Update: Disadvantaged Children Throughout the Country – Children and Youth Affairs 19th November, 2014

QUESTION NO:  104

 
  *  To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which the scale and level of disadvantaged children throughout the country in both urban and rural settings with a view to identification of the extent to which various intervention or support requirements may be identified and offered; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

                                                                                         Bernard J. Durkan T.D.

 
REPLY.
Responsibility for addressing disadvantage is a matter for all Departments and Ministers and indeed for wider society. The provision of intervention and supports to target the particular needs of children will be dependent on the type of disadvantage, be it social, financial, educational, health etc. Responsibility for the identification and provision of those interventions will fall to my Ministerial colleagues as appropriate to the type of disadvantage.

Notwithstanding this, I am fully convinced of the need for a whole-of-government approach in addressing such issues.  Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures: The National Policy Framework for Children and Young People (2014-2020)  takes such an approach in addressing disadvantage for children, emphasising an integrated and evidence informed approach to working across government, on horizontal and vertical levels, which transfers to all sectors and settings working with children and young people.

Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures  is the first overarching national policy framework which comprehends the age ranges of children and young people 0 €“ 24 years. It puts the everyday lives of children and young people at its centre and requires Government Departments and State agencies to work together in an integrated way along with non-government organisations to achieve better outcomes for children and young people.

Towards achieving this aim, we are working to address disadvantage, which can damage a child or young person’s capacity to learn, grow, and have a healthy life and productive relationships. For the children and young people that need additional support, we need to identify them and intervene early. This requires good quality universal systems open to all, like our schools and primary healthcare services, backed up by additional targeted services and income supports to give ‘at risk’ or vulnerable children and young people the extra help they need to keep up with their peers and lift more children out of poverty, aiming to break the cycle of intergenerational disadvantage.

While my Department has overall responsibility for the framework, individual Departments will continue to take lead roles on matters within their remit; for example, the Department of Education and Skills have lead responsibility for issues concerning educational disadvantage, the Department of Social Protection has lead responsibility for addressing child poverty. The Department of Children and Youth Affairs has lead responsibility for a range of funding schemes which target disadvantage across the areas of services and supports for children and young people.

Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures recognises that disadvantage impacts on children and young people in both rural and urban areas. This can result in difficulties in accessing services, as well as a risk of isolation and lack of economic opportunity.