Results 20,241-20,260 of 21,128 for speaker:James Reilly

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Living Wage (13 Jan 2016)

James Reilly: It is important that Ireland’s statutory National Minimum Wage and the Living Wage concept are not conflated. The Living Wage is a voluntary societal initiative centred on the social, business and economic case to ensure that, wherever it can be afforded, employers will pay a rate of pay that provides an income that is sufficient to meet an individual’s basic needs, such as...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: School Completion Programme (19 Jan 2016)

James Reilly: The School Completion Programme aims to retain young people in the formal education system to completion of senior cycle and to generally improve the school attendance, participation and retention of young people who are risk of educational disadvantage. The Programme is a targeted intervention aimed at school communities identified through the Department of Education and Skills’ DEIS...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Protection Services (19 Jan 2016)

James Reilly: The information sought by the Deputy has been requested from Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, and I will respond directly to the Deputy when the information is received. I wish to advise the Deputy that the information requested is not collected on a national basis so it may take some time for the data to be collated. However, it will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as it is available.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Qualifications (19 Jan 2016)

James Reilly: The Community Employment (CE) programme is a labour market activation measure designed to help people who are long-term unemployed and other disadvantaged people to get back to work by offering part-time and temporary placements in jobs based within local communities. After placement, participants are encouraged to seek permanent part-time and full-time jobs elsewhere based on the experience...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Staff Promotions (19 Jan 2016)

James Reilly: Since January 2014, eligibility for promotion within the Civil Service is no longer generally based on a defined period of service in the grade immediately below that of the post being filled. As my Department has held no internal competitions since 2013, no Clerical Officers or Executive Officers have been promoted after the significant change in eligibility rules.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Educational Reform (19 Jan 2016)

James Reilly: I thank the Senator. I welcome the opportunity to outline the steps that my Department will take in this important area and confirm my commitment to working with my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, to ensure that children's rights are promoted and protected. Comhairle na nÓg are local councils for children and young people aged 12 to 17 years that give them a voice in...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Educational Reform (19 Jan 2016)

James Reilly: I wish to reassure the House that the participation unit in the Department - the strategy itself is, I believe, the first of its kind in the world - is there to allow the voice of the child to be heard. My view on this matter is very clear. If we do not have the input from children, the users of our services, whether such services be in the areas of education, health, housing, etc., then we...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Family Resource Centres (21 Jan 2016)

James Reilly: There are currently 109 communities supported through the Family Resource Centre Programme which is funded by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. The Family Resource Centre Programme is a national programme with its own dedicated budget. Tusla provides core funding to Family Resource Centres to cover the employment of two to three members of staff and partial overhead costs. In 2015, Tusla...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Preschool Services (21 Jan 2016)

James Reilly: Currently, children are entitled to one year’s free pre-school (i.e. 38 weeks during the academic year) under the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme. For the 2015-16 programme year, children who were born between 2 February 2011 and 30 June 2012 are eligible. In Budget 2016 it was announced that, from September 2016, children will be eligible to start free...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Preschool Services (21 Jan 2016)

James Reilly: The childcare support programmes funded by my Department are administered by Pobal through the Programmes Implementation Platform (PIP). These programmes include the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) programme, which  supports low income and disadvantaged families in community childcare facilities, and the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme providing the free...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care Education (21 Jan 2016)

James Reilly: At present, children qualify for the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme when they are within the qualifying age range which is 3 years and 2 months to 4 years and 7 months in the September of the relevant year. The extension to the ECCE programme which was announced in Budget 2016 will allow children to access the free pre-school programme from the time they are 3 years...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Remit (26 Jan 2016)

James Reilly: Under the current provisions of the Child Care Act 1991, grandparents may foster their grandchildren. In cases where parents are unable to provide an appropriate level of care and welfare for their children, they may agree to their children being taken into the care of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency (the Agency) on a voluntary basis. Where the Agency has serious concerns for the care...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care Education (26 Jan 2016)

James Reilly: I have been conscious for some time of the difficulty experienced by some children with a disability in accessing and benefitting fully from the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme. With this in mind, I requested that an Inter-Departmental Group, led by this Department, be established with a brief to bring forward recommendations to address this issue. The Group has...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care Education (26 Jan 2016)

James Reilly: The extension to the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme which was announced in Budget 2016 will allow children to access the free pre-school programme from the time they are 3 years of age until they start primary school. The measure will come into effect from September 2016. The extension to the programme will cost an additional €47m in 2016. The full year...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Human Rights Issues (26 Jan 2016)

James Reilly: The submission made by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), in December, included a proposition relating to Public procurement and children's rights. In that context the Commission stated that reform of the type it recommends could take place in the wider context of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Anti-Poverty Strategy (26 Jan 2016)

James Reilly: At my recent appearance at the Review of Ireland by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva, I stated that the Irish Government acknowledges that dealing with child poverty in Ireland has been a major challenge. In recognition of the higher risks and life-long consequences of child poverty, the Government set a child-specific poverty target in Better Outcomes,...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Funding (26 Jan 2016)

James Reilly: Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, has statutory responsibility for the care and protection of victims of domestic, sexual and gender based violence. A network of 60 organisations provides services to victims of domestic, sexual and gender based violence in Ireland, including 20 services providing emergency refuge accommodation to women and children and 24 community-based domestic violence...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Public Service Reform Plan Measures (26 Jan 2016)

James Reilly: The Deputy will appreciate that changes in public services may be subject to the normal industrial relations processes which may include discussions with union representatives and referral to the independent industrial relations machinery under the relevant public service agreements. The information requested by the Deputy would not normally be held by my Department and I have asked each...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Staff Retirements (27 Jan 2016)

James Reilly: No such cases have arisen in my Department. My officials have asked the bodies under the aegis of my Department to respond to the Deputy directly in relation to this question as this information is not readily available in my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Children in Care (27 Jan 2016)

James Reilly: A care plan for each child who is received into care is required under the Child Care Regulations, 1995. The regulations stipulate that all care plans are to be reviewed and updated on a regular basis and sets out the frequency for these reviews to take place. A review of the care planned for a child under the Child Care Act 1991 is a process to monitor and review the progress of the plan and...