Written Answers Nos. 200-226
200. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the extent to which the funds available to his Department remain adequate to meet whatever challenges may arise, for whatever reason in the course of the next twelve months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39444/24]
View answerI thank the Deputy for his question.
At the end of September, gross expenditure is running €278.6 million ahead of REV profile.
The main expenditure pressures for the Department in 2024 are in International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS), Specialist Community Based Disability Services (SCBDS), Tusla, the Child and Family Agency and Early Learning and Care, and School-Age Childcare.
My Department continues to closely monitor expenditure. In this regard, there are a number of measures to ensure effective monitoring of expenditure trends. These include monthly reporting of actual expenditure against profiled, timing of spend over the course of the year and monthly forecasting of expected spending to the end of 2024. In addition, my department meet regularly with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform regarding expenditure and spending projections for the Vote in 2024.
201. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the extent to which it may be possible to provide sufficient childcare places at an affordable rate to ensure that parents may plan for the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39445/24]
View answerImproving access to quality and affordable early learning and childcare is a key priority of Government.Data available to my Department demonstrates that, overall, early learning and childcare provision is expanding in terms of number of services opening, the number of places and hours of provision that services are offering, the numbers of staff employed and the numbers of parents supported through various schemes and initiatives.
The Early Years Sector Profile Survey shows that, between 2021/22 and 2022/23:
• the estimated number of enrolments in services rose by 8%, and
• the estimated number of staff in the early learning and childcare workforce rose by 8% from 34,357 to 37,060.
Data from Tusla on service closures and new service registrations shows a net increase of 129 in the overall number of services in 2023 and a five-year low in the number of net services closures – with preschool service closures falling by 18% in the first year of Core Funding.
Data from the National Childcare Scheme indicates that since 2022, there has been a 22 per cent increase in the number of providers offering the Scheme, a 100 per cent increase in the numbers of children benefitting from the Scheme and a 52 per cent increase in the number of sponsored children.
Core Funding application data shows that between Year 1 and Year 2 of the scheme, annual place hours increased by almost 8%.
However, I am aware that some parents are having difficulty in finding the type of affordable early learning and care provision that they would like for their children, particularly younger children. At the same time there is some evidence of vacancy in the system and some services are not operating at the full capacity that they could be.
My Department has in place a number of initiatives to support the sector to deliver supply to meet demand.
The Core Funding scheme supports providers with the costs of delivery and includes important conditionality in relation to fee management to improve affordability of provision, in tandem with the National Childcare Scheme and the Early Childhood Care and Education programme which assist parents with offsetting costs.
I have built on the allocation of the Core Funding scheme in each year since it began in 2022 and you will see that there is a further increase in the allocation in Budget 2025.
Separately, from this week I have put in place measures to allow a much larger cohort childminders to register with Tusla and for parents who use those regulated childminders to avail on NCS subsidies.
I am also supporting the expansion of capacity through capital funding. The Building Blocks Capital Schemes, which are operating over 2024 and 2025, are supporting services to increase capacity through two strands, the Expansion Scheme, now closed, and the Extension Scheme. The Extension Scheme will provide €25 million in capital funding next year to deliver thousands of new affordable early learning and childcare places. It will offer funding for large scale projects to enable existing community and private services to build new capacity onto their current premises by means of physical extension. It will also allow community services to apply to purchase or construct new premises. The capacity grant schemes include maximum fee thresholds as a condition of funding.
This programme of support for the provision of places builds on a substantial legacy of fostering the development of the sector and the establishment and expansion of services, most explicitly through previous capital programmes, but equally through the various current funding streams.
202. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the plans in hand to increase the number of childcare places throughout County Kildare over the next three years; the work in hand for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39446/24]
View answerImproving access to quality and affordable early learning and childcare is a key priority of Government.Data available to shows that the level of capacity in the sector has risen substantially in recent years.
Sector profile data shows an increase in enrolments nationally of 8% between 2022 and 2023 with a similar increase in enrolments in Kildare for the same period.
However, I am aware that some parents are having difficulty in finding the type of affordable early learning and care provision that they would like for their children, particularly younger children.
