Results 3,461-3,480 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (26 Jun 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: My Department was established on 2nd June 2011. The details requested by the Deputy are provided in the following table: Year Number of retirements Lump Sum 2011 1 €95,504 2012 6 €405,646 Total Cost 7 €501,150 In addition, three members of staff who were seconded from my Department to the Adoption Authority of Ireland retired in 2012 at a total lump sum cost of €213,874.

Written Answers — Child Care Services: Child Care Services (26 Jun 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Government reform agenda represents an essential response to the litany of child protection failures outlined by the report of the Independent Child Death Review Group. The report represents clear evidence of why a reformed system of State care and intervention is needed. In this context the Programme for Government had already demonstrated the high priority it attaches to children and...

Written Answers — Children in Care: Children in Care (26 Jun 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: The HSE has forwarded the information requested in Parliamentary Question No. 224 of 22 February 2012 directly to the Deputy on 25th June 2012.

Written Answers — Redundancy Payments: Redundancy Payments (26 Jun 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I can confirm to the Deputy that there have been no redundancies from my Department or agencies under the aegis of my Department in the period in question. All staff reductions have been by way of retirement or resignation. As noted in the Second Progress Report of the Implementation Body under the Public Service Agreement 2010-2014, the Agreement continues to provide valuable stability in...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (27 Jun 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: The information requested by the Deputy in respect of my Department, as at the end of May 2012, is set out below in tabular format: Grade Number of persons employed Whole Time Equivalents Secretary General 1 1.00 Director 1 1.00 Assistant Secretary 1 1.00 Principal Officer 11 10.30 Assistant Principal Officer 19 18.13 Child Welfare Officer 1 1.00 Social Work and Child Care...

Written Answers — Ministerial Transport: Ministerial Transport (27 Jun 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: My Department was established on 2 June 2011. In line with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform guidelines on ministerial appointments, I employ two civilian drivers on a week on/week off basis to drive my private car on official business. Each driver receives €631.75 per week in respect of these duties and are not entitled to claim overtime. A total of €40,179.30 was paid...

Written Answers — School Absenteeism: School Absenteeism (28 Jun 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 238 to 241, inclusive, together. Since the commencement of the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000 all recognised schools are obliged to submit an Annual Attendance Report to the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) on the levels of school attendance each year. An overall analysis and report derived from this data is produced by the Education Research Centre...

Written Answers — Court Procedures: Court Procedures (28 Jun 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Independent Child Death Review Group has highlighted in its report what it considers to be the restrictive nature of the in camera rule and the fact that court proceedings relating to child welfare and protection cases are held in private. The Review Group has called for a review of the operation of the rule. I believe there is scope for more transparency in this area. We need to put...

Written Answers — Youth Services: Youth Services (28 Jun 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: A total of €1.7m has been allocated by my Department to support the provision of youth cafés, to date. The first tranche of funding was provided over 2010-11 under a dedicated competitive scheme operated for my Department by Pobal. As a result of that scheme a total of €1.5m was allocated for a specific measure to support the provision of Youth Café facilities in Ireland and a total...

Written Answers — Family Support Services: Family Support Services (28 Jun 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: Two out-of-hours pilot projects, one in Donegal and the other in Cork, were commenced by the HSE in 2011. The Donegal project started mid-year and the Cork project started in the third quarter. Both projects were internally evaluated by the HSE, which then commissioned an independent external assessment, undertaken by Trinity College Dublin. The outcome of this assessment process will...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (28 Jun 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: Procedures for the management of sick leave in my Department are in accordance with Department of Finance circulars, in particular Circulars 25/78 and 09/2010. These arrangements recognise that staff may from time to time encounter challenges to their health and well-being and that management of sick leave must be done in a fair and consistent manner with the objective of addressing the...

Written Answers — Public Sector Reform: Public Sector Reform (28 Jun 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: My Department recently prepared a Progress Report in relation to the Annual Review of the Public Service Agreement 2010-14. The Progress Report report covered the following areas: 1. Better Human Resource Management; 2. Better Business Process; 3. Delivering for the Citizen. For each of these areas, the report documents the progress in relation to the relevant activities/commitments,...

Written Answers — Foster Care: Foster Care (3 Jul 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: Under the Child Care Act, 1991(as amended) the Health Service Executive (HSE) has a statutory duty to promote the welfare of children who are not receiving adequate care and protection. If a child is in need of care and protection and is unlikely to receive it at home, the HSE has a duty to ensure they receive appropriate care. In such circumstances the HSE may apply to the Court for a care...

Written Answers — Missing Children: Missing Children (3 Jul 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I presume the Deputy's question relates to separated children seeking asylum who go missing while in the care of the state. In this regard, the Health Service Executive (HSE) has advised me that thirteen separated children seeking asylum were reported missing from care in 2010. Eight of these young people returned to care, while five young adults who are aged between 18 and 21 years are...

Written Answers — Irish Language: Irish Language (3 Jul 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: My Department was established on 2 June 2011 and since then €22,993.76 has been spent on Irish translation services. The additional printing costs arising from printing Irish and bilingual documents is estimated at €11,752.67.

Written Answers — Children in Care: Children in Care (3 Jul 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Health Service Executive has advised me that the information will be available later in the year.

Written Answers — Children in Care: Children in Care (3 Jul 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Health Service Executive (HSE) compiles monthly performance reports which include statistics in relation to children in care. These reports are published on the HSE website. The latest published report shows that 5,742 / 92.3% of children in care had an allocated social worker in April 2012. In March 2011, 5,700 / 93.7% of children in care had an allocated social worker.

Written Answers — Legal Cases: Legal Cases (3 Jul 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: The following legal cases are pending against my Department: Year Number of cases 2012 1 2010 3 2009 2 2008 2 2004 2 1997 1 Total 11 Further enquiries are being made and, if necessary, I will revert to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Family Support Services: Family Support Services (3 Jul 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Family Support Agency provides support for families under the Family Resource Centre (FRC) Programme. The aim is to combat disadvantage and improve the functioning of the family unit. Key services provided by FRCs include: · Information, advice and support for groups and families at local level. · Assistance to community groups (such as training and the shared use of facilities)....

Written Answers — Departmental Funding: Departmental Funding (3 Jul 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 568 and 570 together. The Deputy might note that there are four agencies currently under the operational remit of my Department that are funded by the Exchequer and these include the Adoption Authority of Ireland, the Family Support Agency, the National Education Welfare Board and the Ombudsman for Children. There are no quasi autonomous non-governmental...