Minister O’Gorman announces “transformative” €183 million budget package
Ó An Roinn Leanaí, Comhionannais, Míchumais, Lánpháirtíochta agus Óige
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Ó An Roinn Leanaí, Comhionannais, Míchumais, Lánpháirtíochta agus Óige
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See Table 1 in Notes to Editors for further details on how this funding will be allocated
Roderic O’Gorman TD, Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, has announced a ground-breaking package of measures for his department under Budget 2022. The measures represent extra funding of €183 million to cover a range of developments and improvements across his department, bringing the total investment by his department to just over €2.1 billion for 2022.
The significant additional funding for the department will be targeted at improving outcomes for children, young people and their families as well as the promotion of equality and human rights.
The funding also provides for the ending of Direct Provision and move to a new system of accommodation and supports for international protection applicants.
Announcing the measures, the Minister said:
“Budget 2022 introduces a ground-breaking package of measures for the early learning and childcare sector designed to deliver quality for children, affordability for parents, stability for providers, and support employers to improve pay and conditions for staff.”
Minister O’Gorman is pleased to announce that government investment in Early Learning and Childcare next year will reach €716 million, including a new €69 million funding stream for providers from September 2022 to ensure sustainability of services and support the introduction of an Employment Regulation Order to determine minimum rates of pay for workers as well as conditions of employment. In return for this funding, there will be a commitment from providers not to increase parental fees.
In a full year, over €200m will be available for providers under this new funding stream.
Speaking about the early learning and childcare investment package, Minister O’Gorman said:
“This package marks the beginning of an important and transformative multi-annual investment programme and achieves significant progress on the commitment to increase spending on Early Learning and Childcare to €1 billion by 2028.”
The package of measures for early learning and childcare will have a number of major elements:
New funding stream: From September 2022, a major new funding stream will be introduced. Under the new funding stream, in return for a commitment that fees to parents will not increase, providers will be supported in meeting their operating costs, including increased costs related to improved quality measures. The funding will support the quality of services by better enabling providers to attract and retain qualified staff; establish career structures; introduce or improve other features of provision that are demonstrated to contribute to quality (e.g. non-contact time, planning, training, curriculum implementation).
The additional investment will support the Programme for Government commitment to support the drawing up of an Employment Regulation Order.
The new funding stream for providers will be introduced from September 2022 with €69 million being made available for the measure next year, equivalent to over €200 million in a full year, which will be equivalent to an increase of 16% in the total annual income to the sector.
Developments to the National Childcare Scheme: There will be an extension of the universal subsidy available under the National Childcare Scheme to all children under 15, which will allow all children availing of early learning and childcare to receive a subsidy to offset fees. 2022 will also see a cessation of the practice of deducting hours spent in pre-school or school from the entitlement to the National Childcare Scheme subsidised hours. This will particularly benefit children from low income families whose parents are not in work or study.
Developments to the support infrastructure: Additional investment will be made available for the support infrastructure for the sector. This will cover new childminding initiatives, funding for quality support, and development and reform of the inspection systems. This will ensure that the necessary supports, advice and oversight are in place to deliver quality services for children.
Continued access to EWSS: Early learning and childcare employers will continue to benefit from the exemption to the turnover rule for the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme until April 2022 in order to prevent the additional costs from public health measures being passed on to parents. The value of this exemption is estimated at €56 million for November and December 2021 and €60 million for January-April 2022.
Transition fund: Between May and August 2022, early learning and childcare providers will have access to a new once-off Transition Fund. Up to €5.5 million per month is available for providers to ensure there continues to be no increases in parents’ fees for early learning and childcare in the period leading up to the introduction of a new funding stream in September 2022.
The allocation to Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, will increase to a total of €899 million in 2022. This is an effective overall increase of €41 million or nearly 5% over the 2021 allocation (€858m).
The additional resources being provided will allow Tusla to:
The Minister said:
“Tusla’s work supports some of the most vulnerable children and families in the State.
