Sustaining Progress - Department of Taoiseach

Chapter 2 Sustaining Progress
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2.12.3 Policy Approach
The policy approach targets services as well as income to ensure a better start for every child.
The strengthening of services from which children benefit can do much to foster their well-being and
development. The approach will be evaluated on outcomes for children. The precise definition of
these outcomes will be drawn up and adopted in consultation with all those with responsibility for
delivering upon them.
Health: Better medical and health services within the community for young
children and their parents.
Pre-schoolage: Priority to early education and childcare facilities for disadvantaged
families in the context of a joint approach between the Departments
of Education and Science and Justice, Equality and Law Reform.
Primary school: Ensuring every child obtains a threshold of numeracy and literacy.
Neighbourhood amenities: Accelerated provision of play environments for local communities.
Parenting: Wider availability of parenting support services for families at risk.
Income: Importance of Child Income support arrangements, including examining
the effectiveness of, for example, merging the Child Dependent
Allowance (CDA) with the Family Income Supplement (FIS).
In clarifying the institutional framework through which the desired outcomes are to be secured, the
social partners will work closely at a national level with the National Children’s Office, the National
Children’s Advisory Committee, the Combat Poverty Agency and the Non-Governmental Organisations
(NGOs) targeting child poverty. They will seek to strengthen and promote co-ordinating, monitoring
and delivery structures at the local level in order that more of the solutions to problems might come
from where the problems are, and where much of the expertise for solving them lie. The structure and
operation of the County Childcare Committees will be examined as an interesting template to spur the
parallel development of local structures ensuring a fair start for every child.