Minister O’Gorman announces €121 million budget package

€878m (an increase of €61m) for Tusla the Child & Family Agency

• Address significant demand led cost pressures in residential care
• Support the community and voluntary sector funded by Tusla
• Reduce the number of children awaiting the allocation of a social worker
• Provide care and protection through quality services for victims of domestic, sexual and gender based violence
• Meet Government commitments to aiding unaccompanied minors

€225m (an increase of €45m) for Direct Provision

• The €225m includes an increase of €100m from Exchequer funds allocated recently for 2020.
• Meet the increasing cost of providing accommodation for those seeking international protection.
• Support the process of bringing the accommodation provided to asylum seekers into compliance with the standards agreed with key stakeholders.
• Start planning the end to our current Direct Provision system as promised in the Programme for Government.

€70m (an increase of €5m) for Youth Services

• Implement the new targeted youth funding scheme, UBU Your Place, Your Space and the universal Youth Services Grant Scheme.
• Support youth information centres, local youth clubs and other local, national and international initiatives.

€638m (maintaining 2020 funding levels) for Childcare

• Meet the full year costs of additional hours of subsidised income-based childcare, which were introduced in September of this year.
• Utilise savings on ECCE to improve service delivery of programmes including the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) for children with a disability.
• Continue to support all childcare providers through access to the Employee Wage Subsidy Scheme until at least end of March 2021 at an estimated cost of €60m.

€5m (an increase of €1m) for Traveller and Roma Initiatives

€6m (an increase of €2m) for Decision Support Services (DSS)

Roderic O’Gorman TD, Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, has announced extra funding of some €121 million for Tusla, International Protection Seekers Accommodation, and Youth services, bringing the total investment by his Department to over €1.9 billion for 2021.

The significant additional funding 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 inclusion and integration of persons seeking international protection.

The allocation to Tusla will increase to a total of €878m in 2021, an increase of €61m over 2020 (€817m).

The extra funding will meet increasing demand for existing services including residential care, supporting the community and voluntary sector, services for victims of domestic, sexual and gender based violence, and unaccompanied minors. Detailed allocations will be be announced in due course taking account of greatest need and what is achievable within resources available.

The Minister said:

On expediting the transfer of unaccompanied children in Greece to Ireland, the Minister said:

Additional €45m (this is in addition to an increase of €100m from Exchequer funds for 2020) for International Protection Seekers Accommodation - Will enable commencement of the process of implementing the Programme for Government commitment to end the Direct Provision system and to plan for the transition to an alternative model of provision.

The allocation for accommodation for asylum seekers under the Direct Provision system has been increased to some €225m for 2021. This will enable the Department to begin the process of implementing the Programme for Government commitment to end the Direct Provision system and to plan for the transition to an alternative model of provision. The process of moving to a new system will take time and is very complex. The change process will be set out in the White Paper on Direct Provision that the Government will publish by the end of this year.

The increased allocation provided for 2021 will enable the Department to continue the programme of improvements to the current system, including the progressive implementation of national standards to ensure greater consistency in the quality of accommodation and services provided to persons in the Direct Provision system. The short-term focus will be on reducing the proportion of people, particularly families, who are accommodated in emergency accommodation and on increasing the proportion of own-door or self-catering options available, particularly to families.

The increased budget also allows for direct measures to address the risks of Covid 19 on those asylum seekers availing of State-provided accommodation.

Additional €5 million funding for Youth Services – bringing the overall 2021 allocation for youth services to almost €70 million

An additional €5 million for youth services brings the total 2021 allocation to some €70m. This investment will support implementation of the new targeted youth funding scheme, UBU Your Place, Your Space, and the universal Youth Services Grant Scheme. It will also support Youth Information Centres, local youth clubs and other local, national and international initiatives.

There is a continued commitment to implementation of the LGBTI+ National Youth Strategy which has been extended into 2021. The funding will also enable continuation of the Youth Climate Justice Fund which was launched on a pilot basis earlier this year.

Capital funding of €3m will support crucial ICT investment to enable youth services to deliver a new blended model of youth work, which prioritises invaluable face-to-face youth work and recognises the potential of innovative online approaches developed in response to Covid-19.

Regarding the increase in funding youth services, the Minister said:

Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare

2020 was a very challenging year in the childcare sector. The pandemic brought the closure of facilities from March, and the Department worked hard to put in place supports to sustain the sector and retain capacity to the greatest extent possible. This work facilitated the successful reopening of services from the end of June, but the pandemic interrupted the normal operation of schemes for many months. The childcare budget for 2021 has been maintained at 2020 levels, taking account of demographic changes and projected demand during the year.

