children's rights alliance analysis of budget 2015 and its ... · programme) the european...

Analysis of Budget 2015 and its Impact on

Children

October 2014

The Children’s Rights Alliance unites over 100 members working together to make Ireland one of the best

places in the world to be a child. We change the lives of all children in Ireland by making sure that their rights

are respected and protected in our laws, policies and services.

Alcohol Action Ireland

Alliance Against Cutbacks in Education

Amnesty International Ireland

Ana Liffey Drug Project

Arc Adoption

The Ark, A Cultural Centre for Children

ASH Ireland

Assoc. for Criminal Justice Research and Development

(ACJRD)

Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI)

ATD Fourth World – Ireland Ltd

Atheist Ireland

Barnardos

Barretstown Camp

BeLonG To Youth Services

Bessborough Centre

Border Counties Childhood Network

Carr’s Child and Family Services

Catholic Guides of Ireland

Childhood Development Initiative

Children in Hospital Ireland

City of Dublin YMCA

COPE Galway

Cork Life Centre

Crosscare

DIT – School of Social Sciences & Legal Studies

Down Syndrome Ireland

Dublin Rape Crisis Centre

Dun Laoghaire Refugee Project

Early Childhood Ireland

Educate Together

School of Education UCD

EPIC

Focus Ireland

Forbairt Naíonraí Teoranta

Foróige

GLEN - Gay and Lesbian Equality Network

Headstrong - The National Centre for Youth Mental Health

Healthy Food for All

Immigrant Council of Ireland

Inclusion Ireland

Independent Hospitals Association of Ireland

Inspire Ireland

Institute of Community Health Nursing

Institute of Guidance Counsellors

Integration Centre

International Adoption Association

Irish Association of Social Care Workers (IASCW)

Irish Association of Social Workers

Irish Association of Suicidology

Irish Autism Action

Irish Centre for Human Rights, NUI Galway

Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU)

Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL)

Irish Foster Care Association

Irish Girl Guides

Irish Heart Foundation

Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO)

Irish Penal Reform Trust

Irish Premature Babies

Irish Primary Principals Network

Irish Refugee Council

Irish Second Level Students’ Union (ISSU)

Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children

Irish Traveller Movement

Irish Youth Foundation (IYF)

Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation

Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice

Junglebox Childcare Centre F.D.Y.S.

Kids’ Own Publishing Partnership

Law Centre for Children and Young People

Lifestart National Office

Marriage Equality – Civil Marriage for Gay and Lesbian People

Mary Immaculate College

Mental Health Reform

Mounttown Neighbourhood Youth and Family Project

MyMind

National Organisation for the Treatment of Abusers (NOTA)

National Parents Council Post Primary

National Parents Council Primary

National Youth Council of Ireland

One Family

One in Four

OPEN

Parentline

Parentstop

Pavee Point

Peter McVerry Trust

Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI)

Realt Beag

SAFE Ireland

Saoirse Housing Association

SAOL Beag Children’s Centre

Scouting Ireland

Simon Communities of Ireland

Society of St. Vincent de Paul

Sonas Housing Association

Special Needs Parents Association

SpunOut.ie

St. Nicholas Montessori Teachers Association

St. Nicholas Montessori Society

St. Patrick’s Mental Health Services

Start Strong

Step by Step Child & Family Project

Sugradh

The UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, NUI Galway

The Guardian Children’s Project

Treoir

UNICEF Ireland

Unmarried and Separated Families of Ireland

youngballymun

Youth Advocate Programme Ireland (YAP)

Youth Work Ireland

Children’s Rights Alliance

31 Molesworth Street, Dublin 2, Ireland

Ph: +353 1 662 9400

Email: [email protected]

www.childrensrights.ie

© 2014 Children’s Rights Alliance – Republic of Ireland LimitedThe

Children’s Rights Alliance is a registered charity:

CHY No. 11541

Contents

Contents ............................................................................................................................... 3

1. Overview of Budget 2015 ................................................................................................... 4

2. Key Positives and Negatives of Budget 2015 ....................................................................... 8

3. Overview of Departmental Expenditure and Cuts ............................................................. 12

3.1 Social Protection ......................................................................................................... 12

3.2 Education and Skills..................................................................................................... 15

3.3 Health ......................................................................................................................... 17

3.4 Children and Youth Affairs ........................................................................................... 18

3.5 Additional Departments .............................................................................................. 19

APPENDIX 1 – Extract from Children’s Rights Alliance 2015 Pre-Budget Submission .............. 21

APPENDIX 2 – Children’s Rights Alliance Post Budget Statement ........................................... 22

4 Children’s Rights Alliance (2014) Analysis of Budget 2015 and its Impact on Children

1. Overview of Budget 2015

This document provides an overview of the Budget and its impact on children and is divided

into three sections. The first provides an overview of Budget 2015 and key budgetary

developments in 2014. The second section analyses the positive and negative impacts of the

Budget as it affects children. The third section details the measures introduced by key

departments. Finally, the Children’s Rights Alliance’s pre-Budget submission and post-Budget

press statement are included as appendices.

Budget 2015: The Background

Budget 2015 is the fourth budget delivered by the Fine Gael/Labour Coalition Government. It is also the

first budget since Ireland successfully completed the European Union (EU)/International Monetary Fund

(IMF)/European Central Bank (ECB) Troika economic adjustment programme, on 15 December 2013.

Budget 2015 is the first budget in seven years to end the year-on-year cuts to children income supports

and services. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin TD, announced in his

Budget speech that Budget 2015 ‘marks the end of an era of budgetary austerity.’ 1 The Minister for

Finance, Michael Noonan TD, described the aim of Budget 2015 as “securing the recovery, building for

the future and broadening it to families across the country” and of the intention to “secure a new

economy for a new Ireland”.2

The Budget brought many positives and no new cuts, and is therefore to be warmly welcomed. The

headlines included: increased allocation to some departments, maintenance of social welfare rates at

current levels, tax reform, an increase to Child Benefit, further investment in the Child and Family

Agency, a new Back to Work Family Dividend and a raft of initiatives to create jobs and address housing

needs. Budget 2015 thus provides some breathing space to children and families who have

disproportionately suffered in previous budgets.

