Written Answers Nos. 882-901
882. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the details of the ARP programme for refugees; how many individuals have availed of it in 2024; the overall cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43966/24]
View answerThe Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP) was introduced in July 2022 to recognise the generosity of people who have opened their homes to provide accommodation to Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) arriving in Ireland from Ukraine. The payment rate under this scheme is €800 per month per property with a unique Eircode, irrespective of whether the property is vacant or shared. Payment is available to those who have made arrangements through the Irish Red Cross appeal, the Offer a Home scheme, and those made independently.
The scheme is provided for under Part 2 of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 and is administered by the Department of Social Protection on behalf of my Department.
From the scheme’s launch on 26 July 2022 to 21 October 2024, over €192m has been paid to over 19,500 hosts in respect of hosting almost 44,000 BOTPs. Approximately 14,000 hosts are currently in receipt of the Accommodation Recognition Payment.
883. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the full-year costs of this year’s expected delivery on residential places; the amount of funding that will be allocated to the announced 70 new residential placements; the specific amount of funding that will be allocated to the announced 50 Tusla-related responses; the amount that will be allocated to the announced enhancement of existing residential places; the amount that will be allocated to the announced upgrade of some existing placement opportunities for new residents; the amount that will be allocated to the announced transition of people from congregated settings; and the amount that will be allocated to the announced transition of people from nursing homes. [43972/24]
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.
884. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the level of funding that was allocated in Budget 2025 to deliver the announced 40,000 additional home support hours; and the level of funding that was allocated in Budget 2025 to deliver the announced 20,000 additional personal assistance hours. [43973/24]
View answerThe HSE provides a range of assisted living services including Personal Assistant and Home Support Services to support individuals to maximise their capacity to live full and independent lives.
PA and Home Support Services are provided either directly by the HSE or through a range of voluntary service providers. The majority of specialised disability provision (80%) is delivered through non-statutory sector service providers.
The Action Plan for Disability Services 2024-2026 commits to a policy review of Home Support services in the light of the UNCRPD, and proposed statutory Home Care scheme being led by the Department of Health, to develop a formal policy and service description, develop eligibility and prioritisation criteria.
A policy review of PA services in the light of the UNCRPD is already underway, with a working group involving key stakeholders and disabled people's organisations, to develop formal policy and service description, develop eligibility and prioritisation criteria, and consider the best form of governance and regulation.
The precise level of service delivery for people with disabilities, based on the funding provided in the Budget, will be set out in the HSE's National Service Plan for 2025.
885. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the level of funding allocated to the progressive alignment of the PA rate and home support rate with older persons services. [43974/24]
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.
886. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for a breakdown of CDNT data for both Tipperary teams for 2024 in regard to staff numbers; positions filled and positions vacant; the caseload; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43980/24]
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.
887. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the reason Ireland does not recognise a neurodevelopmental disability (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44015/24]
View answerResponsibility for FASD resides with Department of Health’s Health and Well-being unit. FASD is not deemed to be a disability at this time, and as a result, the services needed to address issues around FASD are primarily found within the remit of DOH. This remit also includes the Expert Advisory Group on foetal alcohol spectrum disorder. The DOH currently have the remit over the Expert Advisory Group on FASD directly relevant to the question posed by the Deputy), therefore this is a matter for the office of the Minister for Health.
888. Deputy Frankie Feighan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if his Department has purchased a property (details supplied) to repurpose as a community hotel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44016/24]
View answerI thank the Deputy for this question. A response will be provided directly to the Deputy in the coming days.
889. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the progress in the awareness raising campaign, stated in a reply to a Parliamentary Question from this Deputy on 7 November 2023, that was expected to commence in early 2024; and if he will provide a detailed account on same. [44054/24]
View answerIn September 2024 my Department launched a public awareness campaign on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The campaign ‘Rights Here’ was rolled out across radio, digital and social media with the aim to increase public awareness of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The campaign was guided by the text of Article 42 of the convention which notes that 'State Parties should undertake to make the principles and provisions of the Convention widely known, by appropriate and active means, to adults and children alike.'
A recent survey of 1000 adults in Ireland commissioned by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth found that whilst two thirds of respondents had heard of the UNCRC, 68% of respondents knew little to nothing about it and only 1% knew ‘lots about the UNCRC’.
The campaign has a clear call to action to visit a dedicated landing page at www.gov.ie/uncrc, which provides a range of information on the convention itself the reporting process and progress that has been made in Ireland in relation to children's rights since ratification in 1992.
The campaign page also includes information on the optional protocols to the UNCRC and provides current information relating to the 2nd Optional Protocol which is the final optional protocol of the UNCRC to be ratified.
The Government is firmly committed to ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Following enactment of several legislative measures necessary to ensure that Ireland is in compliance with the obligations of the Optional Protocol, including the recent Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Act 2024, officials in my Department will be working with the Attorney General’s Office on the next steps to ensure readiness across all relevant Departments.
Analytics from the 'Rights Here' campaign will be reviewed and a follow-up nationally represented survey is planned to gather data in relation to awareness levels post campaign.
890. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No. 541 of 15 October 2024, if an assessment has been conducted that would indicate how many services will be impacted by the cap, and the number of services which will have to downsize as a result; the number of children and families who will be without a service as a result; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44065/24]
View answerThe introduction of Core Funding in 2022 brought a significant increase in investment for the sector, with €259 million of funding paid directly to services in year 1 of the scheme, of which €210.8 million was entirely new funding.
Core Funding has increased by 15% to €331 million for the third programme year which began in September 2024. This increase will facilitate increases in the base rate for all age groups, the strengthening of targeted measures which were introduced in year 2 to support sessional and smaller services, and growth of almost 6%.
The majority of Core Funding is distributed to services via the base rate, which is based on a service’s staffed capacity – the opening hours, operating weeks, the age group for whom services are provided, and the number of places available. Services opening for longer hours or offering more places will receive a higher value of Core Funding than other services. This is because their costs of operation are higher.
A maximum base rate allocation was introduced in September 2023 for the second year of Core Funding. Individual Partner Services will not receive funding for their staffed capacity through the base rate beyond this maximum value. When introduced in year two of the scheme, this maximum allocation was set at €600,000 and for year three of the scheme from September 2024, it has been reduced to the current value of €500,000.
When the maximum base rate allocation of €500,000 was announced in July 2024, 4 full day Partner Services were expected to see their base rates capped by this maximum without making any changes to their provision. Of those services, 2 would see their allocation decrease from the current programme year and 2 would see minor increases up to this maximum value (with the increases relating to the higher base rates that took effect in September 2024).
Furthermore, at this time, an additional 3 Partner Services were projected to receive a base rate allocation of between €500,000 and €450,000 at the new rates and could reach this maximum if they were to expand their offering under this new maximum base rate.
The maximum base rate allocation aims to maximise the efficiency of this significant State investment in the sector, to best spread a limited budget across the entire sector rather than increasing funded capacity for the largest services.
As of 24 October 2024, 5 Partner Services were seeing their base rates capped. This includes the 4 services known to be affected (2 services whose base rate allocations exceeded €500,000 before any increases took effect in September and 2 services who saw their base rate increase to the ceiling with the increased rates). The final service increased their capacity to a level where their base rate allocation reached this ceiling.
Services' offerings fluctuate between and during programme years, and there are no apparent deviations from these trends within the small number of services currently in receipt of the highest levels of funding through Core Funding.
To date the Department has not been made aware of any service who has had to down size as a result of the measure.
891. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to provide an update on a payment to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44085/24]
View answerAs this relates to an operational matter for Tusla, the question has been forwarded to Tusla for direct reply to the Deputy.
892. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the grants available to a facility (details supplied) to purchase a site for the development of a new centre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44088/24]
View answerIn relation to capital funding, I wish to inform the Deputy that neither my Department nor Tusla have capital funding to develop the capital infrastructure of Family Resource Centres (FRC), including purchasing sites for the development of new centres. Tusla does not have a dedicated budget for capital or building works for third party organisations.
The Family Resource Centre programme is a community development programme that is financially supported by many State agencies in a partnership approach. FRCs may draw on various sources of funding provided by other Government Departments, agencies and private sources. I would suggest, in relation to any grant funding for the purchase of a site, that the local County or City Council be considered as a starting point in the context of capital funding.
893. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of staff vacancies, by grade, in his Department at the end of August 2023 and August 2024; and the number of staff, by grade, on a career break of more than five years and more than six years, at the end of August 2023 and August 2024. [44120/24]
View answer906. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of civil servants, by grade, in his Department who were on a career break in 2023 and 2024; the number of those who in 2023 and 2024 who were on a career break of five years or more; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44297/24]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 893 and 906 together.
My colleagues in HR have advised me that there was 17 civil servants on career break from my Department at the end of August 2023 and 16 at the end of August 2024.
At end of August in 2023 and 2024 there was 1 person on career break of more than 5 years and none over 6 years.
Vacancies at the end of August 2023 and 2024 are shown by grade in the table below.
|
Grade |
End Aug 2023 |
End Aug 2024 |
|
Service Officer |
3 |
2 |
|
Clerical Officer |
65 |
18 |
|
Executive Officer |
81 |
27 |
|
Administrative Officer |
36 |
34 |
|
Higher Executive Officer |
61 |
44 |
|
Assistant Principal |
33 |
31 |
|
Principal Officer |
2 |
2 |
|
Accountant G1 |
2 |
3 |
|
Accountant G2 |
4 |
8 |
|
Social Worker |
5 |
2 |
|
Total |
292 |
171 |
894. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if there are plans to replace a childcare service (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44140/24]
View answerAs this question refers to service/operational matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
895. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if a project can be reviewed (details supplied); and if he can provide an update on the current status of the project with the HSE. [44161/24]
View answerAs this question refers to service/operational matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
896. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the reason there is no HSE hydrotherapy pool in the north west region that can cater for wheelchair users, which is clear discrimination against people with disabilities (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44166/24]
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.
