Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies. Deputy O'Sullivan commented on a DEIS-style approach, particularly for disadvantaged communities. On a personal level I think it is a wonderful vision and I have been raising that within the Department. I agree with the Deputy and it would be a substantial policy change if we moved towards that. There is merit in considering it. With an acknowledgement of the issues the Deputy identifies with regard to CE workers and particularly people living in the community who are receiving a wage, there are ways in which the Department has tried to give support both in moving forward with the regulations and providing more money up to a certain point, working with services in order to take a look at the model and ensure they will be in a better place in 2018. For the medium term, I am aware that in disadvantaged communities, there are often other types of support going into the care and early years in education setting that go beyond what is strictly funded by my Department. We are trying to see whether the Health Service Executive or other statutory agencies could also provide support for additional care in those communities.

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