However, Budget 2015 did not reverse the cumulative effect on children of the past seven budgets, nor

did it address the impact of the recession on take-home pay, emigration, personal debt and stress. The

big challenge now is to ensure a programme of investment over the next two to three budgets that will

create a ‘new economy for Ireland’ that is balanced with an inclusive and equal society that respects,

protects and fulfils children’s rights. Much more is needed to bridge the gulf in many family budgets for

basic necessities – food on the table, adequate and affordable housing, childcare, school books,

uniforms and medical expenses. Sustained investment will also be needed to make up lost ground in

terms of service provision due to successive budgetary cuts that have left nearly one in ten children in

Ireland living in poverty and to meet the needs of the thousands of children who languish on waiting

lists for vital public services, such as mental health supports and therapeutic services. Future budgets

must build on Budget 2015 by investing in children to truly realise children’s rights in Ireland.

Key budgetary developments in 2014

Before we examine the measures within Budget 2015 let us first outline two significant budgetary

developments that took place in 2014 - the introduction of Country Specific Recommendations issued by

the European Commission and the adoption of a national anti-poverty target for children.

1 file:///T:/Research,%20Policy%20&%20Campaigns/Budget/Budget%202015/Post-Budget%202015/Budget%202015%20-

%20Statement%20on%20the%20Estimates%20by%20the%20Minister%20for%20Public%20Expenditure%20and%20Reform.html

2 http://budget.gov.ie/Budgets/2015/FinancialStatement.aspx


1) Country Specific Recommendations

On exiting the Troika programme in January 2014, Ireland’s exemption from monitoring under the

European Semester framework for economic policy coordination by the European Commission was

lifted and Ireland was fully integrated into the framework. For all EU states (not part of a Troika

programme) the European Commission issues recommendations for a 12 to 18 month period called

Country Specific Recommendations (CSRs). In June 2014 the Commission issued a set of CSRs for Ireland,

these relate to Ireland’s 2014 national reform programme and the stability programme to monitor the

remaining macroeconomic imbalances.

Ireland’s CSRs contain two key recommendations for children:

• The CSR identifies that low work intensity is particularly severe among single-parent households

with children. This has contributed to the growing risk of poverty or social exclusion of children

in Ireland and exacerbates the issue of the unequal labour market participation of women. This

is also related to unaffordable childcare costs. The CSRs provide that Ireland should address the

poverty risk of children through tapered withdrawal of benefits and supplementary payments

upon return to employment and to facilitate female labour market participation by improving

access to more affordable and full-time childcare, particularly for low income families.3

Comment: Budget 2015 responded to this CSR through the introduction of a new Back to Work Family

Dividend which provides a tapered two-year cushion for parents returning to or entering the labour

market. However, the Government did not yet address the structural deficits relating to the lack of

affordable, high quality childcare as outlined in the CSR.

• The CSRs highlight the issue of youth unemployment and recommend that, in line with the

youth guarantee, all young people in need be covered within a four-month period. Skills

mismatches have emerged with the rebalancing of the economy, making re-skilling and up-

skilling a challenge for the education and training system. In addition, participation in lifelong

learning is lower than the EU average (7.3%, as compared with 10.7% in 2013).4 It recommends

tackling youth employment by pursuing further improvements in active labour market policies,

with a particular focus on young people, in line with the objectives of a youth guarantee.5

Comment: In Budget 2015, no additional funding was provided to implement the Youth Guarantee in

2015. In addition, the full adult rate of €188 for young jobseekers under 26 who participate in initiatives

such as JobsBridge and SOLAS has not been restored to bridge the gap for young people moving into

education, training and work experience.

It is clear that next year, in preparing Budget 2016, more will need to be done to address the Country

Specific Recommendations.

3 European Commission (2014) Recommendation for a COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION on Ireland’s 2014 national reform programme and

delivering a Council opinion on Ireland’s 2014 stability programme, Brussels: European Commission, p.7.

4 Ibid., p.5.

5 Ibid., p.7.


2) Child Poverty Target

After seven austerity budgets, child poverty rates remain alarmingly high with 18.8% of children and

young people under the age of 18 living at risk of poverty6 and 9.9% continuing to live in consistent

poverty.7 In addition, children in certain situations are particularly at risk of poverty, including children in

lone parent families and children in jobless households. In addition, Traveller and Roma children,

migrant children, children living in direct provision centres,8 young care leavers, children with a disability

and homeless children experience high levels of poverty, but large scale studies, such as the EU SILC, fail

to capture these children’s experiences.9

In April 2104, the Government adopted a national child poverty reduction target through the publication

of Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures, The National Policy Framework for Children and Young People

2014-2020.10

The Government set a target to reduce rates of consistent child poverty by 70,000 children

by 2020, as a sub-target of its overall poverty target (to lift 200,000 people out of poverty by 2020). The

target is to be achieved by a multi-faceted cross-Government approach to improve rates of parental

employment and to reduce the number of jobless households while increasing investment in evidence-

based effective services.11

Comment: Budget 2015 took some positive steps – increase in Child Benefit, introduction of a new Back

to Work Family Dividend, some adjustment to the Universal Social Charge and increased investment in

social housing – which will help improve the situation of some families. But to really lift families out of

poverty Budget 2016 will have to adopt a more aggressive multi-faceted strategy. The Government must

develop a cross departmental implementation plan to achieve the Child Poverty Target and allocate

necessary resources.

