Senator Seery Kearney has stolen my powerful wrap-up lines-----

-----in terms of the publication by the Minister of State, Deputy English, of a JLC process for the childcare sector. The process was initiated by me and my Department a number of months ago. The JLC recognises a sector and the childcare professionals who have worked so hard during Covid. It is a sector where we know pay is low and employees are predominantly, and to the vast preponderance, female. This process recognises a combination of the fact that the Government has prioritised this and my Department has prior…

I want to express my appreciation to Deputy Costello. The Deputy posed this Topical Issue matter a while ago and he facilitated me by moving it to today. I thank the Deputy for that. The issue the Deputy has brought to our attention is a very important one. There are approximately 6,000 children in care in the State. Of those, a very large proportion, 93%, are in foster care and a small number live in residential care. The vast majority of children in care need to stay in contact with their parents, siblings and ex…

Regarding alternative care and the wider care system, as the Deputy knows, there has been a long-running review of the Child Care Act 1991. We hope to make proposals for a significant amendment of that legislation in the near future. I look forward to working with Deputy Costello and other Members on the Joint Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. There is a great deal of work to be done and we can significantly reform the law in that area. Regarding voluntary and representative groups…

I am pleased to address the House on the Second Stage of the Gender Pay Gap Information Bill 2019. The purpose of this Bill is to provide for a requirement that employers publish certain information on the differences in pay between female and male employees. The provisions of the Bill will initially apply to companies with 250 or more employees, with this threshold reducing to 50 or more over time. The requirement will apply in the private and public sectors once the employment threshold is met. The gender pay gap…

I thank the Senators who have contributed to the debate. We are all of one mind about the need to address this issue. It was a welcome opportunity to discuss the gender pay gap and the proposal before the Seanad. Almost all Senators stated that the gender pay gap was a real and pressing issue that impacts on women in the workforce throughout their working lives and, as a number of Senators pointed out, in retirement as well. The Government is committed to reducing the gender pay gap but it is also conscious that th…

Was Senator Flynn planning to speak?

Sexual harassment and discrimination have absolutely no place in any workplace and employers should be open in addressing these challenges when they occur. I thank Senator Ruane, her staff and the co-sponsors of the Bill for their work in bringing forward this important legislation. The objectives of the Bill are laudable and, accordingly, the Government will not oppose it. No person should feel they have to hide their experiences, and no one should ever be put under pressure to conceal harassment or discrimination…

I am aware of the complaint and of the concerns raised. I am strongly committed to supporting all children to develop to their full potential, especially those who are most disadvantaged. There will always be some debate about how best to do this, but I do not believe that the national childcare scheme, NCS, discriminates in the way that is stated. The NCS represents the first ever statutory entitlement to financial support for early learning and care. It marks a shift away from previous schemes, which were based o…

The Deputy is right. We discussed this matter previously and I put in place a number of short-term measures to deal with some of the some of the issues around the NCS, particularly the issue of sponsorship, which will come up later today. When I began as Minister there were perhaps 30 children sponsored across the country, now it is 1,900 so there has been a very significant increase in identifying specific vulnerable children. On the wider issue, the review has initiated. We had to let the NCS run for a full year.…

The Deputy's point about school-age childcare is well made. I recognise that there is a specific issue there in how the NCS has operated in the context of existing provision of school-age childcare. There are two reviews. The first is the review of the first year of the implementation of the NCS. We expect that to be completed in the final quarter of this year and the information to come forward. The expert funding model group has been working for approximately two years. Its final report will be issued in November…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I am concerned to hear about any individual provider proposing to increase charges to parents at a time when the Government continues to support early learning and childcare to a significant extent. In view of the amount of State support, increases of this nature are just not justified at this time. One of my key priorities is to achieve affordability of early learning and childcare. The programme for Government commits to substantially reducing fees charged to parents whi…

Affordable and high-quality childcare is an absolute priority for me and my Department. We have gone to great lengths throughout the pandemic to keep services open across the country. In the lockdown in January, we kept services open for the most vulnerable children and the children of essential workers. We also made it clear that we will be increasing the level of investment in childcare up to 2028, under the First 5 programme. We have to know how we can target that money and we have to understand how it and the a…

I absolutely accept that parents are struggling with the cost of childcare, and that is why my commitment is to ensure the additional State investment in childcare is tied to conditions, including reductions in fees. The Deputy spoke about the lack of regulation. She is correct about fees but it is important to state the quality of childcare is significantly regulated by Tusla. The system is strongly regulated to monitor quality and how children are being treated. Workers' payments are a key priority for my Departm…

I cannot overstate the significance and value of the contributions made by volunteers to the community life of our country and to supporting our most vulnerable. In the youth sector, the work of some 40,000 volunteers was key to maintaining the ability of youth work organisations to function effectively prior to the pandemic. I provided an increase of €5 million in funding for youth services in 2021, bringing the total from my Department to €66.8 million this year. In 2020, I provided once-off funding of more than …

I assure Deputy Funchion that the extraordinary role of this sector does not go unnoticed by me or my Department. We feel passionately about supporting youth services. The Deputy is right. During the economic crisis, funding was cut back dramatically and this had a major impact. I know we are playing catch-up. This year, I was able to show my good faith and that of my Department by giving a substantial increase in funding. It was more than the organisations involved were looking for. I will do my best in future bud…

We did research with SpunOut.ie last year, which indicated that those young people who were engaging with youth services during the pandemic did better and their mental health and optimism were increased. I am aware of that and we have the research to prove the impact. For many of these groups, fundraising, fees and capitation have been badly impacted. Even though we have been putting in more, they have been getting less from other areas. We have a small amount of money that was unspent in the Department for time-r…

While my Department does not provide any specific funding for sensory rooms or SNA supports, a wide range of supports is available through the access and inclusion model, AIM, to support children with disabilities to access and fully participate in the universal preschool early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme. The allocation of targeted AIM supports is based on the needs of the child and the context of the preschool setting rather than a wider diagnosis. The Deputy specifically referred to capital fun…

I agree with the Deputy absolutely. My colleagues, the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, and the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, are very focused on schools and on addressing the issues the Deputy has raised. In particular, as Minister of State with special responsibility for special education, Deputy Madigan has placed a real focus on these issues. With regard to those wider community supports, I am joined today by my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte. We are working very hard in our Departm…

I thank the Deputy very much. I will be honest; I do not have the full information for him as I stand here. I know the Deputy has mentioned the importance of this centre for the wider community before. It sounds like a great project. I ask the Deputy to write to me. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and I will commit to getting back to him and letting him know where we are with the project. We will confirm the funding streams and set out the timelines for planning and other matters with regard to the delivery…