recognition of this valuable contribution, I am pleased to say €50 million has been allocated to support youth services throughout the country in 2015.

Looking to the future for youth services in Ireland, our focus is on building on the many positive steps which have been taken, particularly in the area of quality standards in services for young people. In this regard, the development of a new national youth strategy for ten to 24 year olds is a priority for me. The new youth strategy will cover the period to 2020. It is one of a number of whole-of-government strategies under Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures which sets out what we want to achieve for young people during this important developmental period.

I will announce shortly the details of a consultation process to capture views on issues to be addressed in the national youth strategy and will provide key stakeholders, in particular young people, with the opportunity to reflect on the emerging priorities. The consultation will include discussion on the recently completed value for money and policy review of the youth programmes that target vulnerable young people who are at risk of disadvantage. The review makes recommendations for the future operation of the youth programmes that will shape their development in the years ahead to ensure quality, effective and value-for-money services that are evidence based and secure the best outcomes for young people. I am keen to ensure that youth organisations, youth officers and others who are involved in the provision of services for young people have the opportunity to consider the review's recommendations and how they may be actioned in the roll-out of the new youth strategy in the years ahead.

The past few years have been challenging for youth services and reduced resources have impacted on the plans of many communities for their young people. I want to ensure, notwithstanding the significant challenges we currently face, that all of us work together in order that youth development is embedded in our actions and in activities for young people and that all our young people have brighter futures.

The area based childhood programme is an area based approach which was developed to help to reduce child poverty by improving outcomes for children. The ABC programme is jointly funded by my Department and Atlantic Philanthropies. It runs over the period 2013-16, with total funding of €30 million. The programme for Government committed to adopting an area based approach to child poverty, drawing on best international practice and existing services, to break the cycle of child poverty where it is most deeply entrenched. The increase in funding to €4.7 million reflects our commitment in this regard.

This Government recognises the vital importance of investment in the early years of children's lives. We know that supporting parents is an important element of this and to that end a number of childcare programmes targeted at low and middle income parents in education or training and those returning to paid employment are provided. In 2015, my Department will provide €260 million to support the childcare sector to enable children and parents access high quality and affordable childcare. The community childcare subvention programme, involving a network of 900 community childcare services, has provided a major source of support to disadvantaged families in recent years.

The introduction of the free pre-school year, the ECCE programme, was a major milestone in the development of childcare services. It builds on the established evidence of the value of this type of investment, namely that high quality formal childcare is linked with cognitive and developmental gains, in particular for children from more disadvantaged backgrounds. This universal and free programme is accessible to all children and ensures that a significant number of children can avail of quality pre-school services who would not otherwise be in a position to do so. The total number of children benefitting from support under the childcare programmes is more than 100,000.

There have been five additional early years inspectors recruited to strengthen early years inspections and it is expected that there will be a total of 49 early years inspectors in place by the end of 2014. The new national quality standards for early years services will be published shortly. In addition, a national early years quality support service is being introduced to provide mentoring support to services.

I warmly welcome the fact that the budget has allocated a further €19 million in capital investment funding towards the completion of the national children's detention centre project currently underway in Oberstown, Lusk, County Dublin. Under the Children Act, 2001 children are defined as all people up to the age of 18 years. This project is meeting a commitment in the programme for Government on no longer detaining children in adult prisons. Extra money will be made available for the 20 new staff currently undergoing orientation and training.

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