The establishment of a child death review mechanism, while very welcome, is not in the remit of the Department of children. As the Ombudsman for Children’s recent child death review report outlined, the majority of deaths take place in medical settings, which the Deputy will appreciate is outside of the scope of the Department. It is important to state that. I welcomed the report entitled Child Death Review: The Case for a National Statutory Review Mechanism for the Deaths of Children in Ireland. I am conscious tha…

It is a commitment in the programme for Government and therefore there is agreement across the Government. I was party to the negotiation of that programme for Government so I am very committed to that initiative. I believe it is hugely important. On the matter of full disclosure, I have also met the Ombudsman for Children and was happy to do so. The lead Department has not yet been determined by the Government. My understanding is it will be determined in the next short while. There are a number of engagements rel…

I reiterate, for the purpose of accuracy, that the national review panel is entirely independent, and that is right and proper. There should be no interference with its work. It is entirely independent in its functions, making findings of fact and producing reports that are objective and independent of Tusla or anyone else. That is important. I point out, and it is important this is stated accurately, that at least 90 of the national review panel's reports or executive summaries have been published and are availabl…

I will say clearly that childminders are a hugely important part of early learning and care and school-age childcare provision, and they continue to be the option of choice for many families. I am firmly behind the regulation of childminding services, which is critical to the safeguarding of children. The childminding-specific regulations, which came into effect in September 2024, are designed to be proportionate and appropriate to the home and family setting in which childminders work. Childminders were consulted …

To be fair, we want the system to work. We want childminders to feel they can register with Tusla and that this is in their best interests as much as it is in the best interests of the children they care for as well. The work childminders do is invaluable. The Deputy is correct; it is a matter of choice for parents as well. Some parents opt for this and want this. I come from a rural constituency myself and know of the great work childminders do. I can say that, at this point, 511 childminders have completed their …

I thank Deputy Kerrane. I have no argument with what she is saying. Childminders do provide a valuable service. It is important that they would be open to the registration process too though. That is important and will be a gain not just for children but for the childminders themselves. It also allows the supports to be put in place like those we have currently such as the €1,000 support to assist both registered and unregistered childminders. It is also only right and proper that parents themselves would benefit f…

I thank the Deputy. Improving access to quality, affordable early learning and care and school-age childcare is a key priority for the Government. Capacity in this sector is increasing. Data from the annual early years sector profile for 2023 to 2024 shows that the estimated number of enrolments increased by approximately 19% over the previous two years. School-age childcare has shown particular growth in recent years. The estimated number of enrolments for schoolgoing children nationally increased by 56% during th…

It is an absolute objective of this Government to ensure that we make provision for children of all ages. More specifically, the Deputy is interested in school-age childcare. We have had some very significant innovations I can point to. For example, in my time as the Minister for Education, I published procedures on the use of school buildings and sports facilities outside of school hours. The purpose here was to ensure that in the first instance community opportunities would be utilised such as school buildings an…

I want to be clear that I 100% agree with the Deputy. It is only right and proper that everybody who wishes to participate in the workforce get that opportunity. It is certainly not acceptable or right that anyone's opportunities would be hindered because of a lack of childcare or that it would be one particular cohort of people. The Deputy specifically instanced women who would be disadvantaged here, and that is not acceptable. It is one of the key agendas of the Government to ensure that this is not the case. Not…

I am aware of the facility to which the Deputy refers. As he indicated in the question, Once Upon a Time has regrettably chosen to withdraw four of its ten services from core funding. They are Once Upon a Time services in Ballymount, Dublin 2, Dundrum and Shankill, with six other sites remaining in the core funding. The Department, through the local childcare committee, has engaged directly with the provider in question to highlight the benefits of staying in core funding not only for their services but also for th…

Core funding remains open and Once Upon a Time may reapply for the withdrawn services during the year and can join the overwhelming majority of providers. Already 90% of all providers are involved in core funding, which is a 5% increase on the number of providers involved in core funding this time last year. The opportunity remains open to Once Upon a Time to reapply for the services it has withdrawn. The Department is always exploring the potential for further changes to enhance core funding. Any changes for year …

I reiterate that the Government is absolutely committed to the €200 per month payment as outlined in the programme for Government over its lifetime. I took note of the Deputy's commentary that this provider and other providers are suggesting that core funding "traps services". That is not an accurate phrase to use insofar as I can point to the fact that core funding provided €1.5 million in year one of the scheme for Once Upon a Time services. That increased to €2.1 million in year two and indeed €2.5 million was m…

The funding provided by the Department for early learning and care, ELC, and school-aged childcare services is provided on the same basis to both Irish medium and English medium services, whether inside or outside Gaeltacht areas. In line with commitments in the five-year action plan for the Irish language, the Department recruited an Irish language support co-ordinator in 2020 to drive the development of a national plan. It has provided funding since 2023 to Better Start to recruit an Irish language early years sp…

I thank the Deputy. I know this is a matter close to her heart. As she has articulated so well in the context of her constituency, it is of particular importance given the Gaeltacht provision. The national plan is particularly important in advancing the supports and the vision we have for naíonraí. I agree with the Deputy that the earlier we can support the language and ensure our children have access to and experience of it, the better it is in the long term. The plan, to outline it, will support the delivery of t…

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for the opportunity to mark a major milestone - the recent launch of Ireland's National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030. It was fitting that we launched it in the Round Room in the Mansion House, the venue of the First Dáil, and it is here in the Chamber of the Thirty-fourth Dáil that, with the support of colleagues, some of the key aims and ambitions in the strategy will be actioned in the coming years. I was really taken by the phrase used by David, one the pa…

It is my honour to address the House today on Pride. It is a particular honour to be here this year as we mark what is a significant year in terms of LGBTIQ+ equality. As many in the House will be aware, the Dublin Pride Festival took place on 28 June. The streets of the capital were awash with vibrant colours, enjoyment and, most importantly, pride. As the summer moves on, there will be many more events taking place across the country to mark Pride. It is significant to see the expansion of Pride festivals across …

I am very pleased to be here to discuss personalised budgets as raised by this Private Member’s Bill. I acknowledge the very heartfelt, sincere and passionate contributions from all Senators and I know there is more to follow. I reiterate my commitment and that of this Government as set out in the programme for Government 2025 to support the roll-out of personalised budgets nationally. Personalised budgets constitute a significant measure regarding how disabled people can access and manage their support services. R…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach as ucht an ama agus an deise seo a thabhairt dom. The Commission of Investigation (Certain Matters Relative to a Disability Service in the South East and Related Matters), the Farrelly commission, is an independent statutory commission of investigation established in 2017 to investigate the care and protection of Grace and others in a former foster home, family X, in the south east, which had been the subject of abuse allegations. Grace is the pseudonym chosen to protect the …

I thank all Senators who have contributed to this debate on the final substantive report of the Farrelly commission. There has been a wide range of speakers. I am appreciative of their input. It must be emphasised that the commission of investigation is an independent statutory commission empowered to investigate matters of significant public concern, possessing robust investigative powers and, by design and by law, exercising its functions and powers entirely independently of Government, the Minister and the Depar…

I acknowledge that many early learning and childcare services report recruitment and retention challenges. In general, these challenges are not caused by insufficient supply of staff, but by high levels of turnover. Data from the sector profile survey shows a turnover rate of 24.5% in 2023, with almost one third of the turnover rate due to staff moving from one provider to another. I note that new data on the number of educators or practitioners working in the sector increased by 10% between 2023 and 2024. Turnover…