Budget 2015 and Children’s Rights

The Convention is a comprehensive, internationally binding agreement on the rights of children,

adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1989. It has been ratified by 193 states, all countries except the

US, Somalia and South Sudan, and is the most widely accepted human rights treaty internationally. By

ratifying the Convention, the State undertook to promote, protect and fulfill the rights therein. As part

of its obligations under the Convention, the State must report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the

Child that monitors the implementation of the Convention on a periodic basis.12

The UN Committee in

2006 reminded the Irish Government of its obligation to ensure that children are protected against the

negative impact of economic hardship on their development.13

Ireland will next be examined by the UN Committee in January 2016. That means there is just one

budget left – Budget 2016 – in which the Government can take decisive action that will demonstrate to

the UN Committee that it is taking its obligations to children seriously. We recommend that in preparing

Budget 2016 the Government assess the Committee’s previous recommendations from 1998 and 2006

and address any outstanding recommendations.14

Particular attention should be drawn to the

6

At Risk of Poverty is defined as ‘…the share of persons with an equivalised income below a given percentage (usually 60%) of the national

median income. It is also calculated at 40%, 50% and 70% for comparison. The rate is calculated by ranking persons by equivalised income

from smallest to largest and then extracting the median or middle value. Anyone with an equivalised income of less than 60% of the

median is considered at risk of poverty at a 60% level.’

7 Central Statistics Office (2014) Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) 2012, Dublin:

CSO.http://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/releasespublications/documents/silc/2012/silc_2012.pdf

8 Direct provision is a scheme whereby asylum seekers and people seeking other forms of protection are provided with accommodation on a

full board basis with all their basic needs apparently provided for directly. Direct provision residents receive a weekly payment of €19.10

for an adult and €9.60 for a child.

9 H. Frazer and M. Devlin (2011) ‘An Assessment of Ireland’s Approach to Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion among Children from

European and Local Perspectives’, Maynooth: Department of Applied Social Studies, National University of Ireland Maynooth.

10 Department of Children and Youth Affairs, Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures, The National Policy Framework for Children and Young

People 2014-2020, p. 93.

11 Ibid, at xii.

12

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child is a committee of 18 independent and international experts that monitor each state’s

implementation of the UNCRC.

13 United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (2006) Concluding Observations: Ireland (CRC/C/IRL/CO/2 paragraph 57(a)).

14 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2006) Concluding Observations: Ireland, CRC/C/IRL/CO/2; and UN Committee on the Rights of the

Child (2008) Concluding Observations: Ireland, CRC/C/OPAC/IRL/CO/1


comments on children living in poverty and health and educational outcomes for Traveller children. The

Children’s Rights Alliance has continually echoed the UN Committee recommendation that national

budgets be proofed to assess their likely impact on children.

The right to an adequate standard of living is a key right under the UN Convention on the Rights of the

Child. It provides, under Article 27, that every child has the right to a standard of living that is adequate

for the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development. While the provision recognises

that parents and guardians have the primary role in providing financially for a child, states must take

appropriate measures to assist parents and guardians according to its means, including the provision of

material assistance and support programmes. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has recognised

the negative impacts of growing up in both relative poverty and absolute poverty noting that growing up

in absolute poverty poses a threat to a child’s survival and their health. Growing up in relative poverty,

the Committee opines “undermines children’s well-being, social inclusion and self-esteem and reduces

opportunities for learning and development”.15

The Committee has stated that “economic policies are

never neutral in their effect on children's rights”, and has expressed deep concern at the negative

effects on children of structural adjustment programmes for example.16

15 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, (2005) General Comment No. 7: Implementing Child Rights in early Childhood, UN Doc.

CRC/GC/2005/7, para. 10.

16 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2003) General Comment No. 5, para. 52.


2. Key Positives and Negatives of Budget 2015

This section highlights some of the changes arising from Budget 2015 that are of particular

importance to children.

Key Positives of Budget 2015

� No new cuts to social welfare rates, income supports or services Budget 2015 is the first budget in six years that did not include severe cuts with negative impacts on

children, young people and their families. This is to be welcomed. All adult social welfare rates and child

income supports remain unchanged and there were no further cuts to youth services.

� Low income individuals are exempt from the Universal Social Charge Changes to the Universal Social Charge (USC) mean approximately 80,000 people with incomes below

€12,012 will now be exempt from the charge. This progressive reconfiguration of the USC is welcome.

� €26 million for the Child and Family Agency (TUSLA) An additional allocation of €26 million was provided for TUSLA, a 4.3% increase over the 2014 budget,

bringing the Agency’s budget up to €635 million for 2015. This allocation is warmly welcomed as the

new Agency had found itself carrying a deficit in its first year of operation and with growing waiting lists

on foot of demographic pressures and demand for its services outstripping availability. Under Article 19

of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Ireland has an obligation to ensure children are

protected from all forms of harm and abuse. Under Article 18 there is has a duty to support parents in

their child-rearing responsibilities. Adequate resourcing of TUSLA is paramount as it is tasked with a

number of significant statutory duties including ensuring children at risk are identified and provided with

care and support. It is also the key vehicle to undertake family support and early intervention and

preventative work with children and families.

� €5 per month increase on the Child Benefit payment The increase by €5 per child of the Child Benefit payment, bringing it up to €135 per month is to be

welcomed. The Government also committed to a further additional €5 in Budget 2016 if “circumstances

allow”. This is a welcome development that will support all families and will be of particular importance

for low income families. More will need to be done, however, to lift the nearly one in every ten children

who are growing up in poverty. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in its General Comment 7

reminds States that children’s rights and well-being are dependent on the support and resources

available to their parents and encourages the State to take an “integrated approach [which] would

include interventions that impact indirectly on parents’ ability to promote the best interests of children

(e.g. taxation and benefits, adequate housing, working hours).” 17

� New Back to Work Family Dividend Budget 2015 introduced a new initiative, the Back to Work Family Dividend, aimed at incentivising long-

term unemployed jobseekers with children to return to work. It seeks to address a welfare trap in the

system faced by parents returning to work. The Dividend will entitle the individual to retain the

Qualified Child Increase (QCI) (paid at a weekly rate of €29.80) in full for the first year in employment

and to retain half the payment (€14.90 per child) for the second year in employment. This amounts to

an additional €2,324 per child over the two years to supplement wages, on top of any other any

entitlement such as the Family Income Supplement Scheme (FIS). This will be a very positive

development for many families but for others the lack of affordable childcare and after school supports

will continue to act as a barrier to returning to work, education or training.

17 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, (2005) General Comment No. 7: Implementing Child Rights in early Childhood, UN Doc.

CRC/GC/2005/7.


