Results 6,161-6,180 of 7,359 for speaker:Katherine Zappone

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Protection (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I understand the Deputy's question to be about the practice methodology used by Tusla to carry out its child protection and welfare function.  In 2017, a decision was made by Tusla to adopt the Signs of Safety as the first national child protection methodology for Ireland. I understand that the implementation of Signs of Safety is well underway, and I have been informed by Tusla that...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Childcare Scheme Data (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) is set to open in October 2019.  It is a new, user-friendly scheme to help parents meet the cost of quality childcare. The development of the Scheme is a significant move forward in delivering quality, accessible, affordable childcare to families throughout Ireland.    Providers are currently being invited to sign a contract to...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Services Funding (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 71 and 86 together. I am committed to ensuring that early learning and care and school age childcare is affordable, accessible and of a high quality. As the Deputy is aware, good progress has been made in this regard, with an increase in investment in this area of 117% over the past four budgets (increasing from €260m in 2015 to nearly...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Services Funding (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: Hartstown Montessori and Little Sparrows Preschool are private childcare services which operate on the grounds of Hartstown Community Centre. I understand that remedial works are required in respect of key elements of the building. I also understand that the provision of childcare by these services may be disrupted while the renovations are carried out. I would strongly recommend...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: Following the receipt of the Collaborative Forum's first report, I signalled the opportunity to take some time to reflect upon the learning from the process to date.  In this way the mandate of the Forum can be refined to further enhance the State's engagement with former residents. The Forum itself also suggested a revisiting of these matters. Delivering its first report within 6...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Services Regulation (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I am strongly committed to supporting positive reform of the childminding sector to enable more parents access affordable and high quality early learning and care and school age childcare. I intend to develop  regulations for childminders that are proportionate and appropriate to the home setting in which childminders work.   The current Regulations (both for early learning and...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Services Provision (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 76 and 79 together. The overall budget allocation for the youth sector in 2019 is € 60.4m in current funding. This is an increase of €8.5m from the youth funding provided in 2016. This level of funding supports the delivery of a range of youth work programmes and services for all young people, including those from disadvantaged communities,...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Costs (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 77 and 84 together. Through the National Childcare Scheme and a range of other measures, I am committed to changing Ireland’s childcare system from one of the most expensive in the world to one of the very best. In designing the National Childcare Scheme, extensive research and consultations have been carried out to ensure that this goal is achieved...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Aftercare Services (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: Each year, approximately 500 young people leave care on reaching 18 years of age.  At the end of Q4 2018, the most recent date for which data has been published, there were a total of 2,496 young people receiving aftercare supports from Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. 64% were in education or training, and 78% had an aftercare plan. Of the young people who had been assessed as...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Area Based Childhood Programme (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: The Area Based Childhood (ABC) Programme is a prevention and early intervention initiative targeting investment in effective services to improve the outcomes for children and families living in a number of specific areas of disadvantage.   Established in 2013 in line with the commitment in the Programme for Government to adopt an area-based approach to tackling child poverty, the ABC...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Data Sharing Arrangements (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I am assuming that the question relates to the cooperation between Client Identity Services of the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and both Tusla and the Adoption Authority of Ireland for the purposes of information and tracing services. I became aware earlier this year that the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection had notified both Tusla and...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Residential Institutions Redress Scheme (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: At their request, I have held a number of meetings with former residents of Bethany Home and their advocates in recent weeks. I welcomed the opportunity to engage and listen to the experiences and frustrations of those in attendance. I was delighted to accept an invitation to visit the memorial in Mount Jerome Cemetery to the children who died in the Bethany Home. One of the key...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education Funding (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: Officials in my Department were in contact with the Deputy's office, and I understand that the question specifically relates to supports for children with special needs to take part in school-age childcare. My Department does not currently provide such supports. The Deputy may be aware that AIM - the Access and Inclusion Model - provides both universal and targeted supports for the meaningful...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Childcare Scheme (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 85, 88 and 90 together. The National Childcare Scheme is fundamental to delivering quality, accessible, affordable childcare to families throughout Ireland. I am pleased to say that we are making good progress on the development of the Scheme. Many of the major elements are now in place in preparation for the Scheme’s opening in October 2019. Following...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Family Support Services (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: Government is committed to supporting parents in caring for young children at home in a range of ways.  Within my remit as Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, the policy priorities are to provide access to high quality and affordable Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC), whether parents work or are in education full time or part time, or look after their...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I share the Deputy's concern regarding the issue of youth mental health; and indeed it is a subject that needs to be tackled through a whole of society response - one that includes the statutory, voluntary and community sectors. While this is an issue that is led by the Department of Health, I recognise that other departments and agencies are critical in supporting the Department of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Children in Care (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: Approximately 6 % of  the 5,989 children in care in Ireland live in residential settings. In April 2019 this amounted to  370 young people.  Individual residential settings care for  small numbers of children, often no more than two or three. All centres are inspected against the relevant standards and regulations and  the majority of inspections show...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Adoption Legislation (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I have received a considerable amount of correspondence on the issue of the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2016, including from natural parents and people who were adopted as children. If the Deputy has a specific case in mind I would encourage them to send any relevant correspondence on to me. I am aware that there are cases where natural parents have concerns about invasion of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Data (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I wish to inform the Deputy that as the data requested is not readily available my officials have requested that Tusla respond to you directly on this matter. 

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Services Funding (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: Implementation of the Value for Money and Policy Review of Youth Funding Programmes been a priority for my Department for some time and represents a significant multistrand change management programme. Replacement of the existing four targeted schemes with a fit for purpose single targeted scheme is one of the key recommendations of the review. In July 2018 I brought the high-level...