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Written Answers Nos. 561-580Early Childhood Care and Education Data 561. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (Deputy Katherine Zappone): Having conducted an analysis of ECCE capacity my Department is confident that there will be no shortfall in places for the 2017-2018 programme year. ECCE providers have catered for over 108,000 children for this programme year and while pressures can arise in some immediate localities all eligible children have been catered for. My Department works closely with the local County Childcare Committees and are not aware of any shortage of places in Cork City or County. From September 2018, the ECCE Programme will revert to one single entry point in a given ECCE Programme Year (i.e. September) with eligible children entitled to two full years of ECCE provision. Also from that date the number of ECCE enrolments in going forward is estimated to be in the region of 114,000. Given that 120,000 places were filled in April 2017, it is highly unlikely there will be capacity issues for those expected to register for ECCE, for up to 2 years, from September 2018. My Department provided €8.4million for the 2017 Early Years Capital funding programme and some of this funding was directed towards assisting in alleviating pressures with regard to availability of ECCE places. This represents a doubling of the €4m provided under the 2016 Early Years Capital. Child Safety 562. Deputy James Browne Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (Deputy Katherine Zappone): The Deputy will probably agree that it is not just young persons who spend too much screen time on smartphones. If we want young people to reduce screen time, we need to start with good example from adults. Parents need to take a more constructive role in deciding at what age and for what purpose a child should have access to a smartphone; and what services the child should access through that device. Children need to be aware of the tremendous benefits that can come from effective use of smartphone technology, but also the difficulties that arise from excessive use. There is a need for education, whether at home, in school or other settings. I know that bodies such as CyberSafeIreland perform a valuable support for education in this field. Evidence suggests that excessive screen time has negative impacts on children's social and physical development. It has also been linked to childhood obesity. Screen time is one of the factors identified as having a negative impact of the aims of our national policy framework for children and young people Better Outcomes Brighter Futures. This is particularly related to the aim that involves "enjoying play, recreation, sports, arts, culture and nature". Healthy Ireland, A Framework for Improved Health and Wellbeing 2013-2025, is the national framework led by the Minister for Health adopting a whole of government and whole of society approach to improve Ireland's health and well-being in the coming generations. My Department supports Healthy Ireland with a particular focus on the commitments for children and young people in Better Outcomes Brighter Futures. Of course, the question of control over online content which is available to children through smartphones presents a range of challenges for the safety, welfare and protection of children. Last November, I met with the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Denis Naughten and the Minister for Justice and Equality, Charlie Flanagan, to discuss the cross-Government collaboration that is needed. As a result, the Government will hold an Open Policy Debate on the topic on 8 March, 2018. Minister Naughten's Department is leading the co-ordination of this event; with support and participation from my Department, the Departments of Justice & Equality; Business, Enterprise and Innovation; Education and Skills and Health. Representatives from industry, NGOs and stakeholders will also participate. The overall aim of the event is to raise awareness among all participants of the activities which are being undertaken by the Government, the EU, industry, NGOs and others and to identify gaps where further action is required and areas where further cooperation between stakeholders is possible. This will help develop and finalise Government policy on this important and timely issue. Area Based Childhood Programme 563. Deputy James Browne Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (Deputy Katherine Zappone): The ABC Programme was preceded by the Prevention and Early Intervention Programme (PEIP) (2007-2013) in which the Preparing for Life Programme, along with two other sites: Youngballymun and the Childhood Development Initiative Tallaght participated. Preparing for Life received €6m as a participant in the PEIP. The total funding for Preparing for Life under the ABC Programme to the end of 2017 is €3.74m, bringing the funding received by Preparing for Life under both programmes to €9.74m. I welcome the very positive results coming from the evaluation of the Preparing for Life Programme relating to the home visiting and parenting programme elements. These evaluation findings and associated costs will be informing the consideration of mainstreaming the learning from the ABC Programme. The ABC Programme itself is currently being evaluated. The findings from this national evaluation will be produced in Q2 2018. In the most recent budget, my Department secured additional funding to extend all of the existing ABC Programme in 2018. My Department has agreed additional funding allocation of just under €1 million (€987,946), for Preparing for Life in order to provide for the extension of the Programme to the end of August 2018, to align with the national evaluation of the ABC Programme. My Department is working to ensure that we take full account of the learning from all the interventions across the 13 ABC sites, including Preparing for Life, and the national evaluation. We will utilise these learnings to inform the delivery of prevention and early intervention initiatives in order to achieve our shared goal of improving the lives of children and families throughout Ireland. Area Based Childhood Programme 564. Deputy James Browne Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (Deputy Katherine Zappone): The Area Based Childhood (ABC) Programme is a joint prevention and early intervention initiative led by my Department. The ABC Programme commenced in 2013 and was co-funded for the period 2013 to 2017 with The Atlantic Philanthropies, with a total investment to date of over €31 million. The aim of the programme