Kathleen Funchion calls for childcare funding, wage subsidy fixes

Thanks, Chair. So we're going to take seven minutes and four minutes then for Deputy Brown and four minutes for Deputy Carthy, but we're going to do our back and forth within each of our time slots. So the number of issues that I want to raise are the logistical issues, Minister, around the scheme, around the wage subsidy scheme. So some of them have been mentioned already, but sole traders, for example, seem to be outside of this category and it's kind of ironic for them because they are administrating the scheme and ensuring that staff maybe are paid, yet they can't access the payment themselves. I know that your department is aware of these issues, but it's our first time to be able to sort of put them on record here in the chamber. The same around people either returning from maternity leave or going on maternity leave and the issues and difficulties, seeing as they are technical issues, I do believe there should be some solution found there and it's not really good enough that it's just sort of seen as, well, that's a revenue matter. I think we need to be looking at some sort of solutions for providers and services. in that situation. Sustainability is the key thing in all of this. And I have to say, I welcomed the fact that staff and workers were to be paid by the state as somebody that has long advocated a publicly delivered childcare model. The idea of staff and workers being paid by the state would seem like a first step. But yes, if there's not, you know, adequate funds there to keep services open, and if some services didn't even sign up for the scheme because they felt there wasn't going to be adequate funds to keep their businesses open, afloat. Well, then, you know, it's sort of bittersweet really in one way. So I do know that there is a fund of roughly approximately 2 million euro that you will be aware of that's ring fenced for the community sector as a sustainability fund. And I would like to see if that could be explored to be, first of all, expanded, and also to take in the private services as well, and community. But I think obviously we'll need to see a lot more investment and a lot more money, you know, being ring fenced for that. I know that this is mainly childcare, but given that domestic violence falls into the same department, I do want to take a minute or two just to mention those services. We've all seen the reports where there's about a 30% increase in incidents of domestic violence. And I would say that that's the incidents and the reports that are actually being reported because we all know a huge amount of domestic violence goes unreported. And while it's very tragic and sad that we have this virus and we have people dying from it, we also now have a situation where very many women and children are potentially going to die as a result of increasing domestic violence. And I think we need to be doing a lot more in terms of increasing funding to that sector. A lot of refugees have had to decrease the amount of places that they can provide, given social distancing. And while they obviously have to abide by that, they're left in a very difficult situation. For example, we have one refuge in Carlow Kilkenny, which I know you're well aware of because you came down and visited and everyone was very delighted with that. But if that is full, first of all, you have people from Carlow who have to travel to Kilkenny, which in itself is not great. But if it's full, then they have to try and find a refuge place in maybe Clonmel, Waterford, Wexford. And for a lot of people, they'll just walk away and they end up going back into a very violent and difficult relationship because it just seems like that there's not hope there. Whereas if we were able to provide more spaces, that could be the very thing that those women and children need to get out of that situation. I do want to give you some time in my seven minutes to come back in. So the last point I want to make is actually not even in relation to yourself, Minister. It's in relation to a Sunday Business Post article where there was, and I hope I'm wrong, or I hope it was a mistake or an error, but there was some talk in government talks of getting rid of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, unfortunately coming from our colleagues in Fianna Fáil. Now, as I say, I'm open to correction and I really hope that I will be corrected on it because I cannot emphasise enough how much of a retrograde step this would be if we got rid of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. And as somebody that has been critical over the years and will always continue to be, I would say, constructively critical and who would have a lot of difficulty with areas within the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, the solution, I can tell you, is not to get rid of it. It's to work on it. It's to reform it. But, I mean, all you have to do is look at the history in this country of how we have treated women and children over the years. And then the one department that we have that primarily deals with children and women's issues, to even consider getting rid of that or acting it. Totally, totally opposed to it. Sinn Féin is totally opposed to it. And I just want to give my commitment to do everything in my power to ensure that that does not happen, because I tell you, that would be a very, very dark day for this country, given our record on women and youth. And I would say, you know, that maybe hopefully it is not a widespread view within Fianna Fáil and that people will be strong enough to come out and, you know, voice their opposition to that as well. So, I'm going to give you the opportunity to respond within within my timeframe, but I suppose the sustainability, the domestic violence and then the logistical issues. And if you want to give your opinion on the Department of Children and Youth Affairs as well, I'd be interested to hear that. Thanks. Thank you. Lovely. Well, you have two options. You can take the reply globally, all three of you can be replied together, or you can individually. Which do you want to go? Individual? Individual. Yeah, thanks. Minister, here you go. Thank you. Just in relation to your initial questions, you know, around the wage subsidy scheme and especially the focus on the sole trader, I think you're aware, actually, that was an issue at the beginning. And we did make strong representations and enabled, it wasn't the perfect solution, but at least they could have access to the, you know, a 350 payment, which weren't originally in terms of the initial negotiations for the bespoke model. And all the other, the number of issues that you did identify there, Deputy Funcheon, absolutely. And I think that we continue to represent those. Some of those, as you know, have been identified in a part of the revenue scheme that sits underneath the childcare scheme itself. But we are aware, we are aware of those. The sustainability issue, absolutely. I mean, I, as you, again, I think you'd be aware, everything we've done since the pandemic has been towards the, with the objective of sustainability. And, and in fact, the significant amount of supports in different ways for the sector itself, whether it's the wages or the overheads or bringing, as I said before, bringing forward the, the program support payments to support the cash flow, all of that. Yes, there is, as you identify too, a sustainability fund and taking in the private sector, et cetera. Those conversations are ongoing in the department. And, and, and, you know, I mean, I'm, I'm supportive. I'm personally supportive of anything in favor of sustainability and that we want to find ways to ensure to keep the sector with us. But of course, they, everyone can decide, everyone decides for themselves whether they will sign up, for example, to the temporary wage subsidy scheme for the childcare sector. 83% I think is a really good number. At the same time, that means that there's 17% who didn't. Maybe there's all sorts of different reasons why that is the case. However, I think most of the, the employees probably are supported in some way because they may be on the pandemic unemployment. But we will continue to find ways to see if they, we can keep them with us. And maybe when we open the childcare for healthcare workers and move on to the next phase of reopening, that there are some of the other services that would come to that scheme. Because, again, I think you'd be aware, Deputy, but just to be clear, the current subsidy, temporary wage subsidy scheme for the childcare sector, you know, is one scheme. And then there's another scheme in terms of for the, for the actual childcare for healthcare workers. That, that also, those are, those are two different schemes. And some may opt for the second one that haven't been able to do for the first one. Domestic violence, yes, yes. And of course, as we know, that is a global issue as well, that that's going on in, in, in probably every country and every setting. Um, I can say that, I mean, and I think you're aware that this was a prior, this is one of the three or top priorities, uh, of, of Tusla, uh, in terms of their initial response, uh, in terms of the pandemic and our, and our work with, with, with them. They, they, they advise there's currently reduced capacity, as you know, within some refuges, due to the, as you pointed out, due to the requirements for social distancing, um, to mitigate that impact, an additional 46 refuge and non-refuge accommodation units for service users have been secured in the community. Um, they have advised that a number of services also have access to additional spaces on an as needed basis. That's still not sufficient? Still not sufficient? Yeah, go ahead. Oh. We have to. Okay. Okay. And, um. Pass it over. I'll hold on what I think about the things I read in the papers as well then. For now, anyhow. Thanks. Do you guys think about the numbers that you can put in the papers? Alright, thank you.