Results 6,241-6,260 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Provision (25 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: The childcare service to which the Deputy refers is participating in the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) programme which is implemented by my Department. The CCS programme provides funding to community childcare not-for-profit services to enable them to charge reduced childcare rates to parents in receipt of social welfare payments or on low to middle incomes. Community childcare...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Reports (25 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 939 and 940 together. Internal reports are provided to me on a continuous basis in the context of the ongoing work of the various policy areas of my Department. Such reports are not for publication but rather to keep me informed as to developments linked to the wider Departmental agenda. They can relate to general policy activities and developments, legal...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Inter-Country Adoptions (25 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Adoption Act 2010 provides for intercountry adoption between countries that have ratified the Hague Convention or between countries with whom Ireland has a bilateral agreement under Section 73 of the Adoption Act 2010. The Act gives force of law to the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. The legislation, which incorporates...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Staff (25 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I advised the Deputy last December that I had sought additional informational in relation to two posts i.e. Speech and Language Therapist and Principal Social Worker. I am now advised by the Child and Family Agency that the Speech and Language Therapist post has been filled and that interviews for the position of Principal Social Worker will be held in May 2014.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Children in Care (25 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: In accordance with the Children Missing From Care - A Joint Protocol between An Garda Síochána and the Health Service Executive Children and Family Services a child is defined as missing where they are 'absent without permission, his/her whereabouts are not known, he/she has passed his/her Curfew Testing Limit and/or Carers have knowledge that gives them cause to be concerned for...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Children in Care (25 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 945 and 946 together. Special Care involves the detention of a child for his or her own welfare and protection in a Special Care Unit with on site educational and therapeutic supports. A Special Care Unit provides secure residential services to children and young people who are in need of specialised targeted intervention. Children are detained in special...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Children in Care (25 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy is aware, a number of sections, mainly in Part 2 and Part 3, of the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2011 remain to be commenced. A substantial element of the non-commenced sections relate to provisions for special care. Given the legislative framework utilised to manage the interaction between the Child Care Act 1991 and the Health Act 2007, in relation to special care provisions,...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Provision (25 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: The contract to supply the National Child Care Information System (NCCIS) to the Child and Family Agency was signed in March 2013. The National Child Care Information System will be the central database supporting the provision of child welfare and protection services. The status of the project as of mid-March 2014 is that the servers and related I.T. infrastructure have been set up and...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Provision (25 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: The report in question was recently received by officials in my Department and is presently under consideration. Departmental officials will meet shortly with officials from the Ombudsman for Children’s Office to discuss the report. Consideration will be given to the recommendation and how it fits with initiatives already underway at an operational level. In so doing, officials...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Remit (25 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I have requested the information from the Child and Family Agency and I will revert to the Deputy when this information is to hand.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Expenditure (25 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: Responsibility for the funding of the Rape Crisis Centres and Refuges previously funded by the HSE became the responsibility of the new Child and Family Agency upon its establishment on 1st January, 2014. In 2013 the HSE spent over €17 million on the provision of domestic and sexual violence services. This included the funding of 60 services throughout the country comprising: -...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Protection (25 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: My Department has commissioned and funded a research project which is being conducted by University College Cork which is looking at the impact of commercialisation and sexualisation of children in Ireland. This important research is currently undergoing peer review and is expected to be published before the Summer. In addition, I can confirm that my Department has commissioned the Centre...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Meetings (25 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I can inform the Deputy that my Department received one request from Philanthropy Ireland in November 2011 inviting me to attend a meeting and address the members of Philanthropy Ireland on 20th January 2012 at their premises at 85 Merrion Square, Dublin 2. The invitation requested that I would address the members and share with them my vision for the future of child welfare in Ireland and...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Staff (25 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy may be aware the functions and operational responsibilities of the former National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) are now part of the new Child and Family Agency, which was established on 1st January 2014. Since this date the staff of the former NEWB, including its Educational Welfare Officers, have transferred to the new Agency. Within the Child and Family Agency, the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Inter-Country Adoptions (25 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Child and Family Agency has advised that 719 applicants and/or couples have completed the Health Service Executive assessment for the purposes of applying to adopt a child since the commencement of the Adoption Act, 2010. This figure relates to inter-country adoption assessments up to 31/12/2013 as the Quarter 1 information for 2014 is currently being collated.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Inter-Country Adoptions (25 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Adoption Authority has advised that the following number of adoptions have been effected by Irish residents from Hague ratified states subject to Hague standards between 1st November 2010 and to date in 2014. 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Total 10 26 24 25 0 85

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Inter-Country Adoptions (25 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 958, 968, 969 and 974 together. With the enactment of the Adoption Act 2010 on 1 November 2010, Ireland ratified the Hague Convention on protection of children and co-operation in respect of intercountry adoption. The total number of intercountry adoptions recognised by the Authority in the years 2010 to 2013 (inclusive) was 725. In 2013, the total number...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Children's Rights Referendum (25 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: The judgement in the High Court challenge to the result of the Children’s Referendum was delivered on 18 October. The Petitioner was unsuccessful in her petition to the High Court challenging the Provisional Referendum Certificate issued on foot of the Children's Referendum. The Court dismissed the petition and the Petitioner’s Counsel made an application to the Supreme Court...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Adoption Legislation (25 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy will be aware, work has been underway for some time on the Adoption (Information and Tracing) legislation. I intend to proceed to finalise legislative proposals on a revised basis at the earliest opportunity and will bring proposals to the Government as soon as possible. As well as the information and tracing legislation, I am conscious that issues have arisen in relation to...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Ombudsman for Children Reports (25 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I welcome the publication of the Ombudsman for Children’s report ‘A Meta-Analysis of Repetitive Root Cause Issues Regarding the Provision of Services for Children in Care’ based on complaints made between 2004 and 2012. The report indicated that ten percent of complaints to the Ombudsman were in relation to children in care, and the sample of cases in this report showed...