� Partial reinstatement of the Christmas Bonus The partial reinstatement of the Christmas Bonus which was abolished in Budget 2010 to over a million

people on long term Social Welfare will provide additional support to families. It also demonstrates that

previous cuts can be undone.

� €2 million for School Meals Programme There is deep concern about food poverty and obesity among children in Ireland. The €2 million increase

in the funding for the School Meals Programme – which provides regular and healthy food services for

disadvantaged school children – is a welcome step in the right direction. Much more needs to be done in

terms of providing direct food support but also in legislating to reduce consumption of unhealthy food

by children.

� 1,700 new teachers and Special Educational Needs Budget 2015 will enable the recruitment of approximately 900 new Mainstream Teachers in primary and

second-level schools and 480 new Resource Teachers and 365 new Special Needs Assistants. These

posts are of course welcome but even the Department of Education recognises that this investment will

only meet demographic challenges. However, there will be no reduction in class size or teacher-pupil

ratios.

� Continued investment in the education Reform Agenda The budget provides continued and some new investment in the reform agenda underway under the

Department of Education, comprising Literacy and Numeracy supports; Junior Cycle Reform; High Speed

Broadband; and the School Building programme; and Book Rental Schemes. Two new areas were added

to this reform list this year: Music Generation and the Inspectors for Early Years Education settings.

� Increased allocation for health and mental health services The Department of Health secured a substantial increase, the first such increase in seven years.

However, the specific allocation of the additional €305 million is not mapped out to-date. The additional

€6 million allocation to support the implementation of the Services for Children and Young People

Programme for children with disabilities is welcome. Also welcome is the highlighting of the introduction

of free GP care for children aged six years and under. The allocation of a ring-fenced fund of €35 for

mental health services is welcome but it is not known what proportion of this funding will go to children

and adolescent mental health services.

� Over €20 million for the National Children Detention Facility Budget 2015 saw the final installment of a €56 million investment to deliver on the 2012 Government

commitment to end the practice of detaining children in adult prisons. This funding will address a critical

children’s rights violation, namely the detention of children in adult prisons. The investment will see the

construction of a new facility and the refurbishment of an existing child detention facility to create a

National Children Detention Facility at the Oberstown campus.

� Increased investment in housing The government pledged to spend €2.2 billion on increasing the social housing stock over the next three

years. Budget 2015 provided €798 million for a range of housing initiatives – an increase of €232 million

(40%) on the 2014 housing budget, including commitments in relation to increasing the social housing

stock and providing an increased allocation to address homelessness. This investment is welcome but

clearly a multi-annual sustained investment is needed to truly address the current housing crisis being

experienced by many families across the country. The figures are stark: 90,000 households on waiting

lists for social housing; 2,663 people homeless in Ireland18

but others say the true figure is almost double

that.19

In the first eight months of 2014 over 300 families with children in Dublin alone lost their homes

18 Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (2014) Implementation Plan on the State’s Response to Homelessness May

2014 to December 2016, Dublin: DECLG, p.6.

19 Peter McVerry Trust, ‘Statistics for 2013’ available online at: http://www.pmvtrust.ie/news-media/facts-and-figures/.


and were accommodated in hotel or guesthouse accommodation for extended periods.20

Housing must

become and remain a political priority until these figures are addressed.

� Price increases to discourage smoking Price increases on cigarettes and roll your own tobacco will help discourage children and young people

from smoking: an additional 40c per pack of cigarettes and 20c per 25g tobacco pouch.

20 Focus Ireland, ‘Focus Ireland reports crisis continuing as new figures show 40 families became homeless in August alone’, [press release], 8

September 2014.


Key Negatives of Budget 2013

� Positives offset by water charges and rising rents Although it is welcome that all adult social welfare rates, child income supports and the rent supplement

remained unchanged, it is disappointing that these were not increased or other supportive measures

introduced to help families who are struggling with rising rent prices, utility bills, childcare costs and the

introduction of the new water charges.

� Pledged mental health budget not restored Budget 2014 cut €15 million from a pledged allocation to mental health services, as part of a

departmental savings package. Following Budget 2014, it was hoped that Budget 2015 would allocate

€50 million for mental health (a restoration of the €15 million for 2014 and €35 million for 2015) to

meet the Programme for Government commitment. Budget 2015 only delivered a €35 million allocation

for mental health. Child and adolescent mental health services requires further urgent investment to

address their unacceptable waiting lists. For example, there are 446 young people waiting more than 12

months for an appointment to be seen by the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS).21

� Reduction in the capitation for Schools Budget 2015 implemented the final phase of saving measures including a reduction by 1% of capitation

and related pay grants to primary and post-primary schools, initially announced in Budget 2012. This

measure will yield savings of approximately €3 million but will be offset by the additional allocation of

approximately €5 million to provide for increased pupil numbers in schools.

� No increase in the excise duty on alcohol We welcome the price increase on tobacco but are disappointed that alcohol was left untouched, with

no increase in the excise duty on alcohol, unlike the last two budgets. The Children’s Rights Alliance is

deeply concerned about the impact of alcohol misuse on children and young people and the link

between parental misuse of alcohol and child neglect and abuse. We recommend that Budget 2016

should raise the cost of alcohol as part of a multi-pronged strategy to reduce alcohol misuse in Ireland.

Unknowns of Budget 2015

Many of the budget announcements and initiatives are made with little information on the breakdown

of budgets or how initiatives will be implemented. In Budget 2015 a number of things remain unclear:

• What proportion of the mental health allocation will be granted to child and adolescent mental

health services?

• What proportion of the education budget will be allocated to the School Building programme?

• What proportion of the education budget will be allocated to the Delivering Equality of

Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) programme?

• Which services will benefit from the Department of Health’s €305 million additional allocation?

21

HSE July 2014 Performance Assurance Report

http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/publications/corporate/performanceassurancereports/July_2014_Performance_Assurance_Report.pdf, p.

