Results 1,241-1,260 of 7,359 for speaker:Katherine Zappone

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Area Based Childhood Programme (29 Sep 2016)

Katherine Zappone: The Area Based Childhood (ABC) Programme is a joint prevention and early intervention initiative led by my Department and The Atlantic Philanthropies. The ABC Programme commenced in 2013 and was co-funded for the period 2013 to 2017 in the amount of €29.7m, providing areas with multi annual budgets. The aim of the programme is to test and evaluate prevention and early intervention...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Services (29 Sep 2016)

Katherine Zappone: My Department administers a range of funding schemes and programmes to support the provision of youth services by the voluntary youth sector, to young people throughout the country including those from disadvantaged communities. The funding schemes support national and local youth work provision to some 380,000 young people. The voluntary youth sector involves approximately 1,400 paid staff,...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Preschool Services (4 Oct 2016)

Katherine Zappone: From the beginning of the 2016/2017 Programme year, the processing of payments for ECCE is being managed by Pobal. The Department is mindful that service providers need to manage cash flow and, therefore, the ECCE payment schedule was posted on the Programme Implementation Platform (PIP) on 1st September 2016. Providers can now also check payments on PIP for themselves. The Department...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Regulation (4 Oct 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I