Results 4,921-4,940 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: School Completion Programme (11 Jun 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. Projects within the School Completion Programme, including those in Counties Kerry and Limerick, are managed and directed by a Local Management Committee (LMC), which...

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

Frances Fitzgerald: I can confirm that three boys currently serving a sentence of detention in Oberstown Boys School, Lusk, Co Dublin absconded from custody on the night of Monday, 3 June 2013. I am advised that in line with standard operational protocols, detailed descriptions and photographs of the three boys concerned were notified by Oberstown Boys School to an Garda Síochána. As of Monday 10...

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

Frances Fitzgerald: I am aware of the difficulties that parents face in meeting childcare costs. Significant investment totalling in excess of €260 million is being provided this year by my Department to assist parents with the cost of childcare. My Department provides two targeted childcare support programmes - the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) programme and the Childcare Education and Training...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: UN Convention on Children's Rights (11 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Ireland ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1992. Ireland submitted our second progress report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2005/2006. Following the establishment of my Department in June 2011, I directed that a substantial progress report, combining the 3rd and 4th reports , to cover the period 2006 to 2011 inclusive should be submitted to the...

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

Frances Fitzgerald: The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme, which represents an annual investment of approximately €175 million, makes early learning in a formal setting available to eligible children in the year before they commence primary school. Participating childcare services provide age-appropriate activities and programmes to children within a particular age cohort. It is a...

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

Frances Fitzgerald: The Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) programme provides funding to community childcare not-for-profit services to enable them to charge reduced childcare rates to parents in receipt of social welfare payments or on low to middle incomes. Community childcare services qualify for grant aid on the basis of the level of service they provide and the profile of the parents benefiting from...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Child Care Facilities and Inspections: Discussion (11 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I thank the committee for asking me to come before it today to discuss issues relating to the quality of early childhood care and education in our preschool services. Those services have, for more than a decade, suffered as a result of an excessive and unbalanced focus on bricks and mortar and supply of places, rather than on quality assurance, workforce development and outcomes for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Child Care Facilities and Inspections: Discussion (11 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: In line with this work, as members will be aware, we are working on a comprehensive preschool quality agenda; those are very important words. We have identified eight key areas of action, which need to be considered and addressed as a matter of urgency. Work has been ongoing on these areas, namely, publishing inspection reports online as soon as possible; strengthening the national...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Child Care Facilities and Inspections: Discussion (11 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I welcome the focus of this debate on the transparency that needs to exist. RTE changed the context in which we are having this discussion by bringing to it the national focus I have advocated from the moment I was appointed Minister. A number of the Senators and Deputies present have a close interest in this area but the kind of national focus that now obtains is important. When I hear...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Child Care Facilities and Inspections: Discussion (11 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Deputy Troy asked me whether I had seen the programme before it was broadcast. I had not.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Child Care Facilities and Inspections: Discussion (11 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: A number of members asked about regulation of after-school child care. The introduction of a regulatory environment for after-school services is a priority for the Department and must be dealt with. Previous child care legislation did not include after-school services, so legislation must be introduced to deal with it. We must amend the legislation to deal with that. The child care...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Child Care Facilities and Inspections: Discussion (11 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: On Deputy Naughten's question, three services providing ECCE had their payments stopped last year.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Child Care Facilities and Inspections: Discussion (11 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: They were ceased more for administrative reasons than quality reasons. Ms Moira O'Mara will comment further.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Child Care Facilities and Inspections: Discussion (11 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: It is important that we do not raise unnecessary fears among parents. We all know that parents take very careful decisions on the care of their children. The vast majority - 70% - of parents make the decision that their child should be looked after by a childminder. On the other hand, we know that it is very important to be vigilant. If parents have questions or see something they do not...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Child Care Facilities and Inspections: Discussion (11 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: A number of issues have been raised in this part of the discussion. Senator Hayden asked questions about child minding. It is true that most parents in Ireland make their own informal arrangements with childminders. They do not go to the more formal sector. There is an international debate about how regulated that should be. Over the last few decades we have taken the decision, for...

Leaders' Questions (12 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Like saving the mother.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Reports (12 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: My Department has not completed any such exercises as described by the Deputy. However, a Value for Money Policy Review has commenced on a number of schemes funded by the Youth Affairs Unit within my Department. It is expected that the report of the Value for Money Review will be available by the end of 2013.

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

Frances Fitzgerald: The free Pre-School Year in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme was introduced in January 2010 and provides a free pre-school year to all eligible children in the year before commencing primary school. In line with the Programme for Government, my Department has made a significant commitment to maintaining this universal programme. Approximately 53,000 children, or 83% of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Detention Centres (12 Jun 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I can confirm that three boys currently serving a sentence of detention in Oberstown Boys School, Lusk, Co Dublin absconded from custody on the night of Monday, 3 June 2013. I am advised that in line with standard operational protocols, detailed descriptions and photographs of the three boys concerned were notified by Oberstown Boys School to an Garda Síochána. As of Tuesday, 10...