Results 20,141-20,160 of 21,128 for speaker:James Reilly

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Children in Care (2 Dec 2015)

James Reilly: I welcome the fact that, over the past two years, the Health Information & Quality Authority (HIQA) has looked at Tusla's children's residential centres work with children whose behaviour is very challenging. HIQA's findings are mixed, by and large showing a committed staff dealing with young people, some of whom have serious emotional and behavioural difficulties. The age profile of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Domestic Violence Refuges (2 Dec 2015)

James Reilly: I facilitated a meeting with Respond on 3 November, at its request, to get an account of the nature of the service provided, the reasons behind the decision to close the service, and to get a better understanding of Respond’s previous interaction with state bodies in relation to the Centre referred to by the Deputy. The Centre, in the main, provides second stage residential...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care Education (2 Dec 2015)

James Reilly: The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme provides for free pre-school education for children before they commence primary school. I have been conscious for some time of the difficulty experienced by some children with a disability in accessing and benefiting fully from this Programme. With this in mind, I requested that an Inter-Departmental Group, led by my Department be...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Domestic Violence (2 Dec 2015)

James Reilly: Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, has statutory responsibility for the care and protection of victims of domestic, sexual or gender based violence whether in the context of the family or otherwise. This year, Tusla provided over €19 million euro in funding for the provision of domestic and sexual violence services. This funding is allocated to specialist organisations responding...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Regulation (2 Dec 2015)

James Reilly: In order to provide for the implementation of the legislative changes to the Child Care Act 1991, which were enacted through the Child and Family Agency Act 2013, it was necessary to carry out a root and branch re-examination of the 2006 Child Care Regulations, including a re-structuring of the Regulations in line with the latest drafting practices. This exercise has proven to be more...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Direct Provision System (2 Dec 2015)

James Reilly: My colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality has primary responsibility in the areas of asylum and immigration including the direct provision system. With regard to the welfare of children in Direct Provision centres, there are a range of supports available to families resident within the centres facilitated by several Government Departments and Agencies. The needs of children in...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Protection Services (2 Dec 2015)

James Reilly: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that significant extra resources have been allocated to Tusla, the Child and Family Agency for 2016. The gross funding allocation for Tusla in 2016 is €676 million, representing an increase of €38 million over the 2015 allocation. This includes €662.4 million in current expenditure and €13.6 million in capital expenditure. The...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Children in Care (2 Dec 2015)

James Reilly: Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, has a statutory duty under the Child Care Act 1991 to promote the welfare of children who are not receiving adequate care and protection and, if necessary, to receive a child into the care of the State. I am satisfied that Tusla takes its responsibility very seriously regarding the welfare of children in care and that there is a robust framework of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Mental Health Services Provision (2 Dec 2015)

James Reilly: The prime responsibility for policy in relation to the treatment and support for young people with mental health problems and those requiring medical care as a result of self harm currently lies with the Department of Health. The issue of mental health problems, including self harm in young people is a complex issue requiring inputs from a wide range of stakeholders including young people,...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Abuse (2 Dec 2015)

James Reilly: Tusla, the Child and Family Agency holds the statutory responsibility for child welfare and protection, and is the appropriate body to receive reports of concerns relating to children at risk. Where there are reasonable grounds for concern for a child's welfare and protection, Tusla should always be informed. As part of governance arrangements, Tusla provides my Department with regular...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Children in Care (2 Dec 2015)

James Reilly: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the number of children coming into care has fallen over the past number of years. The most recent figures are outlined in the table. As these figures are released on an annual basis, validated figures for 2014 and 2015 are not yet available. YEAR ADMISSIONS TO CARE 2009 2,372 2010 2,291 2011 2,248 2012 2,070 2013 1,869 I wish to assure the Deputy...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Protection Services (2 Dec 2015)

James Reilly: My Department has contact with various voluntary groups, bodies and organisations dealing with the rights and well-being of children. These contacts relate to a range of responsibilities that come within my remit and some bodies have multiple contacts with my Department in line with their respective areas of interest. On an ongoing basis we have contacts with the State Bodies coming within...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Juvenile Offenders (2 Dec 2015)

James Reilly: The children detention schools, based in Oberstown, Lusk, Co Dublin, deliver services focused on education and rehabilitation of all young people detained in order to address offending behaviour and support their early re-integration into the community. I am advised that the development project currently nearing completion in Oberstown includes a new purpose - built education, training and...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Bullying of Children (2 Dec 2015)

James Reilly: The most important step in addressing bullying, including cyberbullying, is for parents to talk to children about bullying whether it is through social media or not. Data gathered from nine year old children as part of Growing Up in Ireland, the National Longitudinal Survey commissioned by my department, showed that based on responses from their mothers, 24% of children had been victims of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Mental Health Services (2 Dec 2015)

James Reilly: My Department collects information on the issue of depression in children through the Growing Up in Ireland Study. Growing Up in Ireland, The National Longitudinal Study of Children in Ireland is a study which is wholly sponsored by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. Since 2007 the study has followed the progress of two groups of children: 8,000 9-year-olds and 10,000...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Services (2 Dec 2015)

James Reilly: Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures: the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People (2014-2020)was developed following consultation with 66,705 children and young people, and a public consultation with parents and individuals who work with and for children and young people. It identifies the five national outcomes towards which all of government, and indeed all of society, must...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Services Provision (2 Dec 2015)

James Reilly: My Department administers a range of funding schemes and programmes to support the provision of youth services to young people throughout the country including those from disadvantaged communities. The funding schemes support national and local youth work provision to some 380,000 young people and involve approximately, 1,400 youth work staff in 477 projects and 40,000 volunteers working in...

Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Dec 2015)

James Reilly: I do not propose to accept the amendment. As I mentioned on Second Stage, the Bill has a particular structure to ensure an obligation on Tusla, the Child and Family Agency to prepare and draft an aftercare plan for that cohort of children and young people who meet the eligibility criteria as defined. Section 7 of the Bill, in subsection (1), states quite clearly that, "The Child and Family...

Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Dec 2015)

James Reilly: I will respond very briefly. We did get an extra €38 million this year for Tusla and I believe we are moving in the right direction in that regard.

Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Dec 2015)

James Reilly: I thank the Deputies for their contributions to the Bill during its passage through both Houses. In summary, the Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2015 provides for an explicit requirement to prepare an aftercare plan in respect of a specified cohort of children and young people as they transition from State care. Following a needs assessment, the Child and Family Agency will prepare a plan in...