897. Deputy Chris Andrews asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when full-time therapists will be restored to each special school. [44202/24]
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.
898. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if an institution (details supplied) is now included in the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Act 2023. [44205/24]
View answerThe Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme is designed to provide payments and medical supports to people who spent time in one or more of the Mother and Baby or County Home Institutions, that were 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. The 44 institutions covered by the Payment Scheme are set out in Schedule 1 to the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Act, 2023.
Chapter 2 of the Social History section of the Commission of Investigation report - www.gov.ie/en/publication/89e43-chapter-2-institutions/ - details the different types of institutions that existed and whether they fulfilled the criteria to be considered as Mother and Baby institutions.
The institution at St. Patrick’s, Navan Road, originally known as Pelletstown, is included in the Payment Scheme. Chapter 13 of the Individual Institutions chapter of the Commission Report - www.gov.ie/en/publication/d4b3d-final-report-of-the-commission-of-investigation-into-mother-and-baby-homes/#individual-institutions - clarifies that an Adoption Society named St. Louise's Adoption Society, with a site at James's Street, sometimes met in Pelletstown. St. Louise's is, therefore, not included in the scheme.
The Government recognises that there are people who suffered stigma, trauma and abuse in other institutions. If it were to come to light that an institution, in which the State had a regulatory or inspection function, fulfilled a similar function with regard to single women and their children as those included in the Scheme, section 49 of the Act provides that the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, may insert an additional institution into the Schedule.
899. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth whether a costing has been developed on the potential moving costs of modular homes if planning is refused when required for the sites; how much this is expected to cost; and whether local authorities have identified alternative sites.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44209/24]
View answerAs part of the State’s humanitarian response to the Ukrainian crisis, the Government developed a Rapid Build Programme to provide accommodation for families fleeing the war in Ukraine. The programme aims to provide emergency temporary accommodation to up to 2,800 Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) at several sites across Ireland. While rapid build units will initially be used to temporarily house for people fleeing the war in Ukraine, they have the potential to be utilised to address other accommodation challenges, including social housing and student accommodation.
As noted by the Deputy, the units and sites in the programme have been developed with the aid of the exemptions set out in S.I. 306 of 2022 - European Union (Planning and Development) (Displaced Persons from Ukraine Temporary Protection) Regulations 2022, which are in place until March 2026. In that regard, my Department has already initiated a multistakeholder discussion of the status and future use of the units, as well as consideration on any potential additional costings further to the end of S.I. 306 of 2022. Discussions are ongoing.
This discussion will be greatly aided by the approach taken in developing and delivering the programme, which has ensured that the requirements applicable to residential use are already satisfied. It is not expected that any movement of the units will be required given their adaptability to meet other accommodation challenges in their current locations.
The emphasis in this programme has been the delivery of quality homes, which will enhance local environments, and this has been a priority. Every completed and forthcoming site has roads, footpaths, street lighting, community facilities, including green spaces, fully in line with Local Authority planning guidance. The rapid build units are energy efficient and durable, and the sites have been developed in a way that enhances the local areas concerned.
900. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when the European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882) will be transposed; how many EU directives are currently being transcribed; how many are overdue; and to provide a breakdown of directives in process and their timelines. [44229/24]
View answerWhile Ireland, along with a number of EU countries, was unable to meet the original date for transposition of the European Accessibility Act (EAA) Directive, the EAA has now been transposed into Irish law via S.I. No. 636/2023 – European Union (Accessibility Requirements of Products and Services) Regulations 2023. These Regulations were singed into law on the 15th December 2023 by Minister O’Gorman.
The European Commission has been notified of the transposition measures and we await their assessment of conformity with the Directive. The Directive and domestic Regulations will come into material force in June 2025.
Planning is currently underway in the Department to transpose the following EU Directives by their respective deadlines:
• Directive (EU) 2022/2381 on improving gender balance among directors of listed companies and related measures due to be transposed by December 28th 2024. A Statutory Instrument to transpose this directive is being finalised.
• Directive (EU) 2023/970 to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms due to be transposed by June 7th 2026.
• Directive (EU) 2024/1500 on standards for equality bodies in the field of equal treatment and equal opportunities between women and men in matters of employment and occupation and amending Directives 2006/54/EC and 2010/41/EU due to be transposed by June 19th 2026.
• Directive (EU) 2024/1499 on standards for equality bodies in the field of equal treatment between persons irrespective of their racial or ethnic origin, equal treatment in matters of employment and occupation between persons irrespective of their religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation, equal treatment between women and men in matters of social security and in the access to and supply of goods and services, and amending Directives 2000/43/EC and 2004/113/EC, due to be transposed by June 19th 2026.
• Directive (EU) 2024/1346 laying down standards for the reception of applicants for international protection due to be transposed by June 12th 2026.
901. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he is aware that the HSE has indicated that there is not an interest in the premises at Cootehill, County Cavan that has been offered as a potential location for adult disability day services; if he or the Minister of State with responsibility for Disabilities will visit the premises in question; if he will engage with the HSE on this matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44243/24]
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.
