Results 4,901-4,920 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Seanad: Early Child Care Education Standards: Statements (30 May 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: It is happening right now. Mr. Jeyes is establishing a national approach to inspection which will give him the opportunity to redeploy staff to areas where they are needed. I have spoken to him directly about that. I also want to see greater attention being paid to risk information in judging the timing of inspections. If complaints have been made about a service, inspectors need to return...

Seanad: Early Child Care Education Standards: Statements (30 May 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I do not want to prejudice any investigation or make any comment on the investigation. A serious investigation on the part of the Garda and HSE into incidences of alleged abuse is taking place. Senators have all made comments on whether they consider it to be abuse but I do not want to prejudice what is a very serious investigation. It will take its course. As I said, there have been...

Seanad: Early Child Care Education Standards: Statements (30 May 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Yes. There are well over 100 heads in the Bill and a serious amount of work has been done on it over the past year. It represents major reform. The Children First Bill is also very complex legislation. I have had the benefit of the committee's responses on that. We need to bring revised heads of the Bill to the Government. I hope that will happen before the end of this term. The Bill...

Seanad: Early Child Care Education Standards: Statements (30 May 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Given the legacy economic issues we inherited and the requirement to borrow €1 billion per month, I was very pleased last year to succeed in ring-fencing funding for the proposed child and family agency to the tune of €600 million, which includes the inspection budget. In addition, I secured the additional €9 million necessary to retain the universality of the ECCE...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Legislative Programme (11 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Deputy will be aware that I published the Draft Heads and General Scheme for the Children First Bill 2012 on the 25th of April 2012 and immediately referred the Heads of Bill to the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children for consideration and advice. The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children published their report in July 2012. As part of the Joint Committees...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Protection Issues (11 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 838, 850, 853 to 856, inclusive, 858 and 862 together. Under the Child Care (Pre-School Services) (No 2) Regulations 2006, the inspection of pre-schools is the responsibility of the Health Service Executive (HSE), and I have referred the Deputies’ specific queries to the HSE for direct reply. I understand that, in 2011, 2,789 childcare providers...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: UN Conventions Ratification (11 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Ireland has signed but not yet ratified the Second Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the rights of the child on the sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography. It is my intention to progress to ratification in due course, once I am satisfied that the State will be able to meet all its obligations therein. I discussed the issue of ratification of this Protocol in a...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Services Funding (11 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Youth Affairs Unit of my Department provides a range of funding schemes, programmes and supports to the youth sector. Funding of some €53.498m is available in 2013 to support the provision of youth services and programmes to young people throughout the country including those from disadvantaged communities. Targeted supports for disadvantaged, marginalised and at risk young people...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Proposed Legislation (11 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 841 and 842 together. The Deputy will be aware that I published the Draft Heads and General Scheme for the Children First Bill 2012 on 25 April 2012 and immediately referred the Heads of Bill to the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children for consideration and advice. The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children published their report in July...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Years Strategy Publication (11 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: My Department is currently 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...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Abuse Issues (11 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: As this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive for the information in question which I will forward to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Regulation (11 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 845, 847, 849, 852, 861, 870 and 872 together. I have already outlined, to both the Dáil and the Seanad, that I found the scenes broadcast on the Prime Time programme of 28th May distressing, shocking, and absolutely unacceptable. What we saw was poor practice and a dereliction of duty and care, resulting in the appalling mistreatment of young...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Detention Centres (11 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Any forms of assault which may take place in a children detention setting, either by children against other children or by children against staff, is of course totally unacceptable from any point of view. I am advised that all possible means are employed in the children detention setting of the Oberstown campus, Lusk, Co Dublin to create and maintain stable relationships based on the child...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Services Funding (11 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Youth Affairs Unit of my Department provides a range of funding schemes, programmes and supports to the youth sector. Funding of some €53.498m is available in 2013 to support the provision of youth services and programmes to young people throughout the country including those from disadvantaged communities. Targeted supports for disadvantaged, marginalised and at risk young people...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Qualifications (11 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Workforce Development Plan for the Early Years Sector was published in 2010 by the Department of Education and Skills. The Plan acknowledged national and international research evidence which establishes a strong correlation between the availability of an appropriately trained workforce to staff early years services and the ability to deliver high quality pre-school provision. The...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: School Funding (11 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I was successful in securing €2.75m in capital funding in Budget 2013 to support the ongoing improvement of the childcare sector via the 2013 Childcare Capital Programme. This programme is being implemented by Pobal on behalf of my Department. Both community not-for-profit childcare facilities and private childcare facilities currently participating in one of the three childcare...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: EU Directives (11 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: My Department is not currently undertaking any work on legislation of the type referred to by the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Child Care Education Issues (11 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme provides for one free pre-school year for all eligible children before commencing primary school. The programme includes a number of additional provisions to take account of children with special needs. These include an exemption from the upper age limit for qualification under the programme where a child is developmentally delayed...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Proposed Legislation (11 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Deputy will be aware that I published the Draft Heads and General Scheme for the Children First Bill 2012 on the 25th of April 2012 and immediately referred the Heads of Bill to the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children for consideration and advice. The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children published their report in July 2012. As part of the Joint Committees consultation...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Services (11 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Youth Affairs Unit of my Department provides a range of funding schemes, programmes and supports to the youth sector. Funding of some €53.498m is available in 2013 to support the provision of youth services and programmes to young people throughout the country including those from disadvantaged communities. Targeted supports for disadvantaged, marginalised and at risk young people...