Results 6,581-6,600 of 7,359 for speaker:Katherine Zappone

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education Data (24 Oct 2019)

Katherine Zappone: €297m has been allocated for the Early Childhood Care and Education programme in 2020. There are currently a maximum of 15 hours per week available on the ECCE scheme. The following table outlines the annual cost of increasing the number of hours available per week in 2020 by the specified hourly increments: ECCE Capitation Costs Annual Cost (m) ...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education Data (24 Oct 2019)

Katherine Zappone: €297m has been allocated to the Early Childhood Care and Education programme in 2020. ECCE is currently available for 38 weeks throughout the year. The following table outlines the cost of expanding the scheme as per the specified weekly increments:   ECCE Capitation Costs Proposed change Annual Cost (€m) ...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education Funding (24 Oct 2019)

Katherine Zappone: €297m euro has been allocated Early Childhood Care and Education programme in 2020. The standard capitation rate for ECCE is currently €69 and the higher capitation rate is €80.25. The table outlines the annual cost of increasing the standard and higher capitation rates as per the specified increments: ECCE Capitation Costs ...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Funding (24 Oct 2019)

Katherine Zappone: As the Deputy will be aware, I announced a significant increase in the funding allocation to Tusla, the Child and Family Agency for 2020. Tusla will have available to it some €814 million in funding, representing an increase of 3.8% over 2019. This funding will allow Tusla to: - meet increasing demand for existing services and continue to improve overall service...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Area Based Childhood Programme (24 Oct 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.   DCYA is now the sole funder of the ABC Programme. In November 2017, my Department initiated a process, in consultation with key ABC Programme...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Domestic Violence Refuges Provision (24 Oct 2019)

Katherine Zappone: Under the Child and Family Agency Act, 2013, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency has statutory responsibility for the care and protection of victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence whether in the context of family or otherwise. I have received representations from an organisation in County Laois with regard to the proposed development of a women's refuge in the county. ...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Domestic Violence Services Funding (24 Oct 2019)

Katherine Zappone: Under the Child and Family Agency Act, 2013, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, is responsible for the care and protection of victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence whether in the context of family or otherwise. I provided additional funding of €1.5m to Tusla this year to increase domestic, sexual and gender-based violence service provision. A proportion of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Domestic Violence Refuges Provision (24 Oct 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 280 to 282, inclusive, together. Under the Child and Family Agency Act, 2013, the provision of services for victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is a statutory responsibility of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. Tusla currently provides financial support for the provision of 155 family units of domestic violence accommodation: - 145 family...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Legal Cases Data (24 Oct 2019)

Katherine Zappone: The information requested by the Deputy in respect of the Department and agencies other than Tusla is set out in tabular format as follows. I can confirm that there were no confidentiality clauses included in any of the settlements. Department/Agency 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Oberstown Children Detention Campus 3 9...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Data (24 Oct 2019)

Katherine Zappone: Throughout 2018 and 2019, my department have been working on making key data on children and young people publicly available in the Central Statistics Office's (CSO) statbank. The data will be easily accessible in many formats, in line with the government's Open Data Initiative. All indicators available in State of the Nation's Children (SONC) and the Better Outcomes Brighter Futures (BOBF)...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Brexit Preparations (5 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: The Department of Finance have advised that they will provide a response to this PQ regarding the broad economic impact based on published economic studies. Therefore this question is more properly directed at my colleague the Minister for Finance.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Funding (5 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: Barnardos provide a range of services for children and families in Ireland, including family support, therapeutic services, school completion programmes and counselling services. These services are available in 24 locations around Ireland. In 2018, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, provided funding of €8.596 million to Barnardos. Final funding figures are not yet available for...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Abuse Reports (5 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: The Deputy will be aware that the individual in question has undertaken, or is undertaking, a number of projects for the commissioning organisation. In August 2012 a full review was undertaken of all files relating to cases involving the inappropriate actions of adult volunteers in the specified organisations. The files related to child abuse and many other behavioural issues with adult...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Costs (5 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: Services who have signed a grant funding agreement to provide any of my Department's childcare funding programmes must have their fees list, for all approved funding programmes, clearly displayed in an area accessible to parents/guardians. Pobal compliance inspectors, who carry out unannounced inspections of service providers, check that the approved fees list is clearly displayed and that it...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Services Staff (5 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I am acutely aware of the difficulties that many early learning and care services report in recruiting and retaining qualified staff, and the high rate of staff turnover in the sector. In Pobal’s latest Early Years Sector Profile Report (2017/2018), the staff turnover rate stood at 24.7% which, despite a 3% improvement on the previous year, was unsustainably high. However, data from...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Abuse (5 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: The Deputy is referring to an operational matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. I have therefore referred the matter to Tusla, and asked that a direct response be provided to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Legal Proceedings (5 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: My Department is aware that there are a number of legal cases pending against the specified organisation. As neither myself as Minister nor my Department are named in these cases we do not have precise details as to the number and nature of these cases, nor would it be appropriate to comment further as the cases are still in process.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Foster Care Expenditure (5 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: The Deputy is referring to an operational matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. I have therefore referred the matter to Tusla, and asked that a direct response be provided to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Children in Care (5 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: The Deputy is referring to an operational matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. I have therefore referred the matter to Tusla, and asked that a direct response be provided to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education Data (5 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 989 to 991, inclusive, together. I am aware of the distress and inconvenience caused by delays in the processing of ECCE Higher Capitation applications, and my Department has taken action to provide additional preliminary payments to affected services in order to minimise the negative impacts. Officials in my Department are also working with Pobal to...