Written Answers Nos. 338-357
338. Deputy Charles Flanagan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the steps he proposes to take to prevent the destruction, export, disposal, or concealment of records, documents and papers of industrial schools or Magdalene laundries that operated within the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26823/24]
View answerIn March 2022, Government approved high-level proposals for a National Centre for Research and Remembrance, to be located on the site of the former Magdalen Laundry on Sean McDermott Street in Dublin 1.This Centre will stand as a site of conscience to honour equally all those who spent time in Industrial Schools, Magdalen Laundries, Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions, Reformatories, and related institutions.The National Centre will stand as part of our national institutions. In addition to a museum and exhibition space, and a garden space for reflection and remembrance, it will include a research centre and repository of records related to institutional trauma in the 20th century, which will form part of the National Archives (NAI).Most of the records to be contained in the National Centre will transfer to NAI from a government department or State body who created, received or held the records in the course of their own business functions. A process has commenced preparing these records across departments for transfer to the National Centre for Research and Remembrance under the provisions of the National Archives Act 1986. Other organisations and institutions have also been identified such as private/religious institutions and/or individuals that may hold relevant records not subject to the National Archives Act. The National Archives is engaging with these institutions and bodies to address how such records could be appropriately made available over time, and accessible for research purposes in the context of the new archive given the complementarity of such holdings.
339. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No. 645 of 11 June 2024, the number of persons that exited IPAS each month from December 2022 to May 2024, in tabular form. [26841/24]
View answerThere are currently over 31,000 people accommodated in the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) system as a whole (of whom over 7,833 are children) compared with approximately 8,700 people at the end of February 2022.
Weekly and Monthly statistics are available publicly on the gov.ie at the links below:
gov.ie - IPAS Statistics (www.gov.ie) www.gov.ie/en/publication/07027-ipas-statistics/ .
Please see, in tabular format, the number of persons with Permission to Remain that exited IPAS accommodation each month from December 2022 to May 2024.
|
Month |
Progressions |
|
December 2022 |
59 |
|
January 2023 |
97 |
|
February 2023 |
118 |
|
March 2023 |
162 |
|
April 2023 |
150 |
|
May 2023 |
197 |
|
June 2023 |
200 |
|
July 2023 |
162 |
|
August 2023 |
142 |
|
September 2023 |
135 |
|
October 2023 |
130 |
|
November 2023 |
331 |
|
December 2023 |
178 |
|
January 2024 |
477 |
|
February 2024 |
357 |
|
March 2024 |
363 |
|
April 2024 |
475 |
|
May 2024 |
463 |
|
Total |
4,196 |
The above figures refer to those granted international protection, this includes refugee status, subsidiary protection or a leave to remain.
When an international protection application has been processed, and the person is granted a form of status that allows them to remain resident in Ireland, that person is granted the same rights as any other Irish citizen in respect of accommodation. They are written to once status has been granted and are advised they must now seek alternative accommodation. They are also advised that the supports of the Peter McVerry Trust/DePaul Ireland are available to them.
5,595 people with status were in IPAS accommodation at the end of May 2024.
Further statistics on those who leave IPAS accommodation are not collated by DCEDIY for publication.
340. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the status of the work of the Inter-Departmental Group on the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; the timeline the Inter-Departmental Group is working towards in reporting back to Government; the number and dates of meetings already held by the group; the status of his Department’s scoping exercise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26849/24]
View answerRatification of the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) is a commitment in the Programme for Government, and I remain committed to ratification at the earliest possible date.Ireland ratified the UNCRPD on 20 March 2018 and continues to implement the Convention on the basis of the continuous advancement of rights. Ireland has also engaged fully in the monitoring and accountability processes set out in the Convention, having submitted its first state report to the Committee in November of 2021. We now await a review date before the Committee in Geneva. Ireland has also placed IHREC's role as the national independent monitoring body for the UNCRPD on a statutory basis.In terms of the Optional Protocol, there is a long-standing position of the state in relation to honouring international agreements. As a matter of foreign policy, Ireland does not enter into binding international treaties until we are confident that the obligations set out can be complied with. As such, the ongoing scoping exercise is procedurally necessary.The scoping exercise on ratification is well advanced and will serve to ensure that the implications arising in respect of meeting the obligations under the Optional Protocol are identified. In that regard I have established an Inter-Departmental Group, chaired by my Department, with representatives from all government departments and the Office of the Attorney General, to ensure that a comprehensive, whole-of-Government approach is taken to ensuring that the necessary enabling work to provide for the ratification of the Optional Protocol is identified and can be completed, and so that ratification can proceed as quickly as possible.The Inter-Departmental Group has met on three occasions to date- on 19th April, on 16th May, and its most recent meeting took place on 20th June. The work of the IDG in bringing a renewed focus to the necessary enabling work to provide for the ratification of the Optional Protocol is well advanced. I intend to provide an update to my cabinet colleagues on the progress of the IDG and its work on ratification of the Optional Protocol in July.
341. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the reason children (details supplied) have been waiting a long time for an assessment of needs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26883/24]
View answerAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
342. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the reason an applicant (details supplied) was only awarded a standard compensation payment, and not the work-related payment, through the mother and baby home redress scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26884/24]
View answerWhile I try to be helpful at all times in the parliamentary process, the Deputy will be aware that I cannot be involved in individual cases and cannot comment on same. That said, I will try to be helpful in general terms. The Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme is designed to provide payments and other benefits to people who spent time in any Mother and Baby or County Home Institutions identified by the Commission of Investigation as having a main function of providing sheltered and supervised ante and post-natal facilities to single mothers and their children. One of the Scheme payments is a “work-related payment” which is accessible to mothers who spent more than 90 days in particular named institutions. Those institutions are the County Homes, the Tuam Mother and Baby Home and Sean Ross Abbey. The Commission’s report identified those institutions as requiring mothers to undertake chores and caring responsibilities over and above what occurred in other institutions and which could reasonably be defined as unpaid ‘commercial’ work.In addition to a wide range of applicant supports, public representatives can contact the Payment Scheme Office via a dedicated email address paymentschemereps@equality.gov.ie if they are assisting constituents in relation to the Scheme.Applicants to the Scheme also have a right of review, and a subsequent right of appeal, where they are not satisfied with the outcome of their application to the Scheme.
343. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will confirm that access to homeless services is permitted for those Ukrainian beneficiaries of temporary protection who reach the 90-day cut off for State-provided accommodation and who have no alternative accommodation in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26896/24]
View answerI can inform the Deputy that my Department has no role in determining access to homeless services for Ukrainian beneficiaries of temporary protection or for any other group. The Deputy might wish to address this question to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage who has policy responsibility for homeless services. My Department provides access to State supported accommodation for up to 90 days to those newly arriving beneficiaries of temporary protection who request it. To date all those who have availed of this particular support have sourced independent accommodation prior to reaching the end of the 90 days available.
344. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the reason a person (details supplied) is waiting so long for an assessment of needs; the timeline for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26907/24]
View answerAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
345. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he has any initiatives planned to address the staffing crisis in the childcare sector resulting in widespread temporary and permanent closure of facilities, including any plans to streamline credential verification processes for Irish applicants or incentives to non-EU applicants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26950/24]
View answerI acknowledge that many early learning and care (ELC) and school-age childcare (SAC) services report staffing challenges in relation to recruitment and retention. In general, staffing pressures in the sector are caused not by insufficient supply of qualified personnel, but by high levels of staff turnover. Pay levels are one of a number of issues impacting staffing levels.Providers of ELC and SAC are private businesses. As the State does not employ staff in ELC and SAC services, neither I, nor my Department, can set wage levels or determine working conditions for staff in the sectHowever, there is now, through the independent Joint Labour Committee (JLC) process, a formal mechanism established by which employer and employee representatives can negotiate terms and conditions of employment including minimum pay rates for different roles in ELC and SAC services. This process provided new EROs which came into effect this week providing for a further 5% increase in minimum rates for all grades and the removal of 3 years experience requirement for graduate minimum pay rates all of which will see 53% of the workforce improve their pay.In line with commitments in First 5, in December 2021, I launched Nurturing Skills: The Workforce Plan for Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC), 2022-2028. Nurturing Skills aims to strengthen the ongoing process of professionalisation for those working in ELC and SAC and to raise the profile of careers in the sector. It includes a career framework and commitments to support early years educators to upskill and develop their careers. It also includes commitments to strengthen continuing professional development for staff working in the sector.For those seeking to enter the workforce and work with children the must comply with the minimum qualification requirement as set out in the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) (Amendment) Regulations 2016. To aid this process my Department has published a list of qualifications that meet both regulatory and funding requirements for working in ELC services. Anyone with a qualification on the list is automatically approved and does not need an individual statement from my Department. They can commence working in ELC subject to other employer checks such as Garda vetting. With regard to non EU applicants, the State’s general policy is to promote the sourcing of labour and skills needs from within the workforce of Ireland, the European Union and other EEA states. The Department Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) manages both the Critical Skills Occupations List and the Ineligible Occupations List. Data currently suggests there are sufficient numbers of suitably qualified people in Ireland and the EU to meet the demand for staff in the ELC and SAC sector however my officials continue to monitor the relevant indicators and engage bilaterally with the DETE on the matter.Whilst some services have made the decision to operate temporary closures, e.g. closing a particular room for a period of time, as a way of addressing staffing challenges, the Tusla register of ELC and SAC services points to some positive trends. To date in 2024, there has been a net increase of 7 in the number of ELC services. 19 new ELC services registered with Tusla in January to May 2024, compared to 12 ELC service closures in the same period. There has also been a net increase of 24 standalone SAC services.2023 saw a five-year low in the number of net ELC service closures. Including standalone SAC services as well, in 2023 there was a net increase in the overall number of Tusla-registered services of 129.
346. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to set out the oversight procedures in place for privately contracted individuals providing complex parental capacity assessments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26964/24]
View answerStatutory and operational responsibility for the delivery of child protection and welfare services is a matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. The Deputy is seeking information in relation to an operational matter for Tusla. Consequently, I have referred the matter to Tusla, and requested that a direct response be provided to the Deputy.
347. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the reason Tusla has refused to investigate the performance of private contractors commissioned by Tusla to provide complex parental capacity assessments for two participants in an area (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26965/24]
View answerStatutory and operational responsibility for the delivery of child protection and welfare services is a matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. The Deputy is seeking information in relation to an operational matter for Tusla. Consequently, I have referred the matter to Tusla, and requested that a direct response be provided to the Deputy.
348. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when a child (details supplied) in County Kerry will receive a HSE assessment of need; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27013/24]
View answerAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
349. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the procedure by which complaints to Tusla are being examined; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27017/24]
View answerStatutory and operational responsibility for the delivery of child protection and welfare services is a matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. The Deputy is seeking information in relation to an operational matter for Tusla. Consequently, I have referred the matter to Tusla, and requested that a direct response be provided to the Deputy.
350. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will examine the case of a child (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27079/24]
View answerThe Department is not in a position to comment on individual cases.
Under the European Communities (Reception Conditions) Regulations 2018, those who have had their application determined are no longer entitled to Material Reception conditions. However, the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) continues to accommodate those with status, until such time that they progress into the community.
All those with International Protection/Permission to Remain are written to once status has been granted and are advised they must now seek alternative accommodation. They are also advised that the supports of the Peter McVerry Trust/Depaul Ireland are available to them.
Those with status for the greatest length of time are currently being offered a transfer to alternative emergency accommodation, currently singles/couples with status over 9 months and families with status over 18 months. This process began in September 2022 with single people with status.
