From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
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The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’ Gorman, has today published the government’s First 5 Annual Implementation Reports 2020 and 2021/22.
First 5, the ten-year whole-of-government strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families (2019-2028) was published in November 2018 followed by an initial implementation plan for the Strategy in May 2019.
The reports highlight how the interim target set for paid parents leave – of 7 weeks per parent by 2021 – has been reached; the interim target of a 30% graduate early learning and childcare workforce by 2021 exceeded and the investment target for early learning and childcare – of €970 million by 2028 – has been exceeded five years ahead of schedule.
The Report also outlines key achievements over the period 2020 – 2022, including:
First 5 focuses on the period of early childhood, from the antenatal period to age five, and takes a joined-up, cross-government approach to supporting babies, young children and their families during these critical early years.
Speaking about today’s publication, Minister O’ Gorman said:
“As Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, I am delighted to publish the First 5 Annual Implementation Reports 2020 and 2021/22 and share an update on the very considerable progress that has been made to deliver on First 5 commitments.
“Over the last few years, we have extended paid parents leave, improved parent support services, and are now investing €1 billion annually in early learning and childcare. All of this is making a hugely positive change in the lives of children and their families.
"These reports illustrate the positive work that is taking place right across Government and society to ensure children get the best possible start in life.”
The Minister welcomed the collaborative efforts and shared ambition to deliver on the vision of First 5 across government departments, State agencies and the community and voluntary sector and reiterated Government’s continued commitment to First 5.
Speaking about future work under First 5, Minister O’ Gorman said:
“We delivered on a range of key commitments in First 5 that are tangibly improving the lives of babies, young children and their families, and are significantly enhancing life-long outcomes.
“But there is more to be done if we are to fully realise the vision of First 5.
"As we embark on the development of a new implementation plan for First 5 for the period 2023-2025, I look forward to continued positive collaboration with colleagues across government departments, State agencies, community and voluntary sector and wider partners in the pursuit of better outcomes for babies, young children and their families."
An Open Policy Debate on the First 5 Implementation Plan 2023-2025 will take place on 20 June.
A high-level summary of progress on 2020 and 2021/22 milestones across the First 5 Big Steps are set out below.
Extended entitlements to paid parents’ leave were announced in 2020. The Family Leave and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2021 extended the statutory entitlement to paid parents’ leave from three weeks paid leave per parent to five weeks, and extended the period in which leave can be taken from within one year of the child’s birth or adoptive placement to two years. In April 2021, a further three weeks of Parent's Leave and Benefit became available to each parent. In July 2022, Parents’ Leave and Benefit increased by a further two weeks, bringing the current entitlement to seven weeks which meets the First 5 target.
The Family Leave and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2021 also amended the Adoptive Leave Act 1995 to enable adoptive couples to choose which parent may avail of adoptive leave and, in doing so, rectified an anomaly in the legislation that left married male same-sex couples unable to avail of adoptive leave.
Furthermore, the phased introduction of an additional eight weeks unpaid parental leave commenced in 2019, and rose from 22 to 26 working weeks in September 2020. The leave is available to a 'relevant parent' of a child, which is defined in the 1998 Act as a parent, an adoptive parent, or a person acting in ‘loco parentis’.
A General Scheme of the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill, which transposes provisions of the EU Directive (2019/1158) on work life balance for parents and carers, was published in April 2022 and referred to the Joint Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for Pre-legislative Scrutiny. The Joint Committee issued its Report on Pre-Legislative Scrutiny on 9 June 2022 and the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022 was published on 5 October 2022.
The Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill, which incorporates the Right to Request Remote Working Bill, will introduces a range of measures to improve family-friendly work practices and support women in the workforce including:
The Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill has passed all Stages in the Oireachtas in 2023 and was enacted on the 4th of April 2023 as the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023.
The development of a national model of parenting support services began in 2020, led by the Parenting Support Policy Unit in DCEDIY, in partnership with Tusla, the HSE, and other partners from the community and voluntary sector. Supporting Parents: A National Model of Parenting Support Services was launched in 2022. Supporting Parents aims is to develop a more coherent and strategic approach to the development and delivery of parenting support services so that all parents can access the support they need when they need it.
Plans to consolidate, streamline, and strengthen parenting information resources into a single, coherent platform were brought forward due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the launch of the ‘Parents’ Centre’ platform in April 2020 on gov.ie. Subsequently the Parents’ Centre platform has been merged with the ‘Supporting Children and Parents’ platform, which launched in 2022 and brings together new and existing resources that parents may find helpful. The platform also includes resources for Ukrainian parents in Ireland.
Additionally, two informational social media campaigns were conducted in 2020. The national public information campaign on positive parenting originally scheduled for 2020 was delayed to prioritise other projects in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This campaign was successfully run in 2021.
A Steering Group was established by the Department of Health in 2019 to commence work on a dedicated child health workforce - one of the major commitments of First 5. As a result of the re-prioritisation of work in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the work on the establishment of a dedicated child health workforce did not progress. However, the department has recommenced this important work.
During the 2020-2022 period, significant progress was made on a number of actions which aim to promote positive health behaviours and the physical and mental health of babies, young children and their families including:
During the period covered by the Annual Implementation Reports, 2020 - 2022, there have been significant developments in the Early Learning and Care system delivering commitments to improve affordability, accessibility and quality.
A number of the major First 5 achievements in this context include:
Over this period also, multiple COVID-19 support packages were developed in response to evolving circumstances to support the early learning and childcare sector.
Throughout the period 2020 – 2022, progress was made on a number of First 5 actions which tackle early childhood poverty and disadvantage.
The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025: Ambition, Goals, Commitments was published in 2020. The Roadmap includes a commitment to continue to report on progress against the Child Poverty target and set a new target for the period to the end of 2025.
A Food Poverty Working Group was established by the Department of Social Protection in 2021, comprising a range of government departments, including DCEDIY, DoE and DoH, along with representatives from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Crosscare and the Children’s Rights Alliance. The Working Group conducted a mapping exercise to identify the various programmes across Government that address food poverty and provide related supports. ‘Food Poverty: Government Programmes, Schemes and Supports’ is the report on this mapping exercise which was published in July 2022.
Budgets 2020- 2023 included measures specifically aimed at supporting families on low incomes through increases in qualified child (IQC) rates, including the introduction of separate rates for children aged under and over 12, increases in earnings disregards for One Parent Family and Jobseeker Transition payments, increases in the income thresholds for Working Family Payment, as well as an increase in the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance.
The Hot Meals Pilot for Early Learning and Care settings was announced in November 2022 and the roll out of the pilot began in 2023.
In addition, the development of the Equal Participation Model is now underway, which will fulfil the First 5 commitment to develop a DEIS type model for early learning and childcare.
