Results 2,701-2,720 of 7,359 for speaker:Katherine Zappone

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Bullying in the Workplace (29 Jun 2017)

Katherine Zappone: It is a central policy of my Department to ensure that managers and staff encourage and maintain good employee relations in order to ensure a motivated workforce and an efficient service. The Dignity at Work - Civil Service anti–bullying, harassment and sexual harassment policy is the civil service policy for dealing with harassment, sexual harassment and bullying in the workplace....

Priority Questions: Departmental Reports (4 Jul 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Along with the Deputy and other Deputies, I very much welcome the report by Dr. Geoffrey Shannon which is an audit of the use of section 12 by An Garda Síochána. He has done a great service to children. He has also done monumental work in terms of what we as policy makers need to do in order to support children in crisis. His report is a comprehensive, thorough analysis of the...

Priority Questions: Departmental Reports (4 Jul 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I indicated in response to the Deputy's question my view on the recommendation of Dr. Shannon which I have agreed to include in my implementation plan. I have asked Tusla to take the first steps. This has been agreed with Dr. Shannon on the most appropriate way to move forward. The Deputy is aware that we have an out-of-hours service. The Garda has access to a telephone line and live...

Priority Questions: Departmental Reports (4 Jul 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I have asked those responsible to begin the work and report back to me as soon as possible on the different sections of the implementation plan relating to Tusla's response to Dr. Shannon's report. For example, in respect of the out-of-hours service, on which the Deputy's question focuses, my officials will be meeting representatives of Tusla towards the end of this week to begin the process...

Priority Questions: Child Protection (4 Jul 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Thank you. I appreciate and accept your condolences. It helps me during this period. As stated in my previous reply to Deputy Anne Rabbitte, I have developed an implementation plan to address the recommendations made by Dr. Geoffrey Shannon relating to Tusla. They have been agreed with him and are being implemented without delay. Several recommendations relate to the practice and...

Priority Questions: Child Protection (4 Jul 2017)

Katherine Zappone: As I indicated, I put in place a comprehensive response to the recommendations made in Dr. Geoffrey Shannon's report as a result of meetings and an agreement with him on the initial way to proceed in that regard. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire's last question was on inter-agency co-operation. Several aspects in this regard will be examined and reported on to me in ensuring better...

Priority Questions: Child Protection (4 Jul 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Yes, and it will be independent. The progress of commissioning the independent research has already commenced. I agree with Deputy Ó Laoghaire that in terms of understanding social work decision-making it would be helpful to have social work input. The chair of the board of Tusla has responded to my request to commission that independent piece of research and is currently putting it...

Priority Questions: Child Care Services Funding (4 Jul 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Children, parents and families will start enjoying the benefit of our radical new approach to child care from September. An additional €19 million will be available to an estimated 70,000 children. This is a first big step, one from which there can be no row back. All children aged between six and 36 months, or until they are eligible for the free preschool scheme, will be eligible...

Priority Questions: Child Care Services Funding (4 Jul 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I thank Deputy Rabbitte for her questions, which provide me with an opportunity to clarify the situation. In regard to the 9,000 families which may not be able to participate in the full affordable child care scheme vision, which we hope will be the best in the world and will be less expensive, the figure of 9,000 is an estimate. We are being upfront and honest in terms of our first effort...

Priority Questions: Child Care Services Funding (4 Jul 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I am, again, grateful to the Deputy for these questions. In terms of the legislation and the ICT, the Deputy will be aware that I will be before the committee discussing these issues in more detail before this session ends. In regard to the ICT, we are in a process. The development of the ICT infrastructure for the affordable child care scheme has gone into what is called a peer review...

Priority Questions: School Completion Programme (4 Jul 2017)

Katherine Zappone: The ESRI review, to which the Deputy refers was, as she is aware, conducted in 2015. It recognised the important role that the school completion programme plays in working with children at risk of dropping out of school. However, the review also highlighted the need for a fit for purpose structure with effective governance and employment models in place. The report suggested that the...

Priority Questions: School Completion Programme (4 Jul 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I thank the Deputy for her question. I am fully committed to the school completion programme as a strategy to address ways in which we can support our young people to stay in school, particularly in disadvantaged areas. Regarding the audit which was conducted a while ago, I have described a number of steps that have been put in place working with school completion programmes on the...

Priority Questions: School Completion Programme (4 Jul 2017)

Katherine Zappone: My understanding is that they have been not involved only in terms of the review but perhaps, more importantly, subsequent to it in the various steps that Tusla has put in place and various training and engagement that is under way throughout the different programmes throughout the country. If the Deputy has information that this is not happening, I would be very keen to be aware of it. The...

Other Questions: Departmental Reviews (4 Jul 2017)

Katherine Zappone: We are now on Question No. 29. Is that the position?

Other Questions: Departmental Reviews (4 Jul 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Is that the correct number?

Other Questions: Departmental Reviews (4 Jul 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Okay. I had a reply to a number of questions relating to homelessness next.

Other Questions: Departmental Reviews (4 Jul 2017)

Katherine Zappone: That is not the next group of questions.

Other Questions: Departmental Reviews (4 Jul 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 29, 52 and 553 together. The issue of sustainability in child care services is challenging and multifaceted. The rate of subvention funding provided by my Department’s child care schemes is at the core of this, but there are also other significant issues. These include the receipt of parental contributions; funding from Tusla and other sources for...

Other Questions: Departmental Reviews (4 Jul 2017)

Katherine Zappone: There are a number of things which I am doing now because of the urgency of the situation and in order to support the movement towards the sustainability we have all spoken about. A piece of independent research is being commissioned - I hope it will be put out by mid-August - and it is critical. While we wait for that, given the urgency of the challenges faced by the services, I have asked...

Other Questions: Departmental Reviews (4 Jul 2017)

Katherine Zappone: On Deputy Funchion's last point, officials in my Department have been very committed to finding ways to consult with, and hear from, the sector. That is not to say we have heard from everyone but most recently they have been on a roadshow giving information to providers about the more affordable child care which will start in September 2017. My understanding is there has been strong and...