Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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827. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if his Department is sufficiently funded to meet the service level agreement in 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32809/14]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I understand that the Deputy is enquiring if sufficient resources are at the disposal of my Department in 2014 to meet the cost of programmes and services including those where Service Level Agreements are in place.

The Revised Estimates for Public Services 2014 allocated gross funding to my Department of some €997 million which includes over €955 million in current funding and €42 million in capital funding. This level of funding represents an increase of over €558 million on the 2013 Estimate of €439 million and the significant investment demonstrates that, while operating within difficult budgetary constraints, this Government is strongly committed to delivering important reforms and service developments to support children and families.

I consider that the estimate provision for my Department will facilitate the delivery of a significant level of public services, including those where Service Level Agreements exist as well as a number of new policy measures that include:

- The establishment of the new Child and Family Agency which took effect on 1^stJanuary 2014. This was a historic development and a significant milestone in the programme of this Government to fundamentally reform the delivery of services to vulnerable children and families. The financial allocation to the Agency in 2014 amounts to €609 million, including €7 million in capital funding. This resource allocation is for the continuing provision of services previously administered by the Health Service Executive, the National Educational Welfare Board and the Family Support Agency. It is acknowledged that delivering the range of service required of the Agency, within this budget, is challenging. Notwithstanding the significant level of resource provided, certain areas of expenditure, such as legal costs, have in the past proven difficult to manage within the allocated budget. The Agency is implementing significant reform to seek to achieve greater value for money in such areas and the progress in this regard is subject to ongoing monitoring and review with my Department. We will work closely with the Board and senior management of the Agency to ensure the provision within the significant resource provided, of high quality and responsive services to vulnerable children and families.

- An additional €4 million to support implementation of the Pre-School Quality Agenda which seeks to support high standards through supporting the efforts of providers and their staff in delivering improved and more reliable quality; and to respond to concerns raised by parents;

- An increase of €1.5 million in funding to address child poverty through the new Area Based Childhood (ABC) programme. This will bring to €4 million the State funding to be invested in this initiative in 2014. The total budget allocation for the programme over the period 2013 – 2016 is almost €30 million.

- €31m in capital funding to facilitate the continuation of construction work on the new Children Detention School facilities in Oberstown, Lusk, Co. Dublin. The timeline for the project will see the first three residential units available in the third quarter of 2014 and will be prioritised for the transfer of 17 year old boys from adult prison facilities, currently in St Patrick`s Institution.

Other important areas being supported in 2014 are the free Pre-School Year in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme which has a funding provision of €175 million. Some 4,300 pre-school services are participating in the programme and approximately 68,000 children are currently benefiting from it. In addition, in excess of €50 million is also being made available to support the delivery of a range of youth work programmes and services by the voluntary youth sector for all young people including those in disadvantaged communities.

More recently, a further €5 million in capital funding has been made available to my Department in the current year for childcare under the Phase 4 Infrastructure Stimulus which is being introduced by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. I am currently considering the best options for the use of this additional funding and will be making further announcements in this regard in due course.