Additional €1m for Traveller and Roma Initiatives

The increased funding will support additional initiatives, particularly for members of the Roma community and Traveller organisations, who have been disproportionately affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Additional €2m for the Decision Support Service

The service, once operational, will enable those with capacity difficulties to avail of the range of legal options set out under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015. This funding will ensure that the DSS can open in 2022 and that the process of ending the wardship system can begin thereafter.

Additional €0.6m for Refugee and Migrant Integration

This increase of almost 10% in funding will support initiatives aimed at meeting the needs of refugees and migrants. It will also allow the Irish Refugee Protection Programme to continue its work to resettle refugees from areas of international conflict, particularly Syria.

Additional €0.8m for Youth Participation Services

Ireland is a recognised world leader in children and young people’s participation. In 2021, an increase of €791,000 will be provided bringing the full-year allocation to €2.22m. In line with our commitment to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, this investment respects the right of the child to have a voice, and helps enhancing citizen engagement in the democratic process, locally and nationally.

ENDS

Vote Summary - Budget 2021

High Level Summary of measures

This table compares the original December 2019 (REV 2020) figures to Budget 2021. This reflects the overall increase year on year.

€1.95 billion in 2021

€221m increase on original 2020 allocation

• €45m for International Protection Seekers Accommodation This is in addition to an increase of €100m in funding from the Exchequer for 2020
• €61m for Tusla the Child and Family Agency
• €5m for Youth Organisations and Services
• €10m across other areas of the Vote (e.g. equality, participation, Guardians Ad Litem (GAL) office)

The resource allocation includes financial provisions for a range of key services in respect of children and young people including:

• €878 million for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, representing an increase of 7% over the 2020 allocation;
• €638 million for early learning and care and school age childcare. Anticipated savings arising on Early Childhood Care and Education Scheme due to demographic factors will be used to improve service delivery of programmes including the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM);
• €225 million for International Protection Seekers Accommodation, to continue to provide accommodation for those seeking international protection and to Initiate the transitional process needed to move to an alternative system of accommodation for asylum seekers;
• €70 million towards youth services which will support continued implementation of the new targeted youth funding scheme, UBU Your Place, Your Space, and the universal Youth Services Grant Scheme;
• €28 million to meet operational costs of the Oberstown facility and related youth justice costs;
• €9.5 million towards the Prevention and Early Intervention Programmes to support the continued operation of sites;
• €7.7 million for programmes to promote refugee and migrant integration;
• €7.5 million towards the Intervention Programme for Children and Young People which funds a number of specific measures to support children and disadvantaged young people and other social disadvantage measures through the Dormant Accounts Fund;
• €5.8 million for the Decision Support Service to assist vulnerable adults with difficulties;
• Just over €5.6 million to the Adoption Authority of Ireland to support its operational costs and statutory obligations including the implementation of the Adoption (Amendment) Act 2017;
• Just under €5 million to the National Disability Authority to allow it to deliver on its statutory duty as the independent state agency to provide information and advice on matters of policy and practice in relation to persons with disabilities;
• €4.9 million to support initiatives for the Traveller and Roma Communities;
• €3.4 million to support costs relating to the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes including those associated with public engagement on the Final Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes, development of historic burials legislation and related research, memorialisation and other initiatives;
• €2.8 million towards the establishment costs of the Guardian ad Litem executive office
• €2.8 million to the Office of the Ombudsman for Children to support it in the fulfilment of its statutory responsibilities; and
• Over €2 million towards the Programme for Peace and Reconciliation to support the development of North/South youth projects.

Programme A: Children and Family Support Programme

The aim of this programme is to integrate and improve the existing service delivery arrangements and support the welfare of children, young people and families. In particular, the budgetary decisions for 2021 mean that the Department will:

• Increase the allocation to Tusla the Child and Family Agency to a total of €878m in 2021. This is an effective overall increase of €61m over the original 2020 allocation (€817m)

The additional resources will allow Tusla to:

• Continue work to reduce the number of children awaiting the allocation of a social worker (reduce number of unallocated cases),
• Address significant demand led cost pressures in residential care,
• Provide care and protection through quality services for victims of domestic, sexual and gender based violence,
• Continue to improve organisational and service performance to achieve better outcomes for vulnerable children, young people and their families.
• Support Tusla to meet our commitments to transfer additional unaccompanied children in Greece to Ireland as quickly as possible
• Manage and safeguard records following their transfer from the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes to the Child and Family Agency (Tusla).
• Improve and embed robust processes to adhere to GDPR regulations and address the Data Protection Commissioner’s concerns,
• Continue to support the Oberstown Children Detention Campus meet its operational costs.
• Continue the work commenced in 2020 on scoping the development of a nationally organised and managed Guardian ad Litem service.

