Results 5,081-5,100 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Adoption Records Protection (4 Jul 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Work is continuing on the preparation of the heads of Bill of the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill. My view is that people affected by adoption should be given a statutory right to as much information as possible within permissible constitutional boundaries. The constitutional and legal context within which the development of legislative proposals must be undertaken is complex. This...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Traveller Community Issues (4 Jul 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Children’s Rights Alliance’s Report Card 2013 comments on the Government’s commitment to improving the lives of all Travellers including Traveller children. The Programme for Government commits the Government to promoting greater co-ordination and integration of delivery of services to the Traveller community across Government, using available resources more...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Children and Young People's Policy Framework (4 Jul 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: My Department is developing a new strategy for children and young people. It will build on Our Children - Their Lives, Ireland's first children's strategy which was published in 2000 and it is expected to cover the five year period from 2014 to 2018. In keeping with my Department's responsibilities for children and young people, the new Children and Young People's Policy Framework is...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Support Agency Funding (4 Jul 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: My Department was set up to drive the delivery of key commitments in relation to children and young people and to put in place a unified framework of policy, legislation and provision across Government in respect of children and young people. The 2013 estimate includes an allocation of €443m for my Department which represents an increase of €16m over the 2012 allocation and...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Funding (4 Jul 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 39 and 52 together. My Department supports a range of programmes to support services for children and young people, including family support services currently provided by the Family Support Agency and the School Completion Programme which supports school attendance, participation and retention. My Department also implements a number of other areas of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Regulation (4 Jul 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 40, 42, 54 and 56 together. Pre-school services are subject to the Child Care (Pre-School Services) (No.2) Regulations 2006, as provided for under Part VII of the Child Care Act 1991. The inspection of pre-schools and the enforcement of the Regulations are the responsibility of the Health Service Executive (HSE). My Department is undertaking a review of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Protection Services (4 Jul 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 41 and 53 together. The Children First National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children, which I published in 2011, provides clarity and guidance for individuals and organisations in identifying and responding appropriately to child abuse and neglect. It also sets out what organisations that care for or work with children should do to ensure they...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Protection Services (4 Jul 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: My Department is leading an initiative to develop and implement a planning model for local interagency working to improve outcomes for children. The purpose of this initiative is to work towards better developmental outcomes for children through more effective integration of policies and services, in particular through the Children's Services Committees at local level. Children's Services...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Children in Care (4 Jul 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: A very small minority of children under 18 years of age have highly specialised needs that require specialised interventions in Special Care Units (0.4% of children in care). Special Care involves the detention of a child for his or her own welfare and protection in a Special Care Unit with on site educational and therapeutic supports. A Special Care Unit provides secure residential...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Health Services Reports (4 Jul 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I welcome the publication, by the HSE, of the 'A Review of Practice and Audit of the Management of Cases of Neglect'. The report was received by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in May 2013 and it was published on the HSE website two weeks ago. This report follows the publication, in October 2010, of the report of the Roscommon Child Care Inquiry, which catalogued a number of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Health Services Reports (4 Jul 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: As I indicated in replies to previous parliamentary questions by the Deputy on this matter, an audit undertaken by the HSE's Quality and Patient Safety Audit (QPSA) found that a number of the recommendations of the Roscommon Child Care Case report have been implemented. Work is ongoing to progress the remaining recommendations in the context of the wider ongoing reform process in Children...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Missing Persons Hotline (4 Jul 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The 116000 Missing Children Hotline is operated by the ISPCC in liaison with a cross-sectoral Project Team, chaired by the DCYA. The ISPCC has been successful in securing EU Daphne funding to support the establishment of the line. Funding has also been allocated to the hotline by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in 2013 (and previously in 2012). The funding received includes the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Detention Centres (4 Jul 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Oberstown capital project is required in order to give effect to the Programme for Government commitment to end the practice of detaining children in adult prison facilities. I have outlined my commitment to this project on many different occasions and it remains at the top of my agenda. The Deputy will be aware that shortly after taking responsibility for the children's detention...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Funding (4 Jul 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Programme for Government commits to developing early childhood care and education as resources allow, and the Government has made a very significant commitment to maintaining the childcare support programmes implemented by my Department - the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme, the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) programme, the Childcare Education and Training...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Budgets (4 Jul 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Department of Children and Youth Affairs was set up to drive the delivery of key commitments in relation to children and young people. It was established in June 2011 with a mandate to put in place a unified framework of policy, legislation and provision across Government in respect of children and young people. The responsibilities of my Department encompass a wide range of policy and...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Detention Centres (4 Jul 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I assume that the Deputy is referring to custodial accommodation for persons under the age of 18 years, which corresponds to the definition of a child under the Children Act, 2001. At this time, custodial accommodation for those under 18 years is provided on the Oberstown campus, Lusk, Co Dublin and in St Patrick's Institution, Dublin 7. The Oberstown campus accommodates boys aged up to 17...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Protection Issues (4 Jul 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Ombudsman investigation arose from a complaint submitted by a social work staff member from the North Lee social work team which related to the level of referrals received by the duty team and the difficulties in responding to this, specifically referrals regarding child welfare and protection. A number of serious concerns were raised throughout the report and in its conclusions. The...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Services Funding (4 Jul 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Youth Affairs Unit of my Department supports the delivery of a range of youth work programmes and services for all young people, including those from disadvantaged communities, by the voluntary youth sector. These schemes include the Youth Service Grant Scheme, the Special Projects for Youth Scheme, the Young People’s Facilities and Services Fund Rounds 1 and 2, Local Drug Task...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Public Procurement Regulations (4 Jul 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: There were no capital project approvals by my Department which required a bond being produced from a builder.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Preschool Services (4 Jul 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The ECCE programme provides a free preschool year to all eligible children. Approximately 68,000 children are availing of the ECCE programme in the current school year. Children are eligible to avail of the free preschool 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 2009 and 30 June...