Eoghan Murphy (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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987. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her views on the following case in relation to submissions to the area based response to child poverty initiative (details supplied). [45902/13]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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My Department is implementing the new Area Based Childhood (ABC) programme which was announced as part of Budget 2013. The programme is being introduced on foot of the Programme for Government commitment to adopt 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, and improve the outcomes for children and young people. The programme is being co-funded by Atlantic Philanthropies and is expected to have a total funding allocation of up to €29.7 million. The programme will build on and continue much of the work of the Prevention and Early Intervention Programme (PEIP) which was also implemented by my Department and co-funded by the Atlantic Philanthropies.

In addition to the three PEIP sites, I am expecting that at least 3 new sites will participate in the new programme. It is also my intention to broaden the impact of the programme by beginning the process of mainstreaming some of the evidence-based programmes which have been positively evaluated and are cost-effective. The establishment of my Department's Child and Family Agency in the coming months will be important to this process.

Applications to participate in the programme were invited from interested not for profit consortia earlier this year. Fifty applications were received. Last July the Government approved the transition of the three sites which participated in the PEIP into the new programme. The programme is seeking to finalize contracts with the PEIP sites in the near future.

The remaining applications were reviewed by a Working Group led by my Department, using criteria set out in the application process. The recommendations of the Working Group have been considered by the Project Team which is overseeing the new programme and are expected to be considered by the Government in the coming weeks. Successful applicants will be invited to progress to the next, more detailed stage of the process which, if successfully completed, will be followed by contract stage and entry to the programme.