is to test and evaluate prevention and early intervention approaches in 13 areas of disadvantage in Ireland to improve outcomes for children, in particular children and families living in poverty. As a programme focussed on the use of evidence to improve outcomes, all areas have focussed on existing and emerging research findings to inform their programme delivery. The focus of the work under the ABC Programme covers: Child Health and Development; Children’s Learning; Parenting; and Integrated Service Delivery. There is a strong focus on Infant Mental Health across all areas in the ABC Programme. My Department is in contact with the Department of Health across a number of areas including on the Youth Mental Health Taskforce and in the development of psychological services in Tusla. We use emerging learnings, research and evaluation findings and ongoing discussions to inform the delivery of prevention and early intervention initiatives in order to achieve our shared goal of improving the lives of children and families throughout Ireland. Mental Health Policy 565. Deputy James Browne Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (Deputy Katherine Zappone): The Working Group is jointly managed by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the Department of Health and co-chaired by senior officials from the two Departments. Terms of Reference have been agreed and the working group held its first inaugural meeting on 19 January 2018. It is expected that the working group will meet bimonthly. The focus of the working group is to look at provision in response to emerging needs of children and young people rather than specific issues dealt with by services. At this point in time, it is not intended that specific issues will be the focus of the group. Childcare Services Data 566. Deputy Anne Rabbitte Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (Deputy Katherine Zappone): Departmental Staff Retirements 567. Deputy Peter Burke Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (Deputy Katherine Zappone): Town and Village Renewal Scheme 568. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin Minister for Rural and Community Development (Deputy Michael Ring): Walks Scheme 569. Deputy Eugene Murphy Minister for Rural and Community Development (Deputy Michael Ring): The scheme currently covers 39 trails, with payments made to approximately 1,900 landholders to maintain those trails. The Programme for a Partnership Government and the Action Plan for Rural Development include a commitment to increase the number of trails covered by the Walks Scheme and my officials are working towards this objective. I intend to initiate a comprehensive review of the scheme’s operation this year in order to determine how best to expand the scheme and maximise the impact of the resources available to me. This review will inform any decisions to be made regarding new walks to be included in the scheme. As significant consultation will be required with both landholders and other stakeholders, it is unlikely that any increase in the number of walks covered by the scheme will be implemented until late 2018 or early 2019. Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme Administration 570. Deputy Noel Grealish Minister for Rural and Community Development (Deputy Michael Ring): In advance of the commencement of the procurement process for the new refined programme, SICAP 2018 - 2022, which rolled out in most areas from 1 January 2018, legal advice was sought by relevant officials in my Department on a number of issues, inter alia, in relation to the Lot delivery structure. Based on the legal advice received by the Department a policy decision was taken that the new programme should be tendered for on the basis of the existing Lot areas (as previously determined by the LCDCs). As the Deputy is aware, Legal Advice is subject to privilege and it would not be appropriate, in the circumstances, for me to make any further comment on the matter. Public Private Partnerships Data 571. Deputy Pearse Doherty Minister for Rural and Community Development (Deputy Michael Ring): Community Services Programme 572. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae Minister for Rural and Community Development (Deputy Michael Ring): The organisation in question has been supported by the CSP since 2006. However, it has now voluntarily exited the Programme and, in this context, I understand that the organisation will not be required by Pobal to submit audited statements. Departmental Staff Retirements 573. Deputy Peter Burke Minister for Rural and Community Development (Deputy Michael Ring): Civil Registration Legislation 574. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection (Deputy Regina Doherty): National Minimum Wage 575. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection (Deputy Regina Doherty): Minimum wage legislation provides that in certain cases, sub-minima rates of the national minimum wage can be paid. Specifically, sub-minima rates can be paid to employees who are: (ii) in their first or second year of employment over 18 years of age; (iii) undergoing a prescribed course of study or training (known as trainee rates). Since the second quarter of 2016, the CSO, at the request of the Low Pay Commission, has included a question asking respondents if they were earning the national minimum wage or less in their Quarterly National House Survey (now replaced by the Labour Force Survey). In cases where the respondent was earning less than the minimum wage, they were asked the reason for this. The most recent data from this survey, published in April 2017, refers to the last three quarters of 2016 and finds that, on average, 5,800 people reported earning less than the National Minimum Wage due to being on an age-related rate with a further 5,700 earning less than the National Minimum Wage due to being on a special training rate. The number of responses provided was insufficient to enable the CSO to reliably determine the number for those over 18 in their first job for. It is therefore currently not possible to provide this figure to the Deputy. It should be noted that these figures will be revised by the CSO to reflect the Census of Population results, and the 2017 data should be published in the coming months. I am pleased to state that the Low Pay Commission submitted a report to me in December 2017 with recommendations relating to the sub-minima rates. I am currently considering the Commission’s recommendations in this area and I will ensure that their report is laid before the House in the coming weeks. Public Services Card Provision 