Results 3,341-3,360 of 21,096 for speaker:Charles Flanagan

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Inter-Country Adoptions (1 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: Recent years have seen a significant fall-off in the number of intercountry adoptions taking place internationally. These trends reflect the significant decline in recent years in the number of children, particularly infants, available for adoption, as child welfare and protection systems have improved in developing countries which previously placed large numbers of children for adoption. ...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Adoption Records Provision (1 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: My Department is continuing work on the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill and I hope to be in a position to seek Government approval to publish the Heads of the Bill as soon as possible. It is intended to proceed to finalise legislative proposals so that I may bring a general scheme and Heads of Bill to the Government as soon as possible. Subsequent consideration by the Oireachtas...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (1 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: As I have just outlined to the House, the Commission of Investigation into the concerns relating to the Mother and Baby Homes will be statutory and independent and will operate under the Commission of Investigations Act, 2004. The process of developing detailed terms of reference for the Commission is being supported by a high level Cross Departmental Review Committee. The Report from the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Preschool Services (1 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: The Early Childhood Care and Education programme was introduced in January 2010 and provides a free pre-school year to all eligible children before commencing primary school. The programme is expected to cost about €175m in the current year, including the cost of administration. Just over 65,000 children participated in the programme in the 2011/2012 school year. Approximately...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (1 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: As I have outlined to the House today, the Commission of Investigation into concerns relating to the Mother and Baby Homes will be statutory and independent and will operate under the Commission of Investigations Act, 2004. The process of developing detailed terms of reference for the Commission is being supported by a high level Cross Departmental Review Committee. I have received an...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Programmes Implementation Platform (1 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: The Programmes Implementation Platform (PIP) will provide an on-line accessible system that will streamline the administration of the three childcare support programmes, the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme, the Training and Employment Childcare (TEC) programmes and the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) programme, currently implemented by my Department. The new system...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Protection Guidelines (1 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: The Children First Bill, 2014, which will put elements of the Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children (2011) on a statutory footing was published in April, and is currently progressing through the Dáil. The introduction of this legislation is in line with a key Programme for Government commitment, and it represents an important and necessary addition...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Years Strategy Implementation (1 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: The development of Ireland’s first Early Years Strategy for children in the early years of their lives, is being progressed in my Department. The objective is to create an innovative and dynamic blueprint for the future development of Ireland’s early years sector and a coherent approach to seeking to improve the lives of children from birth to 6 years. The Early Years...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Funding (1 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: It is a matter of record that this Centre has been experiencing cash flow difficulties. The Centre incurred expenditure of €2.022m in 2013 and received funding amounting to €1.96m, resulting in a deficit of €62,000. Projections by the Centre show that income of approximately €1.8m is anticipated during 2014. With such a level of financial support available it...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Regulation (1 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: Significant progress has been made in implementing the National Early Years Quality Agenda, which involves a range of actions in key areas aimed at improving quality within early years services and enhancing the regulatory regime. Additional funding of €4.5 million has been allocated in 2014 for this work. The Quality Agenda provides an overdue recognition of the importance of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Adoption Services Provision (1 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: My Department is continuing work on the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill and I hope to be in a position to seek Government approval to publish the Heads of the Bill as soon as possible. While I am anxious to improve the legal basis for access to adoption records, proposals to Government have to reflect the constraints on the Legislature in providing such access if they are not to fall...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Detention Centres Provision (1 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: There is a commitment in the Programme for Government to end the practice of detaining children in adult prison facilities, which under the Children Act 2001 means all young people up to the age of 18 years. The transfer of responsibility for 16 year old boys was implemented in May 2012 and this commitment under the programme for Government will be met in full later this year when the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Funding (1 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: As I have outlined to the House today, the Government is committed to establishing a Commission of Investigation into concerns relating to the Mother and Baby Homes. The process of developing detailed terms of reference for the Commission is being supported by a high level Cross Departmental Review Committee. I have received an initial report from the Review Committee in recent days. This...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Death Review Group Report (1 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: The National Review Panel was established in 2010 to review serious incidences and deaths of children in care, young people receiving aftercare services and children known to Child Protection and Welfare Services. It is chaired by Dr Helen Buckley and is independent in its functions. The National Review Panel's individual and annual reports are published on the Child and Family...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (1 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: The Government has undertaken to establish a Commission of Investigation into the disturbing revelations on conditions and related matters in Mother and Baby Homes. I have publicly confirmed that the intended scope of this investigation will go beyond the home operated by the Sisters of Bon Secours in Tuam, Co. Galway and will include the Bethany Homes. These announcements have been widely...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Death Review Group Report (1 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: The Report of the Independent Review Groupwhich was published in July 2010, arising from the work of an independent group established by the then Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to examine the deaths of children in care, aftercare or involved with child protection and welfare services from January 2000 to April 2010. The report indicated that 196 children had died during this period...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Education Welfare Service Staff (1 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: As the Deputy will be aware the functions and operational responsibilities of the former National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) are now part of the Child and Family Agency, which was established on 1 January 2014. Since this date the staff of the former NEWB, including its Education Welfare Officers (EWOs), have transferred to the new Agency. The three service strands formerly under the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Adoption Legislation (1 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: My Department is continuing work on the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill and I hope to be in a position to seek Government approval to publish the Heads of the Bill as soon as possible. While I am anxious to improve the legal basis for access to adoption records, proposals to Government have to reflect the constraints on the Legislature in providing such access if they are not to fall...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: School Completion Programme (1 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: The School Completion Programme (SCP) 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 its target cohort. The SCP is a targeted intervention aimed at those school communities identified through the Department of Education and Skills’ DEIS Action Plan for Educational...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Children in Care (1 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 623 to 625, inclusive, together. Special Care involves the detention of a child for his or her own welfare and protection in a Special Care Unit (SCU) on order of the High Court. SCUs differ from ordinary residential care in that the Units offer higher staff ratios, on-site education as well as specialised input such as psychology and child psychiatric...