10


3. Overview of Departmental Expenditure and Cuts

This section highlights the changes introduced in four principal departments affecting

children: Social Protection, Education and Skills, Health, the Health Service Executive (HSE)

and Children and Youth Affairs. It also outlines a variety of measures affecting children from

other government departments and agencies including: the Department of Justice and

Equality; the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources; the Department

of Environment, Community and Local Government; the Department of Foreign Affairs and

Trade; the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport; the Department of Finance and the

Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

3.1 Social Protection

Under the Department of Social Protection (Vote 37), total welfare expenditure in 2015 will amount to

€19.415 billion, a reduction of €188 million on 2014. However, despite this reduction, there will still be

room for €198 million in targeted increases in key areas because of the significant savings on jobseeker

payments as people return to work.

There was no change to the Primary Social Welfare Payments, the Family Income Supplement, the One

Parent Family Payment or the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance. Due to the success of

the JobsPlus scheme, initiated in July 2013, there will be a doubling of the number of places from 3,000

to 6,000 to incentivise employers to give work to long-term unemployed jobseekers. In addition, a new

JobsPlus strand for young people will be launched early in 2015 under the Youth Guarantee.

SPENDING

Child Benefit payment The Child Benefit payment is paid to almost all parents in Ireland on behalf of their children, 613,000

families received the payment in respect of almost 1.2 million children each month at a cost of €1.97

billion in 2015. The Child Benefit payment was significantly reduced from a rate of €166 for the first and

second child and €187 for the third and subsequent child prior to 2010.

Budget 2015:

• Increased Child Benefit by €5 to €135 per month for each child from January 2015. And a

commitment to a further additional €5 in Budget 2016 (if “circumstances allow”).

School Meals Programme The School Meals Programme aims to provide regular and healthy food services for disadvantaged

school children through the statutory Urban School Meals Scheme for primary schools; and the non-

statutory School Meals Local Projects Scheme for primary schools, secondary schools, local groups and

voluntary organisations which operate their own school meals projects. The aim is to allow Delivering

Equality of Education in Schools (DEIS) schools that are not currently within the programme the

opportunity to join and for schools currently benefiting, to update their programmes.

Budget 2015:

• Increased the funding for the School Meals Programme by €2 million to €39 million in 2015.


Back to Work Family Dividend The Back to Work Family Dividend is a new initiative which aims to incentivise long-term unemployed

jobseekers with children to return to work. Its aim is to address a welfare trap in the system faced by

parents returning to work. The Dividend allows the individual to retain the element of the welfare

payment that they received for their children, known as Qualified Child Increase (QCI). QCI is currently

paid at a rate of €29.80 per week per child and under the new scheme, jobseekers with children will

retain that payment in full for the first year in employment and will retain half the payment (€14.90 per

child) for the second year in employment. This amounts to an additional €2,324 per child over the two

years to supplement wages. The payment will be on top of any entitlement families currently receive

under the Family Income Supplement Scheme (FIS) and will not affect the rates of such payments.

Budget 2015:

• Introduced a new payment, the Back to Work Family Dividend to support lone parents and long-

term unemployed families with children who commence, find or return to work or self-

employment from January 2015. The Qualified Child Increase worth €29.80 per week will be

paid in full for the first year in employment and half that amount will be paid weekly for the

second year. This Dividend will be additional to any entitlement the family may have to the

Family Income Supplement (FIS) and will not affect the level of the FIS payment.

Christmas Bonus The Christmas Bonus is a payment made to long term Social Welfare recipients in December each year

to assist in the recognised additional costs faced during the Christmas period. Those in receipt of

Guardian’s payment, One Parent Family payment, Carer’s Allowance, Disability Allowance are among

those entitled to the payment. The payment was withdrawn in Budget 2010.

Budget 2015:

• Reinstated at a reduced rate of the Christmas Bonus to be paid in December 2014 to recipients

of a long-term Social Welfare payment. It will be paid at 25% with a minimum payment of €20.

This will be a €1.16 million benefit to people.


Facts on Child Income Supports

Child Benefit

Paid to 610,107 families in respect of 1,166,209 children (September 2014) 2011 rate: €140 per month for the first and second child (€10 monthly cut)

€167 per month for the third child (€20 monthly cut)

€177 per month for the fourth and subsequent children (€10 monthly cut)

2012 rate: €140 per month for the first and second child (no change)


€160 per month for the fourth and subsequent children (€27 monthly cut)

2013 rate: €130 per month for the first and second child (€10 monthly cut)


€140 per month for the fourth and each subsequent child (€20 monthly cut)

2014 rate: €130 per month for all children (standardised all payments to €130)

2015 rate: €135 per month for all children (increase of €5 per child)

Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance

Paid to 164,000 families in respect of circa 300,000 children (September 2014) 2012 rate: €250 for children aged 12 years or more (reduced from €305)

€150 for children aged 4-11 years (reduced from €200)

2013 rate: €200 for children aged 12 years or more (reduced from €250)

€100 for children aged 4-11 years (reduced from €150)

2014 rate: €200 for children aged 12 years or more (unchanged)

€100 for children aged 4-11 years (unchanged)

2015 rate: €200 for children aged 12 years or more (unchanged)

€100 for children aged 4-11 years (unchanged)

Qualified Child Increase

Paid on behalf of 469,094 children (full rate = 346,848 half rate = 122,246) (September 2014)

2014 rate: full rate to €29.80 and half rate to €14.90

2011 rate: No change

2012 rate: No change - eligibility criteria for half rate QCI tightened.



2015 rate: No change – can be retained in full in first year of return to work and by half in second

year of return to work under new Back to Work Family Dividend.

Family Income Supplement

Paid to 48,493 families in respect of 107,695 children (September 2014)


2012 rate: No change - eligibility criteria relating to carers’ payments changed.




Number of Children Affected Together, QCI and FIS support approximately 576,789 children. This leaves an estimated 589,420

children without any additional support from the State beyond the basic child benefit payment.


3.2 Education and Skills

The Department of Education and Skills (Vote 26) was allocated an overall expenditure budget of €8.80

billion (€7.9 billion for current expenditure, €530 million for capital expenditure and €362 million for the

National Training Fund). The Department secured an additional €60 million for current expenditure

when compared to its 2014 allocation.

