Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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819. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if he will confirm that the funding commitment of €1.2 million for the docklands and north east inner city consortium ABC programme is still available; the reason for the delay in progressing this vital programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31045/14]

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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820. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if he is concerned that CES and Pobal appear to be continuously changing the criteria for the ABC programme and that is causing huge uncertainty in the communities this initiative is intended to serve; if he will intervene to ensure these projects are expedited as quickly as possible; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31046/14]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 819 and 820 together.

As the Deputy is aware, the Area-Based Childhood (ABC) Programme funded by my Department with co-funding by the Atlantic Philanthropies, targets investment in evidence-informed interventions to improve the long-term outcomes for children and families living in areas of disadvantage. It aims to break “the cycle of child poverty within areas where it is most deeply entrenched and where children are most disadvantaged, through integrated and effective services and interventions” in the areas of child development, child well-being, parenting and educational disadvantage.

In relation to the issue outlined in your correspondence it might be helpful if I outline the history of the project and the process, all of the parties are engaged with at present.

When funding became available to develop the ABC programme a competitive and comprehensive application process was commenced where 50 applications for funding was received and following a comprehensive selection process ten new sites were chosen for development potential.

On 26 November 2013, my Department wrote to all ten pre-approved Consortia sites, (pre-approved in this context meaning that they were approved to proceed to design stage, it does not relate to pre-approved funding) including the Docklands and East Dublin ABC Consortium, inviting them to enter the design stage of the process.

It was, and has been clear to all applicants, since the inception of this process, that pre-approval did not confer a guarantee of funding and that the release of funding will be contingent on all sites engaging in and successfully progressing through the design stage to contract and operational stage.

At the request of the co-funders, the delivery of the ABC Programme is being managed jointly by CES and Pobal, each having distinct and complementary roles. Pobal's role involves supporting and overseeing fiscal management, grant administration, and governance, while CES focuses on supporting service design, implementation, and evaluation.

With specific reference to the Consortium in question, the pre-approval design stage involved further development of their Consortium’s proposal. Support and guidance was provided by the Centre for Effective Services (CES) and Pobal. On 26 February 2014 both Pobal and CES informed all ten consortia that an arrangement had been agreed with the funders for a "Fast-Track" approval mechanism for any Area in a position to progress immediately once they could provide a fully-developed proposal for immediate consideration (i.e. a sufficiently developed Logic Model, implementation plan and budget). On 4 April last, the National College of Ireland (NCI) on behalf of the Docklands and East Dublin ABC Consortium applied for the Fast-track stream.

The applications and documentation from Docklands and East Dublin ABC Consortium were reviewed by CES and Pobal at a meeting on 23 April. The recommendation of the CES and Pobal as managing Agencies of the ABC Programme was that the proposal from Docklands and East Dublin ABC Consortium was not ready to proceed to operational phase and that the proposal required additional clarification and refinement. This recommendation was submitted to the ABC Programme Working Group on Thursday 1 May, which decided that the application of Docklands and East Dublin ABC Consortium would not be fast-tracked, but rather considered in the next phase of applications to allow sufficient time to prepare a thorough and clearly costed plan.

This decision was communicated to the Consortia with follow-up from CES and Pobal.

The ABC Consortium has met with CES and Pobal who have outlined a clear course of action to progress this project. This on-going work includes the preparation and submission of a fully developed proposal (i.e. a sufficiently developed Logic Model, implementation plan and clearly identified and aligned budget).

I understand that work is on-going with the Consortia and in this regard, I want to confirm that the budget remains available to this Consortium subject to the Consortium meeting the relevant requirements including the development of relevant programmes which all of the other successful Consortia are required to meet.

You will appreciate that where programmes for children and young are being provided and where State funding is concerned, robust plans including budgetary plans and systems must be in place in order to ensure the effective delivery of programmes for those for whom funding is being provided.

I look forward to the completion of this work in the near future and the successful progression of the six remaining projects, including Dublin Docklands Consortia, into the operational phase of the Area Based Childhood (ABC) Programme.