Programme B: Sectoral Programmes for Children and Young People

The aim of this programme is to support the provision of both universal and targeted services for the care, development and wellbeing of children and young people. The Government’s budgetary decisions for 2021 under this Programme will allow for the following:

• The 2021 Budget allocation of €638 for Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare remains at 2020 allocation levels. This allows resumption of 2020 deliverables in 2021 which have been disrupted by the pandemic crisis. The anticipated savings due to demographics on the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme have been reallocated to improve service delivery of programmes including the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM).

As a result, the 2021 allocation, while adjusting for the potential Covid 19 impacts, allows for:

• The continued support of the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) in 2021 allowing for increased uptake of both universal and targeted subsidies, while recognising potential economic impact of COVID19 on employment and wage levels, potentially leading to higher subsidies for impacted families.
• Increased funding under the AIM to support the full participation of children with disabilities in ECCE, recognising the year on year increased demand for AIM programmes and bringing capitation rate on AIM Level 7 in line with ECCE capitation rate increase announced in Budget 2018.
• Continue to meet the cost of two years of ECCE at current cohort levels as take-up rate has stabilised compared to previous years, thereby resulting in savings.
• An increase in allocation towards Tusla’s Early Years Inspectorate will allow for additional recruitment of inspectors to help ensure regulatory standards are maintained in services and that children’s wellbeing and development is protected. It will also allow for the development of a new regulatory case management system.
• Meet additional costs associated with delivery of the schemes, implementation of First 5, (A whole of Government strategy to improve the lives of babies, young children and their families), support good quality in the sector and improve sustainability of services.
• Continue to support Youth Services, increasing the annual current allocation by €5m to €67m to support delivery of the new UBU, Your Place Your Space targeted funding scheme, the universal Youth Service Grant Scheme and Youth Information Centres, along with commitments under the LGBT+ National Youth Strategy Actions.

Programme C: Policy and Legislation Programme

The aim of this Programme is to oversee key areas of policy, legislation and inter-sectoral collaboration to improve the lives and well-being of children and young people, including the implementation of the Policy Framework for Children and Young People. In particular, the resources allocated will allow for the following:

• Continued support for the Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) study and other research programmes,
• Support the operating costs of the Adoption Authority of Ireland and Office of the Ombudsman for Children,
• Meet the costs associated with public engagement on the Final Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes, development of historic burials legislation and related initiatives,
• Continued development and roll-out of projects under the Children’s and Young People Policy Framework.
• Further development of children and young people’s participation structures and services to support the voice of children and young people in decisions which affect their lives.

Programme D - An Equal and Inclusive Society

Under this Programme, the vote aims to promote equality and human rights in society. In 2020, the allocation for this Programme will allow for:

• A continued commitment to providing a safe and supportive environment for refugees in line with our international obligations.
• Funding for programmes to promote refugee and migrant integration.
• Funding for services to Traveller and Roma communities.
• Delivery of a range of positive actions for Gender Equality, including through European Social Fund supported projects; and continued funding of the National Women’s Council of Ireland and the National Collective of Community-based Women’s Networks.
• Funding for LGBTI+ initiatives.

Programme E – A Fair and Efficient Support System for International Protection Seekers

The funding under this Programme is to meet the Department’s international obligations in relation to the provision of material support to persons seeking international protection.

The increased funding will enable the Government to:

• Continue to provide accommodation for those seeking international protection;
• Support the process of bringing accommodation provided to asylum seekers into compliance with the standards agreed with key stakeholders, beginning from January 2021;
• Begin to plan to end the Direct Provision system in line with the Government’s commitment in the Programme for Government;
• Initiate the transitional process needed to move to an alternative system of accommodation for asylum seekers.

Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) Programme A - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Function

Under this Programme, IHREC will continue to meet its statutory obligation to protect and promote human rights and equality as Ireland’s independent national human rights and equality body and to build a culture of respect for human rights, equality and intercultural understanding across Irish society.