576. Deputy Catherine Murphy Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection (Deputy Regina Doherty): Generally, in the case of an adopted person, the details on the birth register will be different to those on the adoption register and not consistent with their current identity. As my Department has access to the Irish Birth Register the above details can be verified without the need for the individual to physically present a birth certificate, providing that the record can be located on the Register. However, in contrast, my Department does not have access to the Irish Adoption Register. Accordingly, staff would not be aware of a customer’s adoption status. In such circumstances the individual is asked to bring a copy of their adoption certificate. This requirement is stated clearly in SAFE 2 registration invitation letters and on my Department’s website. When a person presents for a SAFE 2 appointment without a birth certificate, and their birth registration details cannot be located on the Register, they are asked to contact the General Register Office to obtain same. This could be a birth certificate or an adoption certificate. The information inscribed on a PSC is laid down in Section 263(1a) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, as amended, and consists of the name of that person, the Personal Public Service Number of that person, a photograph of that person, the signature of that person, the issue number of the PSC, and the expiry date of the PSC. The information encoded on the chip within the PSC is similarly laid down in Section 263(1b) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, as amended, and consists of the name of that person, the Personal Public Service Number of that person, the date of birth of that person, the place of birth of that person, the sex of that person, the nationality of that person, all former surnames (if any) of that person, all former surnames (if any) of the mother of that person, a photograph of that person, the signature of that person, the issue number of the PSC, and the expiry date of the PSC. No information relating to the adoption status of a person is inscribed or encoded on the PSC. No person has been refused a PSC because they were adopted. I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy. State Pension (Contributory) 577. Deputy Declan Breathnach Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection (Deputy Regina Doherty): Under the new arrangements a person who has a 40 year record of paid and credited social insurance contributions, subject to a maximum of 20 years of the new HomeCaring credits, will qualify for a maximum contributory pension where they satisfy the other qualifying conditions for the scheme. This means, regardless of when a person started working, they may only need 20 years of paid PRSI contributions, over the course of 50 years, to receive a maximum rate pension, if they also have home-making periods. If they had periods of unemployment or illness where they received credited contributions, they may use up to 10 years of such contributions for such periods, subject to an overall cap of 20 years. People who were in receipt of Invalidity or Widows Contributory Pensions at retirement age will generally receive a maximum rate pension, regardless of this calculation. The new TCA for pensioners assessed under the 2012 rate band changes, comes into effect from 30 March 2018. The Department will invite over 40,000 pensioners, currently assessed under the 2012 rate band changes, to have their pensions recalculated under TCA to determine if they qualify for a higher rate of entitlement. However, as it will take time to design and set up administrative processes, and the necessary IT systems, the Department expects to send out the invitations from the fourth quarter of 2018, and to begin payments, including arrears for any period from 30 March 2018, from Q1 2019. This measure will allow those who reached pension age since September 2012, and were negatively impacted upon by the yearly averaging system and/or lack of recognition of home-making periods pre-1994, to benefit from TCA. It will not, however, remove the situation where some people may receive a maximum rate pension for little over 10 years contributions, for example where they moved here in their early 50s. This anomaly will only be removed when the Yearly Average calculation system has been abolished. It is envisioned that from 2020, all new pensioners will be assessed under the final Total Contributions Approach. The final design of this model will be subject to broad public consultation later this year and the final model will then be presented to Government for approval. I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy. Gender Recognition 578. Deputy Ruth Coppinger Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection (Deputy Regina Doherty): Social Welfare Appeals 579. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection (Deputy Regina Doherty): I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy. State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility 580. Deputy John McGuinness Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection (Deputy Regina Doherty): The person was notified in writing of their pension award on 18 October 2017. Attached to that letter was a copy of their contribution record, as held by my Department and upon which their entitlement was calculated. If the person concerned considers they have additional unrecorded contributions or credits, it is open to them to forward relevant documentary evidence and my Department will review their entitlement. Last week the Government announced proposals that pensioners who qualified for state pension (contributory) since September 2012, and whose rate of entitlement was impacted by the 2012 rate band changes, may apply for a review to have their entitlement considered under a new Total Contribution Approach (TCA). It will take some time to draft and pass the necessary legislation, and then develop the systems and procedures necessary to administer the new pension entitlement option. It is expected that these pensioners will start receiving invitations from my Department in Q4 2018 to apply for a review under the new pension eligibility arrangements, and to notify any periods spent caring for which HomeCaring credits may be due. Review applicants will be notified of the outcome of their review and the higher rate of entitlement, where applicable, will be paid to them. Where an increase is awarded, it will be backdated to 30 March 2018. |
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