"In Budget 2021, I prioritised Tusla for special attention. I provided the largest single year-on-year increase in Tusla’s budget since its establishment in 2014. This allowed Tusla to address a number of significant demand led pressures over this period which have put an increasing strain on resources.
"This investment in Tusla underlines this government’s commitment to ensuring that Tusla has the resources to meet its mission of protecting and supporting our most vulnerable children and families.”
In February 2021 A White Paper to End Direct Provision and to Establish a New International Protection Support Service was published, setting out how the government will end Direct Provision and replace it with a new system of accommodation for people seeking international protection.
The €28 million allocated in Budget 2022 will begin the process of transitioning applicants out of the current system of accommodation and into more appropriate housing in the community.
The Budget allocation will also focus on putting in place integration supports at a local level including an income support payment so that applicants can live their lives independently. It will put in place an integration fund to support applicants to integrate into their new communities and look to deliver benefits for the local community.
On the work to end Direct Provision, the Minister has said:
“I am committed to ending the unfair system of accommodation that is Direct Provision. I and my department will work tirelessly to put in place an appropriate system of accommodation for all applicants and provide the necessary supports to allow for independent living that has the needs of applicants at its core. The White Paper was the first significant step in providing a roadmap for the transition to a new and fairer system which I am introducing with the support of our government between now and the end of 2024.”
Commenting on measures announced to support people with disabilities, Minister of State with responsibility for Disability, Anne Rabbitte TD, said:
“As Minister with special responsibility for Disability, I am delighted to be able to bring forward a package of budget measures that will advance the rights of people with disabilities and bring us closer to fully realising the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in this country. I am determined to further the momentum that has built up here in Ireland.
“In addition to the €105 million expansion of the €2.2 billion budget for disability services I secured in the Department of Health, I am pleased to say that a budgetary package of €1.8 million has also been secured in DCEDIY.
“This will see over €500,000 to support us in further integrating people with disabilities into the policy-making process and that will allow us to build capacity and raise awareness in relation to CRPD across the state and wider society.
“I am also happy to announce that €1 million funding has been secured for practical supports to help people with disabilities in accessing and retaining employment and in making work pay, such as continued funding for existing employer supports and new funding for actions under the Comprehensive Employment Strategy.
“Ireland is at a critical juncture in terms of disability rights and the measures brought forward under Budget 2022 will allow us to build on our progress to date and drive further progress.”
The Minister has also secured an additional €5 million in current funding for youth services to continue to implement the new targeted youth funding scheme, UBU Your Place, Your Space and provide for additional new services in 2022. The additional funding will also enable further support of national youth organisations and local youth clubs, helping them to resume full service delivery after Covid restrictions.
Minister O’Gorman said:
"The additional funding secured for Youth Services is particularly important given the disproportionate impact Covid-19 has had on young people. This additional funding will allow us to re-engage young people in youth services, re-engage and train volunteers, and provide new youth services where needed."
The Minister has also secured funding to allow for the delivery of a range of positive actions for Gender Equality, LGBTI+ and Traveller and Roma initiatives and to support the National Action Plan Against Racism. This includes:
A 10% increase in LGBTI+ related funding to €1.025m to cover continued funding for LGBTI+ organisations through the Community Services Fund, for research and for continued implementation of the National LGBTI+ Inclusion Strategy.
A 6% increase in funding for Traveller and Roma organisations and programmes, bringing the total to €5.6m. This will cover funding for Traveller and Roma organisations, to promote employment for Travellers and Roma and to support the retention of Traveller children in education.
*Budget allocation is €2.1 billion in 2022.
> €78m for Early Learning and Childcare to include a €41m increase the core allocation and €37m in a once-off measure
> €41m for International Protection Seekers Accommodation This includes €28m for the implementation of the White Paper recommendation
> €41m for Tusla the Child and Family Agency
> €23m across other areas of the Vote (for example: equality, disability, participation, youth, children’s detention and, Mother & Baby Homes Actions)