Results 4,361-4,380 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Family Support Services (7 Feb 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Funding of over €23.5 million has been provided to the Family Support Agency (FSA) for 2013. This includes a dedicated provision of over €14 million in respect of the Family Resource Centre Programme in 2013. Under the programme some 106 Family Resource Centres will receive funding from the FSA this year. The FSA, like all other State bodies, has been asked to make savings...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Protection (7 Feb 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: My Department has received the information requested by the Deputy from the HSE. Due to the volume and presentation of the information I will forward the information directly to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Children in Care (7 Feb 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Under the Child Care Act, 1991, the Health Service Executive has a duty to promote the welfare of children who are not receiving adequate care or protection. The policy of the HSE is to place children in care settings, preferably in foster care, as close as possible to their home and community. At the end of October 2012 there were a total of 6,286 children in care. Of these 5,779 were in...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Staff (7 Feb 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: From the question asked, I understand that the Deputy is interested in obtaining information on public sector workers who have retired from either my Department or a body under the aegis of my Department and who has been re-employed to other positions within the public sector. As payment of civil service pensions is a matter for the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, my Department...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services (12 Feb 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy with the most up-to-date information.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services (12 Feb 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The 1991 Childcare Act provided for regulation of the pre-school sector. However, there was a recognition at the time of the difficulties of regulating the childminding sector, given its scale and the strong view that women should not be subject to regulation if they minded a small number of additional children. As a result, the majority of childminders are exempt from the Regulations...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: National Educational Welfare Board (12 Feb 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) was established in 2002 under the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000. Its functions emphasise school attendance, participation and retention. The various strands of the NEWB, the School Completion Programme (SCP), the Home School Community Liaison Scheme (HSCL) and the Educational Welfare Service (EWS) work together to secure improved educational...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Support Agency (12 Feb 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) is a UK non-governmental organisation which has a very specific remit in representing the best interests of children in family court proceedings in England. In an Irish context, the Guardian ad Litem (GAL) service is the equivalent of CAFCASS. The future governance and organisational arrangements relating to the GAL service...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Health Services (12 Feb 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I have requested from the HSE the information requested by the Deputy and I will revert to the Deputy when this information is to hand.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Inter-Country Adoptions (12 Feb 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Under section 72 of the Adoption Act 2010, the Adoption Authority may enter into administrative arrangements with another contracting State to the Hague Convention. An administrative arrangement is not mandatory for intercountry adoption between countries that are both signatories to Hague. However some contracting states, including Ireland, may determine that in some instances...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: School Completion Programme (12 Feb 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: 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 one of three service strands, which also includes the Home School Community Liaison and the Education Welfare Service, being integrated under the remit of the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Adoption Services (12 Feb 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Hague Convention does not require that accredited agencies be State funded. It is not currently the policy of the Department to fund accredited agencies. While accredited bodies are required to be not-for-profit organisations, it is open to them to charge reasonable amounts for services provided to applicants. Therefore, ongoing funding should arise from the payments for services...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Expenditure (12 Feb 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: My Department does not incur any costs for assessing means of individual citizens for any reason.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Services (12 Feb 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Funding under the Special Projects for Youth Scheme (SPY),is made available to organisations and groups for specific projects which seek to address the needs of young people who are disadvantaged due to a combination of factors e.g., social isolation, substance misuse, homelessness, early school leaving and unemployment. Projects facilitate the personal and social development of participants...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Early Years Strategy (13 Feb 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: My Department is developing a new children and young people's policy framework which will set out high level goals for both my own and other Departments for the next five years. The policy framework is expected to be published in mid-2013 and will build on Our Children - Their Lives, Ireland's first children's strategy which was published in 2000. This is relevant to the early years...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Early Years Strategy (13 Feb 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am very pleased to say a great deal of work has been done by the expert group I appointed and which is chaired by Dr. Eilis Hennessy, the head of the school of psychology at UCD. I reject absolutely the Deputy's remarks about implementation. This is the first strategy of its kind and we have had a series of meetings to examine very important issues. I am very pleased to say the members...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Early Years Strategy (13 Feb 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I established and selected such an expert group which represents a wide area. It includes people from local family resource centres, Barnardos, the DIT, child care committees and Childminding Ireland. I brought the group together in order to hear and take note of their expert views and experiences. The views of its members will certainly be taken on board. The reason for having an expert...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Child and Family Support Agency (13 Feb 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am firmly committed to the transformation of Ireland’s child and family services and, in this context, the establishment as a priority of the new child and family support agency. The agency, on its establishment, will assume full statutory responsibility for a range of child and family services currently provided by three separate agencies, namely, the HSE, the Family Support Agency...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Child and Family Support Agency (13 Feb 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: There is a huge amount of work being done in respect of the finalisation of the legislation. In view of the fact that we are close to completion, I am of the view that it would be preferable to publish the legislation in full. I appreciate the response of the staff involved to date. Last month we issued personal letters to almost 4,000 staff informing them of the plans to establish the new...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Child and Family Support Agency (13 Feb 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: From the beginning of our discussions in respect of the establishment of the new agency, I made it clear that I consider the provision of family support to be an absolutely critical part of the new agency's work. Equally, it is clear that child protection is a priority. In order to ensure that child protection systems operate effectively, the efforts of the family resource centres and...