Results 5,601-5,620 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Child Care Services Provision (12 Nov 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I will ensure the Deputy gets a reply to that letter. As he will be aware, the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, recently published a report into Rath na nÓg high support unit outlining serious concerns. As I have said previously, Gordon Jeyes, the HSE's national director for children and family services, had met HIQA officials in September and had discussed the report...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Child Care Services Provision (12 Nov 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Let us put this in context. More than 6,000 children are in care in Ireland. A tiny proportion, 0.3%, and that is rightly so, are in residential care. They represent some of the children and young people in Ireland who are most in need of specialist care, protection and intervention. Poor standards cannot be accepted when working with our young people in any setting. The closure of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Child Care Services Provision (12 Nov 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Deputy should be concerned about the detail in the report, which outlined serious and ongoing failures that were not actively managed. HIQA officials go in to inspect residential facilities. They went in and they found serious difficulties so much so that there was active involvement and engagement by HSE staff, including the director. Instead of criticising the director, we should...

Other Questions: Child and Family Agency Establishment (12 Nov 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Deputy made her comments during the debate on the legislation to establish the new agency, the Child and Family Agency Bill 2013, which is progressing through the Oireachtas. The agency will be established on 1 January 2014. It will assume responsibility for a wide range of services for children, including child welfare and protection services currently operated by the HSE, preschool...

Other Questions: Child and Family Agency Establishment (12 Nov 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I will revert to the Deputy on the last question because I do not have those details with me. I will communicate directly with her on those 60 posts. The 2014 budget included an additional €12 million in a full year to support the ongoing programme of reform of child welfare and protection services. The Deputy is right that there is ongoing pressure on the services. There is no...

Other Questions: Budget 2014 (12 Nov 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Estimate provision for my Department in 2014 will amount to €449 million. The allocation consists of €414 million in current expenditure and €35 million in capital expenditure. This level of investment demonstrates that while operating within difficult budgetary constraints, this Government is strongly committed to delivering important reforms and service...

Other Questions: Budget 2014 (12 Nov 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy knows, the legislation is going through the House. I expect the agency to be established in January following the successful enactment of the Child and Family Agency Bill, which we are currently considering. I thank Deputies Ó Caoláin and Troy for their support for the passage of that legislation. I know everybody is committed to ensuring the agency works...

Other Questions: Budget 2014 (12 Nov 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Yes. Five inspectors are being recruited at present. A budgetary allocation of €500,000 for extra inspectors is being made in the budget for next year. Extra inspectors will be recruited in 2014. Decisions on where they will be based will be made by the national director who is managing that service at present. A capital allocation has been made in the case of Oberstown. The...

Other Questions: Departmental Reports (12 Nov 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Yes, and I believe that they will be. It is one of the reasons that the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, was waiting to get the initial report before finalising the terms of reference. For example, much comment has been made about the media coverage of these cases. That may well form part of a range of issues which need to be considered. On any necessary matters which...

Other Questions: Departmental Reports (12 Nov 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Ombudsman for Children is the appropriate person to investigate this. At its core, this investigation is about the removal of children into care and then going before the courts system, which must happen as soon as a section 12 action is taken and the HSE gets involved. It involves the relationship or involvement of two agencies - the Garda Síochána and the HSE social workers...

Other Questions: Departmental Reports (12 Nov 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I did not make that decision.

Other Questions: Departmental Reports (12 Nov 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I have no problem taking it.

Other Questions: Departmental Reports (12 Nov 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: It is all very well for the Deputy to make those points but I want to point out that for many years people in this country turned a blind eye to child abuse and did not take action. That is not for a moment to say that inappropriate action should be taken but I want to make that point because I have report after report on my desk where action was not taken by the relevant people. It is...

Other Questions: Child Care Services Regulation (12 Nov 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: There has been huge progress and massive change. The first point is the fact that we now have 1,672 inspections of child care facilities online. This is the first time these reports have been available online. Previously, parents or the media had to submit a freedom of information request to get access to those reviews. We also have the most recent inspection reports provided immediately...

Other Questions: Child Care Services Regulation (12 Nov 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: There is a huge amount of work involved in reviewing the reports and ensuring there is a standardised approach for the future. That is being done. As I said, the inspection reports are being published county by county. It is just a question of the time it takes. We expect that by the middle of next year, all the reports on inspections that have taken place will be available. It is...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Foreign Adoptions (12 Nov 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 18 and 19 together. The Adoption Act, 2010, provides for adoptions from countries that have ratified the Hague Convention on adoption and from countries where there is a bilateral agreement in place. During the drafting of the Act a considered and detailed transitional process to deal with the change from previous legislation to the new Act was put in place....

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Provision (12 Nov 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: Child Protection Issues (12 Nov 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 21, 23, 31 and 41 together. The queries raised by the Deputies refer to the recent cases of Roma children who following Garda action were removed under Section 12 of the Child Care Act 1991 and provided with foster care while investigations took place. Section 12 of the Child Care Act 1991 provides for the removal of a child to a place of safety by An...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: HSE Reports (12 Nov 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: An audit of neglect cases in Roscommon, Waterford and Dublin South-East was completed by the HSE and a composite report published on 20 June 2013. A decision was taken within the HSE to produce this composite report as the best means of disseminating the learning from the three projects. From the outset, it was the intention of the HSE that the neglect audit would comprise a number of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: School Attendance Data (12 Nov 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) has a statutory remit to monitor school attendance nationally. The latest report on the Analysis of School Attendance Data, which I launched on behalf of the NEWB on the 6th November, is for the 2010 – 2011 school year. This latest data shows a continued improvement in student attendance from 2009/2010 and previous years. The number of...