The Building Blocks Capital Schemes, which are operating over 2024 and 2025, are supporting services to increase capacity through two strands, the Expansion Scheme, with applications now closed, and the Extension Scheme due to open for applications later this year. The Extension Scheme will provide €25 million in capital funding next year to deliver thousands of new affordable early learning and childcare places. It will offer funding for large scale projects to enable existing community and private services to build new capacity onto their current premises by means of physical extension. It will also allow community services to apply to purchase or construct new premises. Appraisal of applications under the Building Blocks Scheme will consider the supply and demand in the area around the proposed projects and seeks to prioritise funding for areas with the biggest supply/demand mismatch.
The network of City and County Childcare Committees will provide supports to services that are applying for funding under the Scheme. My Department will continue to progress a range of actions, such as the development of the Core Funding scheme and support for the regulation of childminders, to ensure the supply of early learning and childcare meets demand.
Officials in my Department are also working with colleagues on wider matters to do with the supply of early learning and childcare places. I have established an interdepartmental working group on early learning and childcare planning matters that will support this work.
203. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the extent to which disability services for children are readily available throughout north County Kildare; the areas of deficiency in this regard that have been identified; the remediation plans for same; the progress made in this regard in the last six months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39447/24]
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.
204. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the extent to which he and his Department continue to meet the needs of people with disabilities of all ages and gender; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39448/24]
View answerAs Minister for State with Responsibility for Disability, I remain committed to ensuring that disabled people of all ages and gender are supported to live full lives of their own choosing, on an equitable basis with all others in society.
Ireland ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in March 2018. The Convention expresses disability rights as human rights and is extremely comprehensive in scope, capturing most aspects of daily life and going well beyond the remit of a single Department or Minister.
As noted previously, coordination of the necessary whole-of-government work to advance the rights under the Convention is undertaken by my Department, but it falls to each of my ministerial colleagues to develop and implement specific measures on the basis of their ministerial portfolio. In that regard, all public bodies must each ensure, on a "mainstream first" basis and in line with the Convention, that they are meeting their obligations under the UNCRPD and in relevant national legislation.
Under my own ministerial remit, the Action Plan for Disability Services 2024-2026 was published on 14th December 2023 and arises out of a Government commitment to work towards implementing the recommendations of the Disability Capacity Review to 2032. The Action Plan commits to the delivery of 110,000 additional Home Support hours to address shortfalls in services and to support people with disabilities to live at home. The Action Plan also commits to 800,000 additional Personal Assistance hours in the same period, with the delivery of 80,000 additional hours in 2024.
I am committed to ensuring that young people leaving school in 2024 who wish to avail of a disability day service place will be supported in doing so. Funding of €18.2m has been allocated for new Day Services places to support approximately 1,250 people with disabilities who are leaving school to transition into adult day services from September 2024.
The Progressing Disability Services Roadmap for Service Improvement (2023-2026) was launched by the HSE on 24th October 2023 and is a targeted Service Improvement Programme which sets out to achieve quality, accessible, equitable and timely therapy services for children with complex needs and their families.
Residential Service capacity has increased from 8146 places in 2021 to 8578 places as of July 2024. Between 2021 and July 2024, 261 people have been moved from congregated settings to homes in the community.
National action on autism is being progressed via a new national Autism Innovation Strategy, published on 26th August 2024. This cross-government strategy aims to identify and deliver tangible solutions to address the bespoke challenges faced by autistic people across Ireland. It seeks to improve awareness and understanding of autism across the public system and wider society. The Strategy contains 83 actions and will be implemented over an 18-month period.
Finally, work is underway to develop the next National Disability Strategy. This Strategy will be a fulfilment of a key Programme for Government commitment and will coordinate the continued implementation of the UNCRPD in Ireland. It will operate as a whole-of-government blueprint for disability policy, and facilitate coherent work across government to support disabled people of all ages and genders.
205. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the extent to which he continues to liaise with youth groups and representatives in County Kildare and throughout the country, with a view to establishing supportive dialogue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39449/24]
View answerMy Department officials and I regularly meet with representatives of the youth sector, including young people, youth service providers and the Education and Training Boards (ETBs) who administer a number of the key funding schemes on behalf of my Department.
