Results 821-840 of 1,827 for speaker:Jillian van Turnhout

Seanad: Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Jillian van Turnhout: I move amendment No. 13: In page 35, lines 8 and 9, to delete “judgment in a particular case in the performance by the Agency of its functions” and substitute the following: “judgement in a particular case in the performance by the Agency of its functions and must be in accordance with section 8 and section 9".I refer to the word "judgment" in this section. This spelling...

Seanad: Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Jillian van Turnhout: The word "judgment" in a court ruling is normally spelled without the "e" whereas when spelled with the "e" it can mean other types of professional direction. I have asked different legal people and they have advised me about the interpretation. I will bring this amendment back on Report Stage and perhaps the Minister can seek advice. If a professional judgment were given, somebody could...

Seanad: Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Jillian van Turnhout: I move amendment No. 14: In page 39, line 39, after “of” where it firstly occurs to insert “the Board and”.This amendment relates to consultants and to advisers in particular. I have a concern about the appointment of advisers. This may be another area where the Minister will say that the agency means the board. My difficulty is that the definitions in the...

Seanad: Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Jillian van Turnhout: I am reading section 21. It contains nothing that makes it absolute that the board must be informed about gifts or appointments of consultants and advisers. It refers to overseeing the development of a corporate strategy in respect of major plans of action, risk policy, annual budgets, business plans, setting performance objectives, monitoring corporate performance, overseeing major capital...

Seanad: Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Jillian van Turnhout: The Bill sets out excellent governance but my difficulty about the consultants and advisers is that the expenditure controls only take effect after the event. The board will hear after a consultant or adviser has been appointed. The board will not consider an appointment prior to it being made. I am trying to insert a control whereby the board would be informed of a proposal to the...

Seanad: Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Jillian van Turnhout: I am more concerned about advisers than I am about consultants.

Seanad: Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Jillian van Turnhout: Advisers could be seen as substitutes for staff positions. I understand why a CEO might designate a consultant, but I have an issue with the question of advisers.

Seanad: Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Jillian van Turnhout: This section concerns arrangements with service providers. We have unfortunately heard a lot in recent days about the importance of having good governance of service providers. What is outlined in the Bill in this respect is really good. The agency will have a budget of approximately €545 million, some €100 million of which will go to outsourcing, so we are talking about a...

Seanad: Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Jillian van Turnhout: I thank the Minister for her reply. My main point concerned the Children First guidance standards. Section 56(13)(b) states that the Minister may prescribe requirements in respect of the provision of those services by service providers. Having looked at several such contracts, we seem to be obsessed with accounts, financial requirements and indicators, although I can understand why. We...

Seanad: Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Jillian van Turnhout: I raised the issue of special care on Second Stage. I have read the Bill and can find nothing therein in this regard that can be changed per se. However, I am extremely concerned about special care placements. The Minister kindly responded to my concerns in this regard on Second Stage. I would like to read into the record the following for the benefit of my colleagues. Under the special...

Seanad: Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Jillian van Turnhout: I thank the Minister for her response. I welcome what she said. The idea of the development of services on a North-South basis is to be commended. Perhaps that is the way forward. The difficulty is that these children still have to be supported. This will require the pulling together of essential resources and a skewing of those resources to ensure young people who are particularly...

Seanad: Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Jillian van Turnhout: I move amendment No. 17: In page 55, line 10, after “day-care” to insert “, naíonra”.This is a technical amendment to include the Irish word, "naíonra" in the provision. A naíonra is an Irish-medium play group for preschool children and naíonraí follow the principle of total early immersion. A naíonra is a group of children coming...

Seanad: Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Jillian van Turnhout: I will withdraw the amendment. I received representations on this matter and consequently, I will revert and consult further with the organisations concerned.

Seanad: Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Jillian van Turnhout: I move amendment No. 19: In page 59, line 20, to delete “and welfare” and substitute “welfare and promote the development”.The purpose of this amendment is to ensure this provision aligns with the proposed new section 58B, in which the regulations are outlined. This was amended at an earlier Stage of the Bill and I am trying to ensure consistency in the language...

Seanad: Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Jillian van Turnhout: The difficulty is we are speaking about four words that would align the regulations along with the person providing early years services. It is problematic that we are excluding four words "and promote the development". It could be seen to be a deliberate intention of the Bill to exclude that from the person who is providing the early years service in order that they are looking after the...

Seanad: Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Jillian van Turnhout: I thank my colleagues Senators Fiach MacConghail, Mary Ann O'Brien and Katherine Zappone for their support on these amendments. I have a concern in regard to section 92 because those exemptions are articulated in the Child Care Act 1991. I believe the belt and braces are in place. By reiterating the exemptions, we are putting on a straitjacket. I raised my concern in regard to vetting...

Seanad: Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Jillian van Turnhout: I welcome the Minister's commitment and I agree that what is being done is a major step forward. That is very important. We need to look at the issue of childminders as we progress and develop. Childminding Ireland has approached me and said this is something it is seeking. As I said earlier, it has been done in Scotland which has different standards from the early child care settings so...

Seanad: Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Report Stage (5 Dec 2013)

Jillian van Turnhout: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Report Stage (5 Dec 2013)

Jillian van Turnhout: I move amendment No. 4: In page 13, to delete lines 2 and 3.I raised this issue on Committee Stage. The amendment proposes to delete the provision in subsection 8(4)(a) whereby "psychological services associated with the provision of specialist mental health services to children" are excluded from the range of services provided by the new child and family agency. I accept the need to...

Seanad: Child and Family Agency Bill 2013: Report Stage (5 Dec 2013)

Jillian van Turnhout: I brought forward a larger number of amendments on Committee Stage. Of the six I have tabled on Report Stage, this is not one of the three I consider to be most critical. In that spirit, I will not press the amendment.