-
6,000 places in a new After-School Childcare Scheme
-
€2.5 million for new Area Based Approach to Child Poverty initiative
-
Capital funding for National Children Detention Facility – to end the practice of detaining 16 and 17 year olds in St. St Patrick’s Institution;
-
Savings to be matched by reforms and value-for money reviews.
Frances Fitzgerald T.D., Minister for Children and Youth Affairs today welcomed the 2013 Estimate for her Department which includes a number of new initiatives aimed at supporting children and families.
The 2013 Department of Children and Youth Affairs estimates package includes:
- Over 6,000 places in a new After-School Childcare Scheme, for children in primary school, to support low-income families to take up employment;
- €2.5 million for a new ‘Area Based Approach to Child Poverty’ initiative
- Retention of the universal free-pre-school year;
- €20.4m in capital funding for development of National Children Detention Facility at Oberstown - to end the practice of detaining 16 and 17 year olds in St Patrick’s Institution;
- Savings across a number programme area, to be matched by reforms and value-for money review.
The 2013 estimate include an allocation of €443 for the Department of
Children and Youth Affairs. This represents an increase of €16m over 2012
allocation and consists of €417 million in current expenditure and €26 million
in capital expenditure. The separate 2013 estimate for HSE Child & Family
Services is €546m. This funding line will be transferred to the new Child &
Family Support Agency when established in 2013.
Commenting on the overall estimates package, Minister Fitzgerald
stated: “The 2013 Estimate shows the continuing commitment of this Government to
the ongoing development of quality and effective services to support children
and families. As part of our efforts to address Ireland’s deficit, my
Department, like all others, has had to find savings. However our overall
approach has been to prioritise investment in child and family services and to
reform funding streams and delivery mechanisms in order to make the best
possible use of resources.”
After-School Childcare Scheme
Minister Fitzgerald in conjunction with her colleague the Minister
for Social Protection has today announced a new After-School Childcare Scheme,.
This joint initiative will provide over 6,000 afterschool childcare places for
children in primary school. This will begin with a pilot scheme in early 2013.
The places will be targeted at low-income families and will support parents
availing of an employment opportunity. Both Ministers emphasised the initiative
is part of the Government's overall strategy to support parents in low income
families to take up employment. The funding provision for this initiative will
be €14 million in a full year. Officials of both Departments will work closely
on the operational details of the scheme and the estimated costs in 2013 will be
reviewed in this context.
The new After-School Childcare Scheme will further augment my
Department’s programme of childcare supports for low income parents, which with
this additional funding will now amount to over €88m. This programme includes
the existing Childcare Community Subvention (CCS) scheme and the Community
Employment and Training Scheme (CETS). This is addition to the universal free
pre-school year which has a separate budget of €175 million (see below).
Minister Fitzgerald said: “Extending childcare provision has been a
key priority for me. This initiative shows how Departments are working together
to deliver on this Government’s agenda to promote employment and to support
children’s development.”
Area Based Approach to Child Poverty’ Initiative
Minister Fitzgerald has welcomed the new ‘Area Based Approach to
Child Poverty’ initiative for which €2.5 million has been provided for in the
2013 Estimates.
This initiative will build on and continue the work of the Prevention
and Early Intervention Programme (PEIP) which supported projects in Tallaght,
Ballymun and Darndale. These projects involve a range of pilot programmes to
improve outcomes in areas such as literacy, speech and language, parenting,
health and pro-social behaviour. These programmes are currently being evaluated
by national and international experts. Minister Fitzgerald said that it was
important that we mainstream the learning from these pilot projects so that
proven and effective supports for children and families could be delivered right
through the country, including through the range of services to be provided by
the new Child & Family Support Agency.
The new initiative announced today reflects the Programme for
Government commitment to adopt an area based approach to child poverty in
co-operation with philanthropic partners, drawing upon best international
practice and existing services, to break the cycle of child poverty where it is
most deeply entrenched.
In line with this commitment, the Department of Children and Youth
Affairs, in conjunction with the Office of the Tanáiste and the Departments of
Social Protection, Communities, and Education will work in 2013 to expand the
number of project sites from 3 to 6. By 2015, the Exchequer funding for the
initiative is expected to be in the region of €4.75 million.
Minister Fitzgerald said that the new initiative will not simply be a
continuation of the PEIP scheme but will instead seek to implement programmes
which have already been evaluated and proven to work in improving outcomes for
children and families at risk of disadvantage,