My officials are in regular contact with Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI), the representative body for all of the ETBs. ETBI acts a conduit for information between the ETB youth divisions and my Department, providing advice and guidance to ETBs on my Department's funding schemes, and updating my officials with the issues of concern of the ETBs.
With regard to Kildare in particular, my officials met directly with the Director with responsibility for youth and youth officers of Kildare and Wicklow ETB in March this year, as part of a series of bilateral meetings with each ETB.
My officials also maintain regular contact with the 30 national youth organisations funded under the Youth Service Grant Scheme as well as with Gaisce, the President's Award. This includes the National Youth Organisations Meeting which I attend twice a year to hear directly from the sector. The most recent meeting was in June of this year. These organisations provide volunteer-led youth services on a regional and national basis, including to the young people of Kildare.
Officials from my Department also meet with various youth organisations on an individual basis when the need arises.
206. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the extent to which his Department liaises with the Department of Education with a view to putting in place integrated after-school childcare facilities for children in their school buildings to ensure appropriate care is available for children whose parents work full time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39450/24]
View answerThe term after-school can cover a range of activities from regulated school aged childcare to after-school homework clubs or youth activity projects such as cooking lessons. Depending on the activity, funding may be available from different Departments and agencies. For the purposes of this answer, it is assumed that the matter being raised is school aged childcare.
A ‘school age service’ means any early years service, play group, day nursery, crèche, day-care or other similar service, the primary purpose of which is to care for children where their parents are unavailable.
In relation to the operation of both Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) services that are located on school premises, my Department regularly engages with colleagues in the Department of Education. The Department of Education encourage schools to facilitate requests for the provision of such services where possible, though priority must be given to the interests of the schools, teachers and pupils. It is also important to note that schools are run by their Board of Management and so the decision on whether or not to facilitate SAC or ELC services on the premises ultimately lies with the Board of Management.
First 5, the whole-of-government strategy to improve the lives of babies, young children and their families recognises the potential for the use of school facilities for early learning childcare. To assist schools in considering applications for use of their facilities, the Department of Education in consultation with representatives of schools published Guidelines on the use of School Buildings outside of School Hours in 2017. In line with commitments in First 5, in 2023, the Department of Education conducted a survey of a representative sample of schools on the use of school buildings to facilitate early learning and childcare services. The results of this survey were used to review the Guidelines on the use of School Buildings outside of School Hours.
Finally while my Department does not directly provide after school childcare, it does provide a range of supports for any body that wishes to set up an early learning and childcare or after school childcare service. Any school which wants to set up an after-school service, and which registers with Tulsa, can access the National Childcare Scheme funding which may reduce the cost of after-school care to parents. Schools may establish such a service themselves, or may provide premises to a Tusla registered provider to deliver after-school care on the school premises. Schools can get support from their local County Childcare Committee (CCC) for information and support on establishing or hosting an after-school service. Details of the CCCs can be found on www.myccc.ie .
207. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the extent to which he proposes to use equality as a means of ensuring proper and adequate services to those deemed to be in need of such services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39451/24]
View answerAll public bodies have responsibility under Section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 to promote equality, prevent discrimination and protect the human rights of their employees, customers, service users and everyone affected by their policies and plans. The public sector duty assessment and implementation plan for the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth was published in 2021 and the Department will continue to report on developments relating to the implementation of the Duty in its Annual Reports.Discrimination on specified grounds is prohibited by law in the supply of and access to goods and services under the Equal Status Acts 2000 to 2018. Complaints regarding breaches of equality legislation may be pursued before the Workplace Relations Commission. The Workplace Relations Commission publishes statistics regularly on its decisions in regard to equality complaints, disaggregated by discriminatory ground.The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, which is independent in the exercise of its statutory functions, includes among those functions keeping under review the adequacy and effectiveness of law and practice in the State relating to the protection of human rights and equality, including in relation to the provision of goods and services.The ongoing review of the Equality Acts is examining the operation of the Equality Acts from the perspective of the person taking a claim under its redress mechanisms. It is further examining the degree to which those experiencing discrimination are aware of the legislation and whether there are practical or other obstacles which preclude or deter them from taking an action. In July 2021, my Department undertook a public consultation process as part of the review of the Equality Acts to examine the functioning of the Acts and their effectiveness in combatting discrimination and promoting equality. A report summarising the key issues raised in the public consultation was published last year and can be accessed here: www.gov.ie/en/press-release/cafb4-minister-ogorman-publishes-report-on-the-submissions-to-the-public-consultation-on-the-review-of-the-equality-acts/ It is intended that legislative proposals arising from the review will be brought forward shortly.
208. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the extent to which the concerns of parents of children with mental health problems are regularly monitored, with a view to ensuring the availability of adequate residential places; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39452/24]
View answerThis is a matter for my cabinet colleague, the Minister for Health.
209. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of children currently in the various forms of care, institutional or otherwise; the degree to which he is satisfied with the level and quality of the care in all such situations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39453/24]
View answerThe question of total number of children currently in various forms of care has been interpreted to refer to children in alternative care. Tusla’s latest available Monthly Service Performance and Activity Report informs that there were 5,803 children in care at the end of July 2024. 87.2% (5,062) of all children in care are in foster care (3,588 general foster care, and 1,474 relative foster care), 8.7% (505) are in residential care and 4.1% (236) are in “other” care placements (including disability units, mental health units, drugs/alcohol rehabilitation units etc.).
In respect of quality of care in these settings, the Child Care Act 1991 is the primary piece of legislation providing for alternative care and child protection policy in Ireland. The Act is a wide-ranging piece of legislation, which, at its core, seeks to promote the welfare of children who may not be receiving adequate care and protection.
Consequently, the Act sets out a detailed statutory framework, which includes but is not limited to provisions requiring Tusla to have regard to the best interests of the child, the criteria for bringing children into care, the types of placements where they may be placed, and the responsibilities of the State to children in alternative care. The child protection and welfare landscape in Ireland has changed greatly since the Act’s commencement, and there are areas of the legislation that require updating to reflect this, our improved understanding of children’s rights, and to allow for positive practice developments to be enshrined in law where needed. In April 2023 I published the Heads and General Scheme of a Bill to amend the Child Care Act 1991, following a comprehensive review of that legislation. On 23 April 2024, Government agreed to separate the proposed legislation into two Bills and that amendments relating to child welfare and protection will follow in a separate Bill.
The placement of children in alternative care is also governed by Regulations and Standards for Foster Care, Residential Care, and Special Care. These Regulations and Standards set out the detailed criteria against which Tusla is inspected, in its provision of alternative care services. The application of these Regulations and Standards promotes safe and high-quality practice in alternative care.
In November 2023 the Government published Young Ireland: The National Policy Framework for Children and Young People 2023 – 2028. This national policy identifies Foster Care, Care and Aftercare as a priority under National Outcome 3: Safe and Protected from Harm. In this regard, the national policy details concrete steps to be taken by my Department, Tusla and other stakeholders across Government in order to improve provision of services to all children in care and in receipt of aftercare services.
Tusla has statutory and operational responsibility for the provision of alternative care services. Since its establishment in 2014, it has led a comprehensive reform of child protection, alternative care, and family support services. Central to their vision is the development of services that ensure children are safe and achieving their full potential. In this regard, Tusla has developed a Strategy on Alternative Care. The Strategy comprises Strategic Plans for Residential Care, Foster Care, and Aftercare, each of which identifies key recommendations to further reform and improve service delivery in alternative care.
Further, Section 41 (1) of the Child and Family Act 2013 stipulates that I as Minister shall develop a performance framework to provide Tusla with policy guidance, direction and prioritisation parameters for the preparation of its corporate plan, and provision is also made for the development of a performance statement to inform Tusla’s annual business plans.
The Government is committed to supporting the provision of high quality and safe services to children in care, which will help them to reach their full potential. Officials in my Department meet regularly with their counterparts in Tusla to discuss a range of issues, including availability of placements, workforce planning and interagency issues, with a view to supporting the continuous improvement of services delivered to children in care.
I will continue to engage closely with relevant stakeholders, including Tusla, to improve the delivery of high-quality care to children and young people.
210. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if further funding will be provided to deal with the problems with CDNTs in County Donegal, such as long wating lists and the high number of vacancies in CDNTs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39466/24]
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.
211. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the actions that have been taken to address the current crisis in CDNTs in County Donegal, specifically, the high number of positions vacant in CDNTs, long waiting lists, the failure to provide necessary equipment to children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39400/24]
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.
212. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health to provide the bill of quantity for the National Children’s Hospital tender and contract; to provide a bill of quantity for the National Maternity Hospital tender and contract; and the current stage of the development of the National Maternity Hospital procurement process. [39197/24]
View answerThe National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) has statutory responsibility for planning, designing, building, and equipping the new children's hospital. I have therefore referred the relevant part of your question to the NPHDB for direct reply.
In July 2023, Cabinet gave its approval for the relocation of the National Maternity Hospital (NMH) to Elm Park, co-located with St Vincent’s University Hospital (SVUH), to proceed to tender for a main contractor to construct the new hospital, in line with EU and national requirements.
The main tender process, which began in September 2023, is programmed to run over a period of c.18 months. The steps in this process include:
• Contractor pre-qualification process (which started in September 2023);
• Tender issue to the pre-qualified contractors (which started in April 2024);
• Receipt of tender responses. (These responses are scheduled for return in Q4 2024);
• Evaluation of returned tenders in line with the award criteria;
• Updating of the final business case to incorporate market responses;
• Government consent to proceed to sign contracts.
In parallel to the tender and procurement process, in order to construct the proposed NMH development as a single-phase development and to de-risk the future site as much as possible, a number of buildings are required to be completed in advance of the commencement of the main NMH works. This will enable the decant of existing facilities away from the NMH footprint and improve SVUH campus wide resilience in terms of mechanical and electrical energy.
Clancy Construction commenced these works in December 2023. It is expected that these enabling works and the tender process will both be completed in tandem by mid-2025.
Your queries relating to the Bill of Quantities and tender for the NMH have been sent to the HSE, as contracting authority, for direct reply.
213. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health the plans in place to secure spare capacity in the renal department at University Hospital Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39198/24]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
214. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for Health the logic of allowing a 17-year-old bring tobacco and alcohol into the country through duty free, but banning the purchase of tobacco until the age of 21 in their local shop; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39204/24]
View answerThe Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill is designed to prohibit the sale of tobacco products to persons under 21 within the jurisdiction and without exceptions. Duty free allowances are a matter for the Office of the Revenue Commissioners.
215. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for Health if he acknowledges that there are significant loopholes when it comes to the duty-free purchasing of tobacco and alcohol by those under the age of 18, while his Department intends to prohibit the sale of alcohol to 18- to 20-year-olds in the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39205/24]
View answer216. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the number of unfilled positions for speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and psychologists in CHO4, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39207/24]
View answerAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
217. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health when a person from Donegal (details supplied) can expect a date for a back operation from Beaumont Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39213/24]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible
218. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health to detail the plan, timescale and the costs for providing the necessary equipment for the National Children’s Hospital; if existing or old equipment from existing children’s hospitals will be used in the new National Children’s Hospital. [39215/24]
View answerThe National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) has statutory responsibility for planning, designing, building, and equipping the new children's hospital. I have therefore referred your question to the NPHDB for direct reply.
219. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health to detail the plan, timescale and the costs for providing the necessary electronic patient records for patients of the new National Children’s Hospital. [39216/24]
View answerThe new National Children’s Hospital (NCH) will operate as a ‘digital hospital’ as a result of the investments in an enterprise level Electronic Health Record (EHR) system and related applications. All children treated at NCH will have a full digital health record. Parents and guardians will be able to view their children’s health record, review appointments, receive reminders, and access other digital services via a patient app.
The NCH EHR will enable delivery of more timely, coordinated, safe and efficient patient care; enable multidisciplinary teams through access to a shared view of the patient record; reduce medical errors through access to clinical decision support tools, medications and diagnostics reports; reduce avoidable readmissions and average length of stay; reduce time wasted by staff by streamlining the ordering of tests and notifying them of results; thus, reducing of cost of care delivery.
The EHR system was chosen by Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) following an extensive open procurement process, and was selected based on the clinical and operational requirements of the new hospital, as the national specialty centre for the provision of paediatric care. Ensuring the requirements of clinicians, health care professionals and patients was the number one priority when choosing the EPIC electronic health record system for NCH.
