Results 3,401-3,420 of 21,096 for speaker:Charles Flanagan

Topical Issue Debate: Child Care Costs (8 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: The expenditure of €260 million annually cannot be regarded as lip service. Deputies will be aware of the very stringent financial parameters within which we are operating. I accept the Deputy's point that the Donegal report is a most valuable piece of evidence and it feeds into the review under way in my Department. The issue of early childhood education will be a priority not only...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Child Care Education (8 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme is a free and universal programme which provides a free pre-school year to all eligible children. Children are eligible to avail of the free pre-school year where they are aged more than 3 years 2 months and less than 4 years 7 months at 1 September in the relevant year. Children born between 2 February 2010 and 30 June 2011 will...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Education Welfare Service Staff (8 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: School Completion Programme (8 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 (8 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 858 to 860, inclusive, together. The Child and Family Agency compiles monthly performance reports which include statistics in relation to children in care. These reports are published on the Agency's website. At the end of December 2013 there were 6,462 children in care. Of these 92% (number 5,935) had an allocated Social Worker and 87% (number 5,648) had a...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Freedom of Information Requests (8 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the table below and is with effect from the date of the establishment of my Department, 2 June 2011. Year Total Received Refused Granted Part Granted Appealed/Part Appealed Appeals/Part Appeals - Successful/ Refused *Withdrawn /Dealt with Outside of FOI *Carried over at Year End* 2011 6 1 5 0 1 1 Appeal Successful 0 2012 32 2 18...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Staff Career Breaks (8 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: The information requested by the Deputy on the number of staff in my Department currently on a sabbatical/career break by duration is set out as requested in tabular form below. Currently by duration 0-6 months 6-12 months 1-2 years 2-3 years 4-5 years 5 years No. of staff 0 0 1 0 1 0

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Expenditure (8 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: I assumed office on the 8th of May 2014 and since that date no photography costs have been incurred by my Department. It is the policy of my Department to keep costs in relation to the use of photographers to a minimum. My Department has a detailed project planning process for each event and the decision to book a photographer is based on the merits of the event. Increasingly my Department...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Public Relations Contracts Data (8 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: I assumed office on the 8th May 2014 and since that date no external public relations firms have been employed by my Department. With regard to my Department's internal policy on external groups providing public relations services, such groups are hired as needs arise, where it is felt their professional expertise can be of assistance to my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Consultancy Contracts Expenditure (8 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 865 and 866 together. My Department does not engage external contractors for IT related services and as a consequence the issue of renegotiating does not arise. The Department of Health operates a shared information and communications technology service, which supports the needs of this Department and its agencies. This arrangement has been in place since the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Appointments to State Boards (8 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: 48 persons have been appointed to the boards of management of bodies under the aegis of my Department, since its establishment in June 2011. Agency Board Membership Appointed since June 2011 Child and Family Agency 9 9* Adoption Authority 7 2 Children’s Detention School Board of Management 13 13 Family Support Agency n/a 23 National Educational Welfare Board n/a 10*Under the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Expenditure (8 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: A child protection conference (sometimes called a case conference) is a formal meeting that the Child and Family Agency hold if it has major concerns about a child. The Agency decides on the professionals and individuals invited to the conference and may include the Social Worker, the Principal Social Worker, School Principal, Public Health Nurse, family Doctor, Gardaí and any other...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Legislative Process (8 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: My Department was established on the 2nd June 2011 and since then I have published the Thirty-First Amendment of the Constitution (Children) Bill 2012, the Child and Family Agency Bill 2013, the Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2013, the Adoption (Amendment) Bill 2013 and the Children First Bill 2014. Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIA) were published in relation to the Child and Family Agency...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Debt Collection (8 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: The Deputy might wish to note that my Department has not employed the services of a debt collection agency. The State agencies under the remit of the Department have also been consulted in relation to this matter and they confirmed that no such services have been engaged.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Cafes Expenditure (8 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: In some recent years capital funding has been made available to my Department to support the provision of new youth cafés. In 2013 a capital allocation of €1.55m for new youth cafés was made available by my Department. In 2012 €.5m was allocated to the scheme. Pobal assisted my Department with the 2013 scheme. In all 95 applications were received and some 30...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Services Funding (8 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures: the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People 2014 -2020 (NPF) was published and launched by Government in 2014. The NPF comprehends the continuum from infancy through early and middle childhood to adolescence and early adulthood. It provides the overarching framework for the development and implementation of policy and services for children...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Services Funding (8 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: The funding provided by DCYA to the Centre for Effective Services (CES) for the period in question is as follows: 2011, €225,000; 2012, €755,000; 2013, €594,000; and 2014, €770,000. It should be noted that the figures in respect of 2011 -2013 represent actual payments by DCYA direct to CES while the 2014 figure is an allocated amount. The CES is co-funded by the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Ministerial Advisers Remuneration (8 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: Following my appointment as Minister for Children and Youth Affairs on 8th May 2014, I approached the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for sanction to appoint Ms. Sarah Kavanagh as my Special Advisor. In line with standing instructions on Ministerial Appointments this appointment will be on the first point of the Principal Officer (Standard) scale i.e. €75,647 per annum. I...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Provision (8 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: I understand that the persons referred to by the Deputy were deemed ineligible for support under the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) programme following verification by the Department of Social Protection of the information submitted by the childcare service as part of the annual parental returns. This matter was successfully appealed and the childcare service was notified on 27 May...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Hospital Services (8 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: In response to the Deputy's previous Parliamentary Question in relation to this matter, my Department asked the Child and Family Agency to have the matter investigated and to reply directly to the Deputy. I have asked my officials to contact the Agency again and ask them to deal directly with the Deputy in this matter.