Results 5,121-5,140 of 7,359 for speaker:Katherine Zappone

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency (15 Jan 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I thank the Deputy for her question. I met with Dr. Shannon after the publication of his report to better understand the intent of the report recommendations and seek clarity on the measures that would be applied to assess the implementation of his recommendations. Following these discussions Dr, Shannon and I agreed to the measures outlined in the Action Plan. I am pleased to report...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Foster Care (15 Jan 2019)

Katherine Zappone: If a foster carer does not have an allocated link social worker they should, in the first instance, make contact with their local foster care team leader or the duty team. Should the response or support needed be insufficient the foster carers may contact the principal social worker responsible for foster care. The line managers for the area including the the area and regional regional...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Family Resource Centres (15 Jan 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 977 and 978 together. Tusla, the Child and Family Agency administers the Family Resource Centre Programme. At the end of 2017 there were 109 Family Resource Centres (FRCs) in receipt of funding from Tusla. My Department provided Tusla with additional funding of €3.0 m in 2018 to expand the programme with the inclusion of 11 additional centres,...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Family Resource Centres (15 Jan 2019)

Katherine Zappone: Tusla, the Child and Family Agency is responsible for the administration of the Family Resource Centre Programme. My Department does not conduct yearly evaluations of the performance of Family Resource Centres.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Family Resource Centres (15 Jan 2019)

Katherine Zappone: Tusla, the Child and Family Agency is responsible for the administration of the Family Resource Centre Programme. As the Deputy's question refers to an operational matter for Tusla, I have requested Tusla to respond directly to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Funding (15 Jan 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 981 and 985 together. The ABC Programme commenced in 2013 and was designed as a time-bound, co-funding agreement led by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) in conjunction with The Atlantic Philanthropies (Atlantic), originally in the amount of 29.7m for the period 2013-2017. In late 2016, my Department secured additional funding to ensure...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Poverty (15 Jan 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 982 to 984, inclusive, together. The ABC Programme was established in 2013 in line with the commitment in the Programme for Government to adopt an area-based approach to tackling child poverty. It was designed as a time-bound, co-funding agreement led by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) in conjunction with The Atlantic Philanthropies...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency (15 Jan 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I have not been informed of any perceived breakdown of the complaints system in Tusla, the Child and Family Agency's. As the Deputy's question refers to an operational matter for Tusla, I have requested Tusla to respond directly to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Staff (15 Jan 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 987 and 988 together. All social workers are trained in identifying signs of sexual abuse. This is undertaken as part of core social work training, which deals with signs and symptoms of abuse, including child sexual abuse. Social workers are trained in the building of relationships, especially with parents and children in times of crisis. Tusla social...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Family Resource Centres (15 Jan 2019)

Katherine Zappone: The Family Resource Centre Programme is administered by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. At present there are 120 Family Resource Centres (FRCs) throughout the country. Funding to the Family Resource Centre Programme increased substantially in 2018. This allowed for the inclusion of 11 newly established Family Resource Centres within the Programme last year, as well as an increase in...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Expenditure (15 Jan 2019)

Katherine Zappone: The information requested in respect of the expenditure incurred by my Department on marketing, media and social media in the years 2016, 2017 and 2018 are set out in the following table: 2016 2017 2018 Marketing €0 €67,618 €12,236 Media €50,523 €196,658 €194,062 Social Media €0 €29,722 €78 The Deputy might...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Staff Data (15 Jan 2019)

Katherine Zappone: One of my appointed Special Advisors has special responsibility for communications. In 2018 there were three civil servants in my Department who serviced the day-to-day press office requirements of my Department. The staff in question are remunerated at HEO, EO and CO level. A dedicated communications specialist is assigned to the Early Years Unit of the Department to support the roll out of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Adoption Legislation (15 Jan 2019)

Katherine Zappone: As the Deputy is aware, I am committed to the enactment of the Adoption ( Information & Tracing) Bill 2016. This important legislation will give adopted people, people who have been the subject of an illegal birth registration, birth parents and relevant guardians a statutory right to an information and tracing service. It also provides that relevant records will be maintained by the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Services (15 Jan 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I wish to inform the Deputy that I am not in a position to comment on individual cases. I have referred the matter to Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, drawing attention to the age of the individual concerned, and have requested confirmation that the matter is receiving the appropriate attention.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Agencies Funding (15 Jan 2019)

Katherine Zappone: While my Department does not specifically or directly fund organisations solely to provide advocacy services, a key strategic objective for my Department is to ensure evidence-based policy is promoted and supported and that children and young people participate in decisions that effect their lives. As a result, a number of organisations funded by the Department and its agencies often involves...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Domestic Violence (15 Jan 2019)

Katherine Zappone: Tusla, the Child and Family Agency has statutory responsibility for the provision of support services to victims of domestic, sexual and gender based violence. Tusla provides funding to 59 organisations nationally which deliver front line services to victims of domestic and sexual violence. Twenty-two of these organisations provide specialist emergency accommodation to victims of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (15 Jan 2019)

Katherine Zappone: My Department does not hold any medical files from these institutions. Consequently, I have no plans to employ an independent medical person to review such matters. The Government established the statutory Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) to independently examine a broad range of concerns relating to the care and welfare arrangements for those...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Services (15 Jan 2019)

Katherine Zappone: The new Affordable Childcare Scheme will open to applications in October 2019, with payments flowing from November 2019. Its launch will mark a milestone in our quest to transform Ireland's childcare system from one of the most expensive in the world into one of the best. Positive progress continues to be made in the development of the legislative, administrative and ICT infrastructure for...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Correspondence (15 Jan 2019)

Katherine Zappone: My Department’s procedures for dealing with customer complaints are detailed in the Department’s Customer Service Action Plan and Charter, which is available on my Department's website. If a complaint is made by customer it is dealt with by the Unit of my Department responsible for the issue to which the complaint relates. If the complaint is not resolved by the Unit to...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Staff Data (16 Jan 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 235 and 236 together. At 31 December 2018, there were 277 employees (headcount) in my Department. Of these, 221 are at the grade of Executive Officer or higher and therefore have sanction to authorise payments, subject to the following limits, as well as other restrictions: Grade Authorisation Limit Executive Officer or higher €1,000 Higher...