Written answers
Tuesday, 25 March 2014
Department of Children and Youth Affairs
Programme for Government Implementation
Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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977. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will provide an update in tabular form of the commitments in the programme for Government that relate to her Department; and the progress that has been made in the implementation of each commitment. [14109/14]
Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I refer the Deputy to the Programme for Government Annual Report for 2014 which is now available on the website of the Department of the Taoiseach.
Below is a summary update of my Department's commitments contained in the Report.
| PfG Ref: | Commitment – Department of Children and Youth Affairs | PfG Annual Report 2014 – DCYA Update |
|---|---|---|
| 3.14.1 | We will maintain the free pre-school year in Early Childhood Care and Education to promote the best outcomes for children and families. We will improve the quality of the pre-school year by implementing standards and reviewing training options. | In addition to maintaining the free pre-school year, Budget 2014 provided €4.5m to improve the quality of pre-school services through: a Learner Fund to assist existing staff meet the new qualification requirements being introduced in September 2015; the establishment of a Quality Support Service which will assist services in implementing Siolta and Aistear; and the recruitment of additional Early Years Inspectors to strengthen the existing inspection regime. A re-focus of funding in 2014 will allow participants in Community Employment to avail of the (afterschool) child-care places. |
| 3.32.11 | We will end the practice of sending children to St. Patrick’s Institution. | Following the announcement in 2013 that St. Patrick's Institution was to close, all sentenced 17 year olds and the 18-20 year old population of St. Patrick’s Institution have now been transferred to the Wheatfield Place of Detention. The only children now remaining at St. Patrick’s Institution are 17 year olds who are remanded in custody pending trial. They continue to be detained in a dedicated unit pending their transfer to Oberstown. Construction is underway on the new €56.4 million facility at Oberstown with the first three new residential units to be available in the third quarter of 2014, which will be used to facilitate the transfer of responsibility for the 17 year olds. |
| 4.1.1 | We will fundamentally reform the delivery of child protection services by removing child welfare and protection from the HSE and creating a dedicated Child Welfare and Protection Agency, reforming the model of service delivery and improving accountability to the Dáil. | The Child & Family Agency was established with effect from 1 January 2014, putting in place a new regime of governance and accountability for child and family services. The Agency has a dedicated remit for child welfare, protection and family support services and involves the merging of Child and Family services from the HSE with Family Support Agency and National Education Welfare Board services. The Agency has a budget of over €600 million and a staff of 4,000, and represents one of the largest single public sector reforms undertaken by Government. |
| 4.1.2 | We are committed to implementing the recommendations of the Ryan Report including putting the Children First Guidelines on a statutory footing and legislating for the use of “soft information”. | The general scheme of the new legislation to put the Children First Guidelines on a statutory footing has been published. This will place obligations on professionals and organisations working with children to report suspected child protection concerns, to share information and to engage in inter-agency and multi-disciplinary working. The forthcoming National Children and Young People’s Policy Framework 2014-2018 will meet one of the key recommendations of the Ryan Report to bring together relevant policies including those relating to prevention and early intervention initiatives, early childhood education, area based approaches to address child poverty, and addressing youth homelessness and aftercare provision. |
Cross Departmental Commitments
| PfG Ref: | Commitment – Department of Children and Youth Affairs | PfG Annual Report 2014 – DCYA Update |
|---|---|---|
| 3.37.5 Listed under PfG Cross - Departmental commitments – DCYA has lead responsibility | A new approach is needed to break the cycle of child poverty where it is most deeply entrenched. We will adopt a new area based approach to child poverty, which draws on best international practice and existing services to tackle every aspect of child poverty. Initially, this model will be rolled out to up to ten of Ireland’s most disadvantaged communities, in cooperation with philanthropic partners to co-fund and manage the project. | Following a call for proposals and an assessment process, a further ten areas around the country have been admitted into the design phase of the Area Based Childhood Programme. This is in addition to the three existing initiatives which have already entered the Programme. Existing Tallaght CDI Young Ballymun Northside Partnership (Darndale/Moatview/Belcamp) New sites Bray Ballyfermot/Dublin 10 Clondalkin/Archways Dublin Docklands Finglas (Barnardos-led project) Grangegorman/NW Inner City Knocknaheeny (Cork) Limerick Louth (Drogheda & Dundalk) Midlands (to be included as part of Northside project) A further twelve applicants will be given access to a mentoring programme in the implementation of evidence-based programmes to improve outcomes for children and young people. This is a very important initiative that will lead the way in improving the lives of children and young people who are experiencing disadvantage. The Programme has attracted 50% co-funding from Atlantic Philanthropies bringing total funding to nearly €30 million. |
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