Results 5,861-5,880 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Youth Services Funding (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: There is ongoing contact between my Department and youth organisations. CDYSB, City of Dublin Youth Service Board, is also in contact with youth organisations and I am very keen to ensure front-line services will continue. Any organisation facing a situation such as that described by the Deputy has been met. Every effort has been made to address the issues involving, including the need for...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Youth Services Funding (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I recognise that youth services have taken a hit during the years. That is why I made a particular request this year in the budget that extra moneys be allocated to them in order that the situation would not continue. The position is quite different this year from what it was last year.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Youth Services Funding (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Despite the budgetary difficulties, the 2014 budget for youth services is over €50 million, so youth organisations around the country are still getting over €50 million in direct funding, and there is superb work going on. It would be wrong to give the impression that every youth group out there is struggling to provide any type of service. In fact, high quality services are...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Adoption Records Provision (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The issues raised by the Deputy are a matter of concern to me. I note the apology offered by the Australian Prime Minister earlier this year which relates, as I understand, to historic government policies operated in that jurisdiction. In Ireland, the Adoption Act 1952 provided a legal basis for adoption in Ireland and for the establishment of the Adoption Board. This brought order to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Adoption Records Provision (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I recognise the Deputy's concern about this issue, on which we have much work to do. The exact route forward is worthy of consideration. As I said, I have met individuals in these circumstances and acknowledge and empathise with the situation they are trying to address. It is appalling to sit in a room and meet people who say the forms were filled in illegally and incorrectly and that they...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Adoption Records Provision (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Deputy has mentioned inter-country adoptions. In the years subsequent to the era she has described we have learned a lot about adoption, parental permission and consent, the concept of subsidiarity and that adoptions be carried out locally. We have seen a dramatic change. That is linked with cultural attitudes. Very few Irish-born children are placed for adoption. This is in total...

Other Questions: National Educational Welfare Board Remit (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The statutory role of the National Educational Welfare Board, NEWB, is prescribed in section 10 of the Education (Welfare) Act 2002. The core focus of that work is to ensure that each child attends a recognised school or otherwise receives a certain minimum education. The Deputy's question is about the broad role of the NEWB and the work it does, but the Deputy spoke about child benefit...

Other Questions: National Educational Welfare Board Remit (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I would have to ask what was in the best interest of the child. What would the impact be of taking child benefit away from those parents? What would be the impact on the child's food and nourishment? I am making the point that while it may seem like a simple answer, I am not sure it would deal with the issue of non-school attendance which is very complex and often has to do with mental...

Other Questions: National Educational Welfare Board Remit (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Fraudulent claims for child benefit must be dealt with; there is no question about this. I am merely responding to the Deputy's point on child benefit and school attendance. The issue must be dealt with and I have no doubt it is being pursued. I am sure there are links between the Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Social Protection with regard to the numbers of...

Other Questions: National Educational Welfare Board Remit (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: That is another question. It is not a question of using child benefit to ensure school attendance. The Deputy is talking about dealing with fraud, on whichI take his point with regard to school attendance and the number of children in a given area. We must do this in the early years programme. There is a roll call of the 68,000 children attending. The data are available. My point is...

Other Questions: Children in Care (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Is the Deputy asking about the Child and Family Agency?

Other Questions: Children in Care (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: My apologies. Last month I obtained Cabinet approval for the Department's policy to strengthen the legislative aftercare provisions. It is proposed to amend the Child Care Act 1991 to provide for a statutory right to the preparation of a plan that identifies the support young people will need when they leave State care. The proposed amendment will provide clarity around eligibility and the...

Other Questions: Children in Care (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I have indicated in the House previously the great strides made in this area. For example, at the end of June this year 1,431 young people were in receipt of aftercare services. That is a considerable change in recent years when the numbers were in the hundreds. There is much greater sensitivity shown to young people and a higher budget for them. A total of 1,000 aged between 18 and 21...

Other Questions: Children in Care (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy noted, there is a national aftercare policy. The figures I have provided are the most recent available to me, but I will ask the national policy group for an update on the matter. I hope there are not too many gaps because we are trying to reach out to young people who need aftercare services to ensure they receive them. The statistics show that we are fulfilling many of the...

Other Questions: Children in Care (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Yes.

Other Questions: Child Care Reports (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Preschool services required under the Child Care (Pre-School Services) (No 2) Regulations 2006 to notify their services to the Health Service Executive are subject to inspection by the preschool inspectorate on a regular basis. Previously, the inspection reports were generally held by the inspectorate in paper format and access to them had been an issue of concern, with many parents being...

Other Questions: Child Care Reports (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: That is an interesting question. It varies from country to country. In some services we have a higher rate of inspection, for example, than in the United Kingdom, which has a rolling system of inspections over 18 months to two years. If there is a problem in a service the inspectors go back in to check that improvements have been made, and there can be more than one visit in certain...

Other Questions: Child Care Services Inspections (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Health Act 2007 established the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, which incorporated the social services inspectorate. The office of the chief inspector in HIQA has the responsibility of inspecting and registering designated centres. Designated centres cover a number of residential-type centres for both adults and children. Residential care centres for older persons and...

Other Questions: Child Care Services Inspections (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The question of standards is critical. Whether the child is in a private residential service being paid for by the HSE or in a foster family being paid for by the HSE, the question of standards applies equally to both. I am not familiar with the particular circumstances Deputy Broughan outlines but I will certainly ensure that he gets the information for which he has been asking.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Abuse Reports (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: A recently published report, ‘An examination of recommendations from inquiries into events in families and their interactions with State services, and their impact on policy and practice’ by Dr Helen Buckley & Dr Caroline O’Neill of the School of Social Work and Social Policy, at Trinity College Dublin, was commissioned by my Department. My Department...