I believe some providers held off. Originally, we had an 89% national take-up. That is now up to 93%. As Deputy Richmond pointed out it was originally 81% in our constituency and now is up to 85%. That is marginal but it is moving in the right direction. This is just year 1 of core funding. Originally for year 1, when budget 2022 was announced, we had €207 million for core funding. Now for year 1, after this year's budget, it is €259 million. Even in the first year we grew the pot. I already have agreement for year…

I thank Deputy Durkan. As the Minister with responsibility for children, I am committed to upholding the best interests of the child in all situations. As the Deputy knows, Ireland held the presidency of the Council of Europe this year. One of the priorities chosen for the Irish Presidency was the theme of Hear our Voices and a particular focus on youth engagement. As part of this, I hosted a conference in October focusing on the rights and the determination of the best interests of the child in parental separation…

I recognise Deputy Durkan's own interest in and commitment to this issue. We have discussed it before. There is a real opportunity now due to the work the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, is doing on the family courts. There are two elements to that. There is the physical element whereby family law cases should not take place in the normal District Court alongside licence renewals and minor assaults. Family law cases should be heard in a separate place or at least at a separate time to take some of the stress …

As Deputy Durkan knows, I cannot speak to the details of the specific cases and he is not asking me to do so. We had that very useful conference in terms of the best interests of the child principle. In particular, that was very relevant because the conference was about using that principle in the types of cases the Deputy is talking about. Tusla, my Department and the Ombudsman for Children were present, and it was a very good opportunity to get a common understanding and a better understanding of the approaches t…

As the Deputy is aware following our earlier discussions, we are working with HIQA to implement the commitment for HIQA to monitor International Protection Accommodation Service, IPAS, centres against national standards adopted in 2019 and in effect since the beginning of 2021. Planning is well advanced on this process. Detailed work is being undertaken by my Department, in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General, to provide the necessary legal basis for HIQA's monitoring role. The aim is that this wil…

My understanding is that all staff working in centres should be Garda vetted but I will come back to the Deputy on that because I do not want to say something on the record that I cannot 100% stand over. We do not know how many HIQA pilot inspections are planned to take place. Again, these pilot inspections are to give HIQA an understanding, once it rolls out the full scheme of inspections in the new year, of how they will work and how they will operationalise. Again, I can come back to the Deputy with further info…

There have been assaults in international protection centres and when there is an assault, my Department would be notified. Obviously, it is initially a matter for the Garda. If someone under the age of 18 is involved, either as a victim or a perpetrator, then Tusla would be involved as well. In terms of the question about child protection, again, it is my understanding that child protection training is part of the necessary processes that are undertaken. Certainly, centre managers would require child protection tr…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 76, 110, 121 and 124 together. The National Action Plan for Childminding 2021-2028 commits to opening the national childcare scheme to childminders at the earliest possible opportunity, although it will be necessary first to develop and introduce childminder-specific regulations and to give childminders adequate time and support to meet regulatory requirements. The Childcare Support Act 2018, which provides a statutory basis for the national childcare scheme, specifies that only Tus…

The very small number of parents who are using childminders registered with Tusla are able to avail of it already. The Deputy stated that the first phase is set out until 2024. I have asked my officials to see if we can condense that phase as much as possible. I am conscious that many parents using childminders will see the support that parents using centre-based care are getting and will justifiably ask why they are not being supported too. I have asked the officials to work to get those regulations in place more …

The Deputy is correct that many people - it is primarily women - who enter childminding do so on an ad hoc basis. What we are talking about here, however, is that when the ad hoc basis is supported by State money through the NCS and we are providing a subsidy towards that, we have to have guarantees in terms of the quality of provision. There has to be something of that kind when it come to any investment of State money. That is why we need this regulatory framework. It is designed around the reality of childminder…

Foster care is the preferred option for children who cannot live with their parents or guardians. Approximately 89% of children in care are currently being cared for by foster carers, enabling them to live in a safe, secure and stable home environment. Foster care provision in an Irish context can be described as general foster care or relative foster care. In the case of general foster care, this can, in turn, be provided by foster carers who are engaged directly by Tusla, or by foster carers who work with private…

Tusla is doing a very significant piece of work on the whole area of alternative care. It is bringing forward three key documents, namely, the document on residential care that was published a couple of months ago, the foster care plan we talked about that has just been published, and a document on aftercare. These are the three core elements of alternative care. It might be useful to dedicate a sitting of the Joint Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, once the third document has been…

I would certainly be happy to engage with the joint committee on this issue. We can continue to be reasonably proud as country that when children are taken into care, 89% of them go to foster care rather than residential. That is a strong proportion compared to other European countries. We want to avoid any child going into care but where it is necessary, it is good that it is in a family home and, as the Deputy said, it is foster care by relatives. We need to support those foster carers. Having engaged and spoken …

As the Deputy is aware, responsibility for the delivery of child protection and welfare services is a matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. The Children First Act 2015 provides for a number of key child protection measures, including raising awareness of child abuse and neglect, providing for mandated reporting of child protection concerns and improving child protection arrangements in organisations providing services to children. Under the Act, mandated persons are required to report child protection conc…

I am sure the Deputy will understand that I am reluctant to comment in the House on the specific details of a case I am not at all familiar with. I am happy to engage with him should he wish to give me an update. Unlike him, with his degree of experience, I have not attended a Tusla conference as an elected representative so I am not quite sure what the processes and procedures are there. I am happy to discuss this further with the Deputy, if he believes it is necessary.

I will engage with the Deputy and look into that matter further. His interventions will always be welcome.

As I said in reply to Deputy Sherlock, research has been commissioned following the amendment tabled by Deputy Bacik's colleagues in the Seanad, particularly regarding leave for women who have suffered miscarriages, especially prior to 24 weeks. As the Deputy will be aware, women who are subject to a miscarriage are able to avail of maternity leave. That research is taking place in three separate phases and we will look to have the results of that later next year. We will then look to take steps in furtherance of w…

I thank the Deputy for his question and points. As the House knows, my Department is providing accommodation for more than 62,000 people. Some 45,000 of those are displaced from Ukraine and almost 17,000 are international protection applicants. This compares with around 7,500 last year. To put it in context, this is equivalent to 1.3% of the State's population. Our pre-Covid annual total population growth rate was 1%. The figure of 62,000 is larger than the population of Waterford city and is approaching the size o…

I thank Deputy Durkan. I take the Deputy's point on the importance of standards. We will always look to provide good standards of accommodation. We must realise, however, that temporary accommodation is temporary in nature and the standards will be different from permanent accommodation. We must also remember that people arriving here from Ukraine are fleeing sub-zero temperatures coming to them in winter, are fleeing daily energy blackouts, and are fleeing drones and missile attacks to their areas. I am aware that…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." Today I am bringing the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill before the House. The primary purpose of the Bill is to establish a scheme to make payments and to provide a form of enhanced medical card to eligible applicants. The scheme will recognise the time spent and the harsh conditions, emotional abuse and other forms of mistreatment, stigma and trauma, experienced by people while resident in a mother and baby or county home institution. I reiterate …