Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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352. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which his Department continues to evaluate incidents of child poverty; if any consideration has been given to the selection of pilot areas to address any particularly severe incidences affecting particular locations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2739/15]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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353. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if his Department continues to liaise with school authorities and/or parents' groups with a view to identifying specific areas of deprivation resulting in child poverty and putting in place remedial measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2740/15]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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354. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the way in which his Department continues to identify specific areas and/or locations of social and economic deprivation with a view to engaging with children and young people in a positive and supportive way in an effort to stabilise, assist and meet any obvious deficiencies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2742/15]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 352 to 354, inclusive, together.

Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures: the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People 2014 - 2020 (BOBF),which was published and launched by Government in 2014, provides the overarching framework for the development and implementation of policy and services for children and young people. As provided for in the Framework, the Department of Social Protection which is the lead department on child poverty has the lead responsibility for a specific commitment to a national child-specific social target to lift over 70,000 children out of consistent poverty by 2020, a reduction of at least two-thirds on the 2011 level. The Department of Social Protection are active partners in the implementation infrastructure of Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures which is being led by my Department. The Department of Social Protection also has lead responsibility for the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion.

My Department is leading the implementation of the Area Based Childhood (ABC) Programme (2013-2016). The ABC Programme is an innovative prevention and early intervention initiative consisting of committed funding for an area-based approach to helping to improve outcomes for children and thereby impacting on child poverty. The programme builds on and continues the work of the Prevention and Early Intervention Programme (PEIP) 2007 - 2013 which was co-funded by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) and The Atlantic Philanthropies (AP).

The ABC Programme 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.

The ABC Programme is jointly funded by my Department and The Atlantic Philanthropies (AP). The total amount of committed funding from both the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and The Atlantic Philanthropies available in the period 2013-2016 will be €29.7m.

The ABC Programme Project Team was set up in 2013 to oversee the implementation of the programme. The Project Team is chaired by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and includes representatives from six other Government Departments, our co-funders The Atlantic Philanthropies, Tusla Child and Family Agency as well as two organisations, Pobal and the Centre for Effective Services (CES), which have been designated to manage the programme on behalf of Department of Children and Youth Affairs and The Atlantic Philanthropies.

As part of the rigorous ABC Programme application process, applicants were required to demonstrate through the use of Pobal Maps that their applications covered disadvantaged areas. Pobal Maps was developed by Pobal to allow the identification of disadvantage areas at a local level.

In 2013, 13 sites were approved for inclusion in the ABC Programme. It is expected that all of the projects will be operational in early 2015.

The long term goal of the ABC Programme is to mainstream the learning from the Programme. My Department is currently in the process of considering how best this learning can be disseminated and replicated in mainstream services post 2016. My Department will consider this in consultation with the ABC Project Team to ensure the efficient and effective return on investment in the area of services for children and young people.