Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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1119. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the supports her Department funds through Pobal; if funding is available for groups to fund resource centres; the way in which groups can apply for such funding; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46554/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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A number of supports in my Department are administered through Pobal. The largest of these is the Early Childhood Care and Education programme (ECCE) otherwise known as "free pre-school" provides children with their first formal experience of early learning prior to commencing primary school. The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) is a model of supports designed to ensure that children with a disability can access the ECCE Programme. The key objective of AIM is to empower pre-school providers to deliver an inclusive pre-school experience.

Pobal administers a number of targeted Early Years programmes that include;

- Community Childcare Subvention (CCS).

- Community Childcare Subvention Plus (CCSP).

- Community Childcare Subvention Resettlement (CCSR).

- Community Childcare Subvention Resettlement (Transitional) (CSSR(T)).

- Training and Employment Childcare (TEC) Programmes. - The After-School Child Care Scheme (ASCC), Childcare Education and Training Support (CETS), and Community Employment Childcare (CEC) all fall under the TEC Programmes.

The Programme Support Payment which will total €18 million by the end of 2017, was introduced to support all childcare providers with the additional administration involved in all of the above programmes.

Pobal administers both the Early Years Capital funding and the School Age Capital Programme on behalf of my Department. The objective of Early Years Capital funding is to increase the number of childcare places in areas of greatest need and to contribute to improving the quality of early years provision. The School Age Capital Programme was first introduced in 2017, under the Action Plan on School Age Childcare, to support the provision of services aimed at school-going children.

Pobal also facilitates The Youth Services Grant Scheme. This scheme amounting to over €10.65 million in 2017, provides funding on an annual basis to national and regional youth organisations. The funding is intended to ensure the emergence, promotion, growth and development of youth organisations with distinctive philosophies and programmes aimed at the social education of young people.

Pobal oversees the administration of the Comhairle na Óg Development Fund ("the Fund"). There are 31 Comhairlí in Ireland. Comhairle na nÓg is designed to enable young people to have a voice on the services, policies and issues that affect them in their local area.

My Department is working alongside the Department of Health in the roll-out of the Healthy Ireland Fund to Children and Young People's Services Committees (CYPSC) in 2017. A joint targeted funding scheme, totalling €1 million is aimed at CYPSC's to support innovative, cross-sectorial, evidence based projects, programmes and initiatives that implement key national policies. Pobal administers this scheme on behalf of both Departments. CYPSC's are invited to apply to Pobal directly for such funding and funding is allocated following consideration of certain criteria.

The Area Based Childhood (ABC) Programme is a prevention and early intervention initiative targeting investment in effective services to improve the outcomes for children and families living in 13 areas of disadvantage. It is a time-bound programme, co-founded by my Department and The Atlantic Philanthropies (Atlantic), with funding of over €31 million, for the period 2013-2017. Pobal is the joint managing agency with the Centre for Effective Services.

Pobal has no involvement with funding of resource centres. Tusla, the Child and Family Agency is responsible for the Family Resource Centres throughout the country. My Department is providing the Agency with additional funding in 2018 to allow it to develop its capacity within the existing 109 Family Resource Centres and 11 new Family Resource Centres will be established and family support hubs set up. Details of the application process for this funding is available on Tusla's website, www.tusla.ie.