The implementation of the EHR system at the NCH is a complex process that involves several stages, including planning, selection, customization, training, and deployment. The provision of an EHR System is well advanced with the design phase complete and configuration phase now well advanced. The next phase is testing and commissioning, and these will be complete in time for the opening of the hospital. There will be a programme of post go live support and system optimisation over the course of 2026 and 2027. When complete, this will be the most extensive EHR deployment in Ireland to date.
The timeline for the delivery of the EHR system is aligned with the handover of the new facility and the period provided for the commissioning of the new hospital.
The total cost of the delivery of the EHR system at NCH, that was approved by government in Q1 2024, is €95.51m. These costs are subject to ongoing review and may be impacted by delays in the handover of the hospital from the main contractor BAM, as this will result in an extended timeline for delivery of the EHR. During any delay, external vendor costs are very tightly managed, but the cost of internal, specialist hospital staff assigned to the delivery of the EHR are impacted as these staff cannot easily be stood down and ramped up again on short notice.
Whilst there is a focus on the capital project and its delivery, we must not lose sight of the fact that the NCH project will deliver world class facilities that will improve and prioritise medical outcomes for the nation’s sickest children, while bringing about transformational change to the delivery of healthcare for the children of Ireland for generations to come.
220. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health to detail the plan, timescale and the costs for bringing together the various staff cohorts from existing hospitals to provide the new staff team for the National Children's Hospital. [39217/24]
View answerAs this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy, as soon as possible.
221. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health if he will provide all the individual changes to the National Children’s Hospital that have been requested by the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board in 2024. [39218/24]
View answerThe National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) has statutory responsibility for planning, designing, building, and equipping the new children's hospital. I have therefore referred your question to the NPHDB for direct reply.
222. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health to provide the tender invitations that were issued for the development of the bill of quantities for the National Children’s Hospital and the National Maternity Hospital. [39219/24]
View answerThe National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) has statutory responsibility for planning, designing, building, and equipping the new children's hospital. I have therefore referred the relevant part of your question to the NPHDB for direct reply.
Your query relating to the tender invitations that were issued for the development of the Bill of Quantities for the National Maternity Hospital (NMH) has been sent to the HSE, as contracting authority, for direct reply.
223. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Health whether the land currently owned and used by the HSE in Corduff as a mental health day centre and formerly the primary care centre, could also be used to accommodate diversion projects (details supplied) in modular or prefab accommodation to respond to the needs of young people involved in high-profiled criminal networks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39226/24]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly as soon as possible.
224. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health when a payment (details supplied) will be authorised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39233/24]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
225. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39256/24]
View answerAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
226. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Health if he will introduce a quality improvement initiative in relation to the HSE’s paediatric dental service that operates in CHO3; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39258/24]
View answerThe HSE Oral Healthcare Service provides oral healthcare services for all children aged under 16 years. The current service model for children focuses on three appointments for examination, and follow up treatment if required, at sixth class, second class and, subject to resources, fourth class. Fissure sealants and a referral for orthodontics assessment, if deemed necessary by the HSE dentist, are provided at the sixth-class appointment. Emergency care is provided for children of all ages up to 16 and for those with complex and additional needs.
There have been challenges in the delivery of the primary school programme. HSE continues to address the backlogs. To end-August, HSE has provided 5.1% more scheduled appointments to its target groups, including the primary school programme and those with special needs, then it did in the same period last year.
I fully acknowledge that we need to do more. In the budget we announced this week, I have allocated €4 million in full-year funding, including €2 million next year, to continue the implementation of the National Oral Health Policy. This investment is going to provide an additional 15 HSE dental staff across dentists and dental nurses to deliver oral healthcare in our community and support children to access the current primary school programme of routine check-ups.
The investment will also initiate delivery of a three-year implementation plan for the policy. Reform of our services is really important to ensure people of all ages get access to the care they need.
The HSE is currently developing new prevention-focused oral healthcare packages as the first step in reform of services for children, starting with 0-7 years olds and supported by an additional €4.75m in funding previously made available. Through this new approach, children will be supported to attend a local (private) general dental practitioner of their family's choosing from birth, reflecting how services are provided in general medical practice. Therefore, parents will be able to choose where and when to bring their child to access crucial oral healthcare.
