Results 6,281-6,300 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Child Care Costs (27 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: -----and that will result in more affordable and accessible child care being available to parents who need it.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Inter-Country Adoptions (27 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I would like to put the Deputy's question in the context of changes in inter-country adoptions. Recent years have seen a significant fall-off in the number of inter-country adoptions taking place internationally. The total number of children adopted into the top 12 receiving states in 2004 was 43,142. In 2011, this figure had dropped to 21,911, which is a drop of 50%. The United States,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Inter-Country Adoptions (27 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: The legislation passed in 2010 referred to adoptions with non-Hague countries, but the whole purpose of the change is to have adoptions with Hague countries. In fact, just this year the vast majority of adoptions are taking place from Hague countries, which is the right way. We want to have adoptions with countries which have signed up to the standards of the Hague convention. Having said...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Inter-Country Adoptions (27 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: Let me just say that there have been many discussions. A proposal has been put to the Russian authorities and we are awaiting their reply. This is the latest in a series of proposals to them. A huge amount of work has been done. We are working on a bilateral agreement with Russia but we await the outcome. There are quite complex legal considerations, but we have put the effort in. The...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Inter-Country Adoptions (27 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: We await a final outcome from the Russian side, hopefully in April.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Inter-Country Adoptions (27 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: Yes.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Inter-Country Adoptions (27 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: It is critical that effective practices, as the Deputy calls them, are in place. Clearly I would have preferred if there was continuity concerning the post of CEO. I have emphasised to the Adoption Authority on quite a number of occasions the importance of effective, high quality communication with people who contact them. They are a quasi-judicial body, so they are sometimes limited in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Adoption Legislation (27 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I thank the Deputy for that question. I have made a decision in line with parliamentary reforms that the heads of that Bill will go to the Committee on Health and Children. When they do, the complexities and parameters of the situation regarding access to information for those people who have been adopted will emerge quickly once discussions begin on the heads of the Bill. It will provide...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Adoption Legislation (27 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Deputy's points are very interesting. A certain amount of the scenario she has painted can be dealt with in legislation. For example, where a birth mother has no objection to contact being made, it is possible to put in place a scheme and a system, perhaps with mediation and counselling, whereby if there is agreement to contact, that can be facilitated. I do not think it has been...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Adoption Legislation (27 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: To be clear, my starting point in respect of this legislation has been to provide as much information as possible. I believe the concept of open adoption is the way forward. I emphasise that in the case of future adoptions in this country I want this legislation to deal with that aspect and to provide for that information to be available. In the case of historical adoptions we will examine...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs Services Provision (27 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I thank Deputy Troy for the question. Fully 68,000 children are availing of the free preschool year in the academic year 2012-13 at a cost of €175 million. As Deputy Troy is aware, there are several additional provisions to take account of children with special needs. These include an exemption from the upper age limit for qualification under the programme where a child is...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs Services Provision (27 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: This is an important area. I will come back to Deputy Troy with those figures. Part and parcel of moving to improve preschool services is to have a focus on early years. I have begun this by setting up the task force on early years and commissioning the report Right from the Start, which examines some of these issues and makes recommendations. I agree with Deputy Troy that this area...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs Services Provision (27 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I have seen many examples of preschool services that are going above and beyond the call of duty to include children with special needs. There is no question that this is taking place.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs Services Provision (27 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: Furthermore, the fact that funding is now available to make the services accessible is important, and providers are taking that up. I will revert to the Deputy with the outcome of the discussions among the Department of Health and Children, my Department and the Office for Disability and Mental Health. We are working actively to build better supports. I will revert with the figures. It is...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Youth Services Issues (27 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: My Department administers a range of funding schemes and programmes to support the provision of youth services to young people throughout the country. In 2014, funding of €50.5 million, including €750,000 capital funding, was made available. The funding supports some 400,000 young people, approximately 1,400 youth work staff in 477 projects and 40,000 volunteers - a very...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Youth Services Issues (27 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Deputy mentioned her own area where €1.7 million is being provided to projects in 2014 under both rounds of the Young People's Facilities and Services Fund. Under round 1, €750,000 is being provided, with a further €985,000 being provided under round 2. I have the details of individual allocations which I will forward to the Deputy. I will correspond with the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Youth Services Issues (27 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I can only agree with the Deputy. It is very important that where there is funding for mental health and young people, youth work groups and projects are involved and obtain support from it. There is no doubt that a hugely preventative role is played by all of these youth services, including Garda youth diversion programmes. The research we have demonstrates high levels of success and...

Other Questions: Child Care Services Provision (27 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: As I have already outlined in my response to an earlier question, we administer two targeted child-care schemes involving community child care subvention, or CCS, and child care education and training support, or CETS, respectively. In the region of €260 million is spent annually to provide support to those programmes, including €175 million for the free pre-school year. The...

Other Questions: Child Care Services Provision (27 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: The extremely difficult financial position the Government has had to deal with and control has worked against increased investment. I hope that as public finances recover in the coming years it will be considered important to channel any funding which becomes available to schemes which fulfil the objectives I have outlined and support the parents the Deputy rightly says are concerned about...

Other Questions: Child Care Services Provision (27 Mar 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I thank Deputy Kyne for his question. I welcome the opportunity to speak about the child care committees. Thirty-three city and county child care committees were established in 2001 under the office of the Minister of State with responsibility for children to help support the development of local child care. The current role of the committees is to assist the Department of Children and...