In the past 24 months, over 4,600 people with status have left IPAS accommodation and progressed into the community
IPAS has a specific Transition team who work in collaboration with Depaul Ireland, the Peter McVerry Trust, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and Local Authorities to support residents with status to exit IPAS accommodation and access other housing options. Those with status have the same housing entitlements as Irish Citizens and are supported to register with a Local Authority and, if required, to avail of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) to secure alternative accommodation. In addition, those with status have the same social welfare entitlements as Irish Citizens.
There is currently an accommodation shortfall for arriving International Protection (IP) applicants. This shortfall is currently in respect to single adult males and IPAS is now experiencing increasing pressure in its efforts to secure accommodation for arriving families, including those with children.
Given this and Ireland's legal obligation to provide accommodation to IP applicants, those who have held permission to remain in Ireland for a considerable length of time may be transferred to alternative emergency accommodation. This policy is in place to help ensure accommodation in non-emergency settings is available to newly arrived persons seeking International Protection.
Access to mainstream education and health services remain available to all residents of IPAS accommodation. Should a family have concerns or wish to submit medical documentation in relation to a proposed move they can contact IPAS at ipasinbox@equality.gov.ie.
351. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the current status for parents who secured a childcare place for their child, paid a large deposit and whose childcare circumstances change months prior to the child commencing in the crèche, who give ample notice of withdrawing their child from the provider’s list and are refused a refund of the fee paid, with the crèche provider having a waiting list for parents looking for childcare, given the lack of childcare services within the area (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27162/24]
View answerWhen a Partner Service enters into Core Funding, they agree to adhere to the terms of the Core Funding Partner Service Agreement. One such term of this agreement for the 2023/2024 Programme Year is that a Partner Service agrees that they will not charge non-refundable deposits including administration fees, registration fees or other such charges where the parent/guardian takes up the service for which the deposit was paid.However, if a parent/guardian chooses to not take up a service there is no such provision in the Core Funding Partner Service Agreement for the 2023/2024 Programme Year that guarantees that this deposit will be returned to them. In such instances, the decision on whether a deposit will be returned is a matter of the independent agreement that occurred between the parent/guardian and Partner Service.
352. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth what funding is available for the development of new playgrounds in villages where there are none; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27188/24]
View answerMy department provides funding to support the development of new play and recreation facilities for children and young people through the Capital Grant Scheme for Play and Recreation. Established in 2013, this grant scheme operates through and with Local Authorities. The scheme also funds the refurbishment of existing play and recreation facilities and the incorporation of natural play elements.The criteria for the scheme were developed in partnership with the Local Authority Play and Recreation Network, established to bring a focus on play and recreation within each local authority.For each project, 25% of the awarded amount must be provided by the Local Authority. Facilities and equipment funded must be accessible to children and young people of all abilities, as far as possible.All facilities and equipment funded must be child-friendly and safe, and all projects funded under the scheme must provide evidence that children and young people living locally who will have access to the facility have been consulted about the project for which funding is sought.All spaces and facilities for which funding is granted must be available for use by all children and young people in the locality at times when they are free to use them, including outside of school hours. Children’s playgrounds and play areas should be places of fun and activity for all children to enjoy, so that every child can experience the joy and excitement that comes with playing outdoors.Since 2021, funding of €450,000 per year has been made available to Local Authorities through this scheme.Applications must be made through the relevant Local Authority Play and Recreation Network member. My Department can provide contact details for a specific Local Authority area, on request.
353. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of contracted staff, full-time and part-time, employed by his Department, and by any body or entity under the aegis of the Department, who are specifically assigned to processing freedom of information requests (details supplied), in each of the past three years; the Civil Service grade of each; the number of freedom of information requests dealt with by his Department, or any body or entity under its aegis, in each of the past three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27227/24]
View answerMy Department is currently collating the information requested and a reply will issue directly to the Deputy as soon as possible
354. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will report on preparations to ratify the Optional Protocol to the UNCRPD in light of the Taoiseach’s comments (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27262/24]
View answerRatification of the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) is a commitment in the Programme for Government, and I remain committed to ratification at the earliest possible date.Ireland ratified the UNCRPD on 20 March 2018 and continues to implement the Convention on the basis of the continuous advancement of rights. Ireland has also engaged fully in the monitoring and accountability processes set out in the Convention, having submitted its first state report to the Committee in November of 2021. We now await a review date before the Committee in Geneva. Ireland has also placed IHREC's role as the national independent monitoring body for the UNCRPD on a statutory basis.In relation to ratifying the Optional protocol, there is a long-standing position of the state in relation to honouring international agreements. As a matter of foreign policy, Ireland does not enter into binding international treaties until we are confident that the obligations set out can be complied with. As such, a scoping exercise on ratification is well advanced to ensure that the implications arising in respect of meeting the obligations under the Optional Protocol are identified and can be addressed with a view to enabling ratification. I have established an Inter-Departmental Group, chaired by my Department, with representatives from all government departments and the Office of the Attorney General, to work urgently to ensure that a comprehensive, whole-of-Government approach is taken to ensuring that the necessary enabling work to provide for the ratification of the Optional Protocol is completed, so that ratification can proceed as quickly as possible.Minister O'Gorman intends to provide an update to Cabinet on the progress of the IDG and its work on ratification of the Optional Protocol in the coming weeks.
355. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No. 647 of 11 June 2024, the average duration spent in IPAS accommodation to date by international protection applicants and beneficiaries that applied for international protection in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 respectively, in tabular form. [27292/24]
View answerThere are currently over 31,000 people accommodated in the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) system as a whole (of whom over 7,833 are children) compared with approximately 8,700 people at the end of February 2022.Please see, in tabular format, the average duration spent in IPAS accommodation by international protection applicants arriving between 2019 and 2024. This data is as at 24 June 2024 and pertains to the date of entrance into IPAS accommodation.
|
Year of entrance |
Average duration spent in accommodation, as at 24 June 2024 |
|
2019 |
59 |
|
2020 |
48 |
|
2021 |
33 |
|
2022 |
22 |
|
2023 |
10 |
|
2024 |
2 |
356. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to provide a breakdown of the number of beneficiaries of temporary protection that have exited his Department’s supported accommodation each month from June 2023 to May 2024. [27293/24]
View answerMy Department does not collate information on beneficiaries of temporary protection (BOTPs) that have exited supported accommodation as requested by the Deputy. The overall number of BOTPs reported in accommodation that is supported by my Department has been in decline since November 2023. Estimates indicate that approx. 40 to 50 BOTPs per day have been leaving accommodation supported by my Department. A table on the occupancy as reported is provided below.
|
- |
Jun-23 |
Jul-23 |
Aug-23 |
Sep-23 |
Oct-23 |
Nov-23 |
|
Number of BOTPs |
54780 |
56025 |
57146 |
56799 |
58694 |
59646 |
ctgd.
|
- |
Dec-23 |
Jan-24 |
Feb-24 |
Mar-24 |
Apr-24 |
May-24 |
Jun-24 |
|
Number of BOTPs |
58052 |
58605 |
58416 |
54950 |
51797 |
47783 |
45364 |
357. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No. 248 of 11 June 2024, of the 13,275 beneficiaries of temporary protection that vacated State-provided accommodation between end-December 2023 to end-March 2024, to specify the breakdown of the number of persons that vacated State-owned accommodation, commercial accommodation or other accommodation types respectively over this time period. [27294/24]
View answerMy Department did not collate the information in the manner requested by the Deputy in relation to a breakdown of the number of persons that vacated State-owned accommodation, commercial accommodation or other accommodation types respectively between end-December 2023 to end-March 2024.