The increased funding will be used to employ an additional 1,700 Teachers (Mainstream and Resources)

and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) in 2015, at a cost of €88 million. This will enable the education

system to respond to the demographic challenge of growing numbers of children attending school and

to maintain the individual allocations of Resource Teachers at existing levels and facilitate the

recruitment of more permanent teachers. There is no change to the pupil-teacher ratio.

SPENDING

Recruitment of new teachers Budget 2015:

• Provided approximately 900 new Mainstream Teachers in primary and second-level schools.

Special Educational Needs Budget 2015:

• Special Education Measures increased to €1.37 billion or 16% of the Education Budget.

• Provided 480 new Resource Teachers, bringing the total number of Resource Teachers in

employment up to 6,705. An increase of 21% from 2013.

• Provided 365 new Special Needs Assistants, bringing the total number of Special Needs

Assistants in employment up to 11,330. An increase of 7% from 2013. Of the 365 new SNA

posts, 145 will be in place by the end of 2014 and 220 posts will follow in 2015.

Reform Agenda Funding for a number of ongoing education-related strategies and programmes were announced in

Budget 2014, including the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy, Junior Cycle Reform, High Speed

Broadband, School Buildings and Book Rental Schemes. Further investments have been made in these

areas this year. Two new issues – Music Generation and Early Years Inspectors – have been added to the

list of reforms in Budget 2015. It should also be noted that no figure is provided for the School Building

programme.

Budget 2015:

• Increased the allocation for the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy (2011) by an

additional €6 million on 2014 investment, bringing the annual budget to €13.8 million.

• Increased the allocation for the Junior Cycle Reform by an additional €5 million on 2014

investment, bringing the annual budget to €9.3 million.

• Provided €1 million for Music Generation to provide match funding to a philanthropic

investment aimed at improving children’s music education across the country.

• Allocated €3 million for High Speed Broadband for second level schools to ensure schools incur

no costs in relation to the high-speed broadband.

• Provided €600,000 for the recruitment of additional Inspectors for Early Years education

settings. The new team will work with the early childhood sector to promote and enhance good

educational practice and the quality of the free pre-school year. This initiative is being launched

in partnership with the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr. James Reilly.

• Provided €5 million in capital funding as the second tranche of a three year €15 million

investment to extend Book Rental Schemes to cover all primary schools. Such schemes help

reduce the cost burden on parents with school-age children, resulting in an estimated saving of

up to 80% of the cost of school books. This measure was first announced in Budget 2014.


• Continued investment in the five-year School Building plan (announced in March 2012). A 2015

School Building Programme will be announced later in 2014, with an updated five-year plan to

be published in the first half of 2015.

CUTS AND SAVINGS

Capitation The allocation for 2015 takes into account saving derived from measures announced in previous

budgets. The final phase of these saving measures is being implemented in Budget 2015

Budget 2015:

• Reduced by 1% of capitation and related pay grants to primary and post-primary schools, under

a measure announced in Budget 2012. This measure will yield savings of approximately €3

million. The saving will be achieved by a reduction in the standard capitation rates, with other

related grant rates remaining unchanged. The new standard mainstream capitation rates in

2015 will be €170 (from €173) for primary and €296 (from €301) for post-primary. This

reduction, however, will be offset by an additional allocation of approximately €5 million to

provide for increased pupil numbers in schools.

• Reduced by 1% of capitation rates in Youthreach, VTOS and PLC colleges, which will yield €1

million in savings.


3.3 Health

Budget 2015 allocated €13.079 billion to the health service – comprising the Department of Health (vote

number 38) and the Health Service Executive (vote number 39). This is an increase of €305 million over

last year’s allocation of €12.774 billion. Further once-off revenue measures of €330 million will also be

available to support services. This means there will be an increase of €635 million in current spending

for the health services compared to the start of 2014. The total capital budget for 2015 will be a further

€382 million.

SPENDING

Budget 2015:

• Provided an increase in funding for the health service in 2015, the first budget increase for seven

years. • Allocated €25 million for delayed discharges, targeted at hospital and community services which can

demonstrate initiatives to address the specific needs of delayed discharge patients most positively,

and thereby improve timelines for admissions from Emergency Departments and waiting lists.

• Increased the capital budget for health by €68 million from 2016 onwards, a rise of 18%, which will

allow for more planning for primary care and community nursing units, and new capital investments

in the cancer facilities programme. It will also allow investments in the area of ICT, where existing

systems and the level of integration are not appropriate to a health service of such scale and

complexity.

• Provided an additional €6 million allocation to support the implementation of the Services for

Children and Young People Programme for children with disabilities through new staff appointments

to reconfigured multi-disciplinary, geographic-based teams, and the use of innovative approaches,

involving public, voluntary and private providers, to achieve targeted reduction of waiting lists.

Mental Health

Budget 2015:

• Ring-fenced €35 million for mental health services in line with the Programme for Government

commitment to create a modern, patient-centred, and recovery orientated mental health

service. Committed that mental health teams will be further enhanced.

Free GP care for children aged six years and under The Comprehensive Expenditure identified three Programme for Government commitments that will be

funded from the health budget in 2015, including the introduction of a Universal GP service for children

aged under 6 years.22

The introduction of free GP care is a first step to achieving one of the core obligations of General

Comment No. 15 of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child,23

that the State ensures “universal

coverage of quality primary health services, including prevention, health promotion, care and treatment

services, and essential drugs”.24

22 http://budget.gov.ie/Budgets/2015/Documents/Comprehensive%20Expenditure%20Report%202015%20-%202017.pdf

23 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2013) General Comment No. 15: the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable

standard of health CRC/C/GC/15.

24 Ibid, para. 73.


3.4 Children and Youth Affairs

The Vote of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs now includes the allocation for Tusla, the

Child and Family Agency which was formally established on 1 January 2014. The Department’s Vote is

€1,010 million in 2015, comprising services and programmes provided by the Child and Family Agency of

€635 million and schemes and services funded by the Department of €375 million.

