Nicky McFadden (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the way the further €2.5 million allocated to her Department for the area based child poverty initiative will be utilised; if areas in the Midlands will be included in this initiative; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5813/13]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The new ‘Area Based Approach to Child Poverty’ initiative has €2.5 million provided for in the 2013 Estimates. This investment supports a key Programme for Government objective and demonstrates this Government’s commitment to early intervention to support childhood development and tackle child poverty. I know that early intervention improves life chances for children and families. This is even truer in communities with high levels of disadvantage and joblessness. This new initiative will draw upon existing community strengths and efforts already underway.

This initiative will build on and continue the work of the Prevention and Early Intervention Programme (PEIP) which supports projects in Tallaght, Ballymun and Darndale. These projects involve a range of pilot programmes to improve outcomes in areas such as literacy, speech and language, parenting, health and pro-social behaviour. These programmes are currently being evaluated by national and international experts. I believe that it is important that we mainstream the learning from these pilot projects so that proven and effective supports for children and families could be delivered right through the country, including through the range of services to be provided by the new Child & Family Support Agency.

The new initiative reflects the Programme for Government commitment to adopt an area based approach to child poverty in co-operation with philanthropic partners, drawing upon best international practice and existing services, to break the cycle of child poverty where it is most deeply entrenched. In line with this commitment, my Department in conjunction with the Office of the Tanáiste and the Departments of Social Protection, Environment, Community and Local Government, and Education and Skills will work in 2013 to expand the number of project sites from 3 to 6. The new initiative will not simply be a continuation of the PEIP scheme but will instead seek to implement programmes which have already been evaluated and proven to work in improving outcomes for children and families at risk of disadvantage.

It is envisaged that this initiative will be co-funded by a philanthropic organisation and discussions are ongoing to this end. It will not be possible in advance of the completion of these talks to know the final total funding levels including the co-funding component.

The initiative will be overseen by a Project Team, chaired by my Department, with participation of the relevant Departments and Agencies. This Project Team will agree criteria for selection of proposals to attract support under the programme and, in due course, will recommend participating consortia to Government.

The applications process is still in the planning stage, but it is not anticipated that additional sites will be selected before the Summer.