Results 5,901-5,920 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Provision (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am aware that lack of access to affordable, quality childcare is a significant barrier to many low-income and disadvantaged families seeking to avail of work opportunities. Significant investment, totalling more than €260m, is being provided this year by my Department to support childcare programmes. These include the Free Pre-School Year, from which approximately 68,000 children...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Provision (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The childcare service referred to by the Deputy is participating in thee Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme which is implemented by my Department and provides a free pre-school year for children before they commence primary school. Funding will continue to be provided under this programme for qualifying children enrolled in the service under the ECCE programme in 2014. I...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Obesity Strategy (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Responsibility for the regulation of food and beverage providers lies with the Department of Health and, through it, with the HSE and Food Safety Authority of Ireland. I understand that this remit currently focusses on food safety rather than nutritional content. The Minister of Health has established a Special Advisory Group on Obesity on which a member of my Department sits. This has...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Decentralisation Programme Expenditure (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Department of Children and Youth Affairs is housed in one building in Dublin. No part of the Department has been decentralised.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Establishment (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The legislation to establish the new Child and Family Agency (CFA) has recently completed its passage through the Oireachtas. The Child and Family Agency Bill has been signed by the President and it is now the Child and Family Agency Act 2013 (No. 40 of 2013). The necessary Commencement and Establishment Orders are in preparation to allow for establishment of the Agency on 1 January 2014 as...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Years Strategy Implementation (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Following the announcement of the preparation of Ireland’s first Early Years Strategy, I appointed an Expert Advisory Group, chaired by Dr Eilis Hennessy of UCD, to advise the Minister and her Department on recommendations for inclusion in the Strategy. The work of this Group has concluded, and their comprehensive report, ‘Right from the Start’, was launched recently. ...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Services Funding (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The funding for youth projects under the Special Projects for Youth Scheme, the Young Peoples Facilities and Services Fund, Rounds 1 and 2 and Local Drugs Task Force Projects is administered by my Department through funding administration bodies. In the main, these are the Education and Training Boards (ETBs) but they also include other bodies such as the HSE, some local authorities and, up...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Children in Care (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Further to my response in the previous Parliamentary Question response the HSE has advised that this data is currently not collated. The introduction of the National Child Care Information System (NCCIS) will record the nationality of children when introduced.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Children in Care (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: When a child cannot live with his or her parents either on a short or long-term basis, the HSE will, in the first instance, seek a suitable relative or person known to the child to provide relative care. When there is no relative or person known to the child to provide relative care, the HSE where possible, will place a child in foster care. For young people who are unable to live at home...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Proposed Legislation (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The legislation to establish the new Child and Family Agency (CFA) has recently completed its passage through the Oireachtas. The Child and Family Agency Bill has been signed by the President and it is now the Child and Family Agency Act 2013 (No. 40 of 2013). The necessary Commencement and Establishment Orders are in preparation to allow for establishment of the Agency on 1 January 2014 as...

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

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 524, 525 and 527 together. Statutory responsibility for the delivery of child welfare and protection services rests with the HSE, which is the appropriate body to receive all reports of concerns relating to all forms of child abuse. My Department occasionally receives calls from individuals concerned about the safety and well-being of a child. In all such...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Surveys (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: My Department has both sponsored studies in this area and collated relevant evidence from other studies. Since 2006, my Department has produced a biennial publication which includes data on a wide range of well being indicators affecting the lives of children in Ireland. The study includes a section containing data on social, emotional and behavioural outcomes relating to children. Data...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Services Issues (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 528, 529, 531 and 532 together. 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. The funding schemes support national and local youth work provision to some 400,000 young people and involve...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Services Issues (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: My Department publishes a biennial State of the Nations Children report which aims to describe the lives of children in Ireland, to track changes over time and to benchmark the progress of children in Ireland relative to other countries. The report focuses specifically on children's outcomes (including health, educational and social, emotional and behavioural), children’s relationships...

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

Frances Fitzgerald: Statutory responsibility for the delivery of child welfare and protection services rests with the HSE, which is the appropriate body to receive all reports of concerns relating to all forms of child abuse. Each referral received by the HSE is assessed and progressed on an individual basis by the relevant social work team. Preliminary screening is aimed at establishing the appropriateness...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Consultancy Contracts (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 534 and 536 together. IT support for my Department is provided by the Department of Health. The Department of Health engages external contractors for specific services, such as software development and network support. External consultants are not engaged in relation to IT and, consequently, the issue of renegotiation does not arise.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Legal Costs (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The following costs have been incurred by my Department in respect of legal actions. 2011 €135,207.52 2012 €95,188.76 2013 €349,636.52

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Public Sector Staff Remuneration (17 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: My colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, advised the Deputy, in response to Parliamentary Question 227 of 10 December 2013, that it was a long standing general principle of pay policy that the payment of additional remuneration to public servants or civil servants for serving on a Board or holding any position in any organisation or association...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Meetings (18 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: My Department has made contact with the persons concerned to arrange a meeting in January 2014.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Adoption Legislation (18 Dec 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Work is continuing in relation to the preparation of the Heads of Bill of the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill. I am anxious to bring the Heads of Bill before Government at the earliest possible date. The Constitutional and legal context within which the development of these legislative proposals must be undertaken is complex. Certain legal and policy questions are currently being...