SPENDING

Tusla, the Child and Family Agency The new Child and Family Agency was established in January 2014. The establishment of the Agency was

a key Programme for Government commitment. It includes a range of vital services for children such as

the HSE Children and Family Services, Family Support Agency, National Education Welfare Board, Pre-

school Inspection Services, services relating to psychological welfare of children and services relating to

domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. The budget of the HSE Children and Family Services

(approximately €534 million) was transfer in full to the new Agency, along with the budgets of the

National Education Welfare Board (NEWB) and the Family Support Agency (FSA). Tusla was allocated a

budget of €609 million in 2014.

Budget 2015:

• Provided an additional allocation of €26 million to the Child and Family Agency, a 4.3% increase

over the 2014 budget. The Agency was allocated a budget of €635 million for 2015. This

additional funding will allow the Agency to consolidate and build on initiatives commenced

including the programme of reform which, among other things, is bringing all services into a

single National Service Delivery Model. It will also help alleviate pressures on services, including

supporting implementation of Children First on a statutory basis.

• Of the €635 million allocated to the Child and Family Agency, €12.39 million was allocated in

capital funding, an increase of €5.6 million over the 2014 allocation. This will meet the cost of

the next phase of the roll-out of the National Child Care Information System, and the related

upgrade of the Agency’s ICT infrastructure. In addition, the provision for 2015 will allow for

some upgrading of special care facilities, and ongoing maintenance of existing facilities. Data

and knowledge management are critical to improving quality and planning capability in the

Agency to respond to the needs of vulnerable children and their families.

National Children Detention Facility In 2012, the Government committed to end the practice of detaining children in adult prisons. To

honour this commitment, 16 and 17 year olds are to be removed from St. Patrick’s Institution and

Wheatfield Prison to the new national child detention facility: much progress has been made to date

with all 16 year olds already moved to the Oberstown campus. In 2013, €56.4 million in capital funding

was allocated over three years to undertake construction of the National Children Detention Facility at

Oberstown – this involves both the construction of a new facility and the refurbishment of an existing

one. In Budget 2014, €31 million was allocated to the National Children Detention Facility project.

Budget 2015:

• Provided an additional €19 million to complete the National Children Detention Facility in

Oberstown and a further €1.8 million to cover the costs of additional staff and costs associated

with the new, larger facility.


3.5 Additional Departments

Department of Environment, Community and Local Government

• Provided €798 million for a range of housing initiatives – an increase of €232 million (40%) on

the 2014 housing budget (comprising €180 million for capital programmes and €52 million in

current spending that will be used to finance increased local authority housing services,

including through the Rental Accommodation Scheme and the new Housing Assistance

Payment).

• Committed to deliver 15,925 housing units in 2015: 7,536 additional housing units from a range

of measures combined with a target of 8,000 for transfers from Rent Supplement to the Housing

Assistance Payment.

• Committed to increase social housing stock by spending €2.2 billion over the next 3 years.

• Increased spending on homelessness services by €10.5 million (over 20% on 2014’s allocation to

€55 million in 2015).

• Invested €90 million to accelerate local authority direct construction and acquisition that will

more than quadruple the number of social housing units delivered through this mechanism,

rising from 200 in 2014 to 946 in 2015.

• Provided funds to increase the number of units delivered through voluntary housing bodies and

co-operatives from 275 to 440. The additional capital programme will also allow for 1,000 extra

vacant housing units to be brought back into use.

• In 2015, 400 new housing units will be provided for people with specific needs and up to 150

new homes in the community will be provided to support people with disabilities to leave

institutional care (maintenance of €1 million funding). Funding of €40.4 million will provide for

some 7,600 housing adaptation grants to assist older people and people with disabilities to

continue living in their own homes.

• Invested some €133 million in community programmes in 2015, including €46 million for the

Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) and €45 million for LEADER.

• Saw an increase of €1.5 million to €12.3 million funding for a range of initiatives in the

community and voluntary sector, including support to strengthen and foster volunteerism and

philanthropy.

• Allocated funding of €4 million to provide for the management and maintenance of Traveller

halting sites and to fund social workers whose duties are concerned with Traveller

accommodation.

• Provided €10 million for the Mortgage to Rent scheme to support homeowners who are at risk

of losing their homes.; allocated €133 million to Community and Rural Development Provision

for 2015; provided an increase of almost €3 million for regeneration/remedial works for the

country’s most disadvantaged communities; will see €135 million invested to allow for 2,000

new Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) transfers in 2015.

Department of Finance (including Office of the Revenue Commissioner)

• Increased the standard rate band of income tax by €1,000 from €32,800 to €33,800 for single

individuals and from €41,800 to €42,800 for married one earner couples and reduced by 1% the

higher rate of income tax from 41% to 40%. These measures will cost €405 million in a full year.

• Raised the entry threshold for Universal Social Charge (USC) to €12,012. This will have a positive

impact on 80,000 low paid people who will now be exempt from the charge altogether. In

addition, middle income earners who pay USC will pay less as the entry point for the band has

been raised. The first USC rate will fall from 2% to 1.5% and the second rate of USC will fall from

4% to 3.5%. These measures are expected to cost €237 million.

• Introduced a new 8% Universal Social Charge (USC) rate for incomes in excess of €70,000 and an

11% rate of USC for self-employed income in excess of €100,000. It retained the exemption from

the top rate of USC for medical card holders earning less than €60,000 and these individuals will

now only be liable to a maximum USC rate of 3.5%. This rate of USC is also the maximum that

will apply to the over-70s who have incomes lower than €60,000.


• Increased the price of 20 cigarettes by 40 cent, this will mean that many brands will now cost

more than €10 per pack of 20. A 25 gram pouch of roll your-own tobacco will increase by a

further 20 cents a pack. These measures will yield €53 million in a full year.

• Introduced tax relief of 20% on water charges, up to a maximum of €500 per annum, to be paid

in arrears. This measure will cost €3 million.

Department of Justice and Equality

• Provided an increase of €40 million to facilitate the recruitment of new Gardaí initiated under

Budget 2014.

• Allocated €500,000 for the establishment of the planned Policing Authority and an additional €1

million for the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) and €250,000 for the Garda

Inspectorate.

