Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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263. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the total annual funding allocated to the children’s fund under the action plan for survivors and former residents of mother and baby and county home institutions; the breakdown of that allocation to each of the three projects identified for funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30434/24]

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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264. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to provide a copy of the report prepared by the expert panel for the children’s fund outlining the rationale for the development of the children’s fund and each of the three projects identified for funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30435/24]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 263 and 264 together.

Action 18 of the Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions commits to the creation of a Children's Fund to honour the memory of the children who died in Mother and Baby Institutions, with the core aim of supporting children experiencing disadvantage in the present day. Three projects have been identified by my Department as appropriate for funding under the Children's Fund.

The first project to be identified and commenced was the Care Experiences Programme, which I launched in January 2022. Children who are taken into the care of the State can include some of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable children in the country. While many do well in care, others do not and often face long term disadvantage and vulnerability in their adult lives. The Care Experiences Programme, which includes four separate projects, is a comprehensive examination of Ireland’s alternative care system. It aims to provide an extensive overview of the experiences of children and young people in care and aftercare and adults who were in care as children and to look at their long term outcomes.

In February 2023, my Department established an Expert Panel to guide, support and advise on how the remainder of the Fund might be used most effectively. The Panel comprised eight experts who have a broad spectrum of academic and service experience across areas relating to childhood disadvantage. The Expert Panel agreed on a list of ten criteria for the use of the Fund. These criteria and the Expert Panel's Final Proposal paper outlining specific proposals on the use of the Fund is available on the Children's Fund webpage: .

The Expert Group proposed supporting programmes in particular which work with children, their families and advocacy groups across three themes: home visiting programmes; supporting lone parents and their children; supporting early learning and parental engagement in children's learning.

Officials in my Department developed these proposals into two projects which meet the ambition of the Children’s Fund, as set out in the Government’s Action Plan, of providing support for children who are facing disadvantage in the present day, while also aligning with the criteria of the Expert Panel.

Home visiting programmes provide support and guidance to expecting parents and parents of babies and young children. Home visiting is a prevention and early intervention approach used to support parents to promote infant and child health, foster educational development and school readiness, and help prevent child abuse and neglect.

To date, home visiting services have developed in an ad hoc manner, driven by local needs, resources and priorities, rather than informed by a national approach. The Children’s Fund will be used to support the expansion of home visiting services and the establishment of a new National Home Visiting Programme in Tusla, to coordinate, provide direction and collect evidence and data to inform the future development of a sustainable national home visiting service.

The Local Government Management Authority book scheme comprises two projects: a book scheme for incarcerated parents and their children, and a scheme to support parents who are reluctant readers to gain confidence in reading regularly with their young children, aimed at areas of concentrated disadvantage.

While it is not intended that the home visiting service and book schemes should be exclusive to lone parents, by reaching cohorts of disadvantaged families, it is expected that lone parents will be proportionately higher among the beneficiaries. Overall, it is intended that the Fund will support the development and evaluation of these projects, with a view to informing mainstreaming after the five-year period.

In November 2023 Government approved funding for the three identified projects up to a maximum annual cost of €3.5m for a period of 5 years from 2024. Estimated costs are as follows:

1. €515k allocated to the Care Experiences Project in 2024, rising to €919K in 2025 and €784K in the three subsequent years of the Children’s Fund.

2. €1m in the first year (2024) allocated to the expansion of home visiting programmes. This includes the establishment of the National Home Visiting Programme within Tusla on a 5-year pilot basis, led by a National Home Visiting Coordinator to design and deliver the expansion of home visiting services. It is estimated that €2.25m would be allocated annually from 2025 to 2028.

3. €250k in total per annum for 5 years allocated to the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) book schemes.

Expenditure on the Care Experiences Project in 2023 was €130,915.60. Furthermore, I provided €34,000 of additional support to the LGMA in 2023 towards the wellbeing library collection for the children of prisoners.

My Department is working closely with Tusla, LGMA, and key stakeholders including care experienced people in the implementation of these projects. They are important, practical and tangible measures which will support the most vulnerable children in our society and their families, bringing sustainable benefits to children and families in disadvantage today.