• Allotted an additional €500,000 to the Charities Regulatory Authority bringing the total budget

for the Authority to €1.4m in 2015. This represents an increase of over 50% on the initial budget

provided for the establishment phase. The Charities Regulatory Authority – a new independent

regulatory agency for the charity sector – was formally established on 16 October 2014, in line

with the 2009 Charities Act.

• Provided an additional €2 million in current expenditure to the Courts Service for 2015 as well as

providing for the retention of a once-off 2014 capital allocation of €2 million to support the

implementation of ongoing reforms of the Courts including the establishment and operation of

the new Court of Appeal.

• Provided for the first time a separate vote for the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission

(IHREC) in line with the Paris Principles. Provided an allocation of €6.3 million for the IHREC in

2015.

Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources

• Provided that the Better Energy Warmer Homes scheme, which provides free energy efficiency

measures to low-income households, will deliver upgrades to 10,000 homes in 2015, bringing to

118,000 the total number of households that have benefitted. The allocation for the Better

Energy Programme will total €47 million in 2015, and will assist in energy savings of over 460

gigawatt hours next year – a significant contribution towards our 2020 energy efficiency targets.

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

• No change to the over €600 million allocation for Official Development Assistance (ODA) from

2014. This is the first time in six years that there has been no reduction in this allocation.

Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

• Provided for a further round of Sports Capital Programme (SCP) funding this year, open to clubs

and organisations around the country. This fund covers essential works being carried out on

pitches, clubhouses and lighting.

Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

• Allocated €153 million for Arts, Culture and Film, an 11% increase on the spending estimate for

2014. Also allocated €40 million for Heritage, a 12% reduction on the spending estimate for

2014.

• Provided €41.8 million for the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Islands, a 1% increase on

the spending estimate for 2014.


APPENDIX 1 – Extract from Children’s Rights Alliance 2015 Pre-Budget

Submission

The following is an extract from the Children’s Rights Alliance Pre-Budget Submission to the Department

of Social Protection. Our submissions are available on our website www.childrensrights.ie.

In compiling Budget 2015, the Children’s Rights Alliance urges the Minister for Social Protection to

consider the effect that her budgetary decisions will have on the child’s right to grow up free from

poverty; the impact of those decisions on the increasing number of children growing up poor in Ireland;

and how she can limit the already devastating impact of the recession on children and their families.

There is a moral and legal obligation on Government to protect children from the impact of further cuts

to vital supports and services.

1.3 Summary of Key Recommendations The cumulative effect of cuts in recent budgets has had a real impact on families with children struggling

to make ends meet. Budget 2015 must not push children and their families deeper into poverty. To

achieve a children’s rights-budget, Budget 2015 should:

Children’s Rights-Budgeting and Child Poverty Target

� Proof all Budget 2015 proposals for their impact on children’s rights.

� Develop a cross departmental implementation plan to achieve the Child Poverty Target and

allocate necessary resources.

Child and Family Income Supports

� Reform the Child Income Support system by retaining a universal Child Benefit payment,

introducing a second-tier child income support system for low income families, and maintaining

additional and adequate supports for low income families in work. Until the promised reform

takes place, maintain the Child Benefit payment, the Qualified Child Increase and the Family

Income Supplement at current levels.

� Remove the Child Benefit from the Habitual Residency Condition to address poverty among

asylum seeking, Roma and Traveller children.

� Freeze the age limit for a relevant child for the One Parent Family Payment and reverse the

earnings disregard to address the high rate of poverty among children in lone parent

households.

Supports for Children at School

� Restore the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance to the 2012 rate to support

parents with the cost of sending children to school.

� Increase funding for the School Meals Programme to address food poverty among children living

in poverty.


APPENDIX 2 – Children’s Rights Alliance Post Budget Statement

Tuesday 14 October: Statement by Tanya Ward, Chief Executive

Breathing Space for Children and Families in Budget 2015

The Children’s Rights Alliance reacted to today’s budget by welcoming the fact that there is finally an

end to the years of harsh budgetary cuts for children and families. This budget provides breathing space

to children and families who have disproportionately suffered in previous budgets.

The Children’s Rights Alliance welcomes:

• An extra €26 million for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, bringing its budget to €635 million

• An increase in Child Benefit by €5 per child

• An increase in the School Meals Programme of €2 million to €39 million

• An increase to the budget of the national childcare information system of €5.6 million which will

track vulnerable children

• An 1,700 additional new full time posts in education - 920 new mainstream teachers, 480

resources teachers and 365 special needs assistants

• €35m allocated to child detention services

• Cigarettes up 40 cent to over €10 a packet for leading brands, helping to discourage children

from smoking

Tanya Ward, Chief Executive, of the Children’s Rights Alliance said today:

“This Budget won’t bring families onto the streets protesting but neither will they be celebrating just

yet. The €5 increase to Child Benefit is welcome but more action is needed to lift the 1 in 10 children out

of child poverty. The threshold for universal social charge was increased and that’s good news for low

incomes families. So too is the news that parents returning to work will be enabled to retain the full

Qualified Child Increase of €29.80 for first year.

“The Government managed to find an extra €26 million for the Child and Family Agency (Tusla) to shore

up its services for vulnerable children in residential and foster care. Ultimately our child protection

system will be in a stronger place because of this investment.”

“Education achieves a €60 million increase. This will see 1,700 new additional full time teacher posts;

920 new mainstream teachers, 480 resources teachers and 325 Special Needs Assistants. Budget 2015

builds on similar announcements last year to meet rising pupil numbers as well as to provide necessary

resource teaching for children with special educational needs.”

“Health has also managed a substantial increase of €305 million some of which will go free GP care for

under six year olds and mental health services.”


The Children’s Rights Alliance unites over 100 members working together

to make Ireland one of the best places in the world to be a child. We

change the lives of all children in Ireland by making sure that their rights

are respected and protected in our laws, policies and services.

31 Molesworth Street

Dublin 2

TEL: +353 1 662 9400

FAX: +353 1 662 9355

EMAIL: [email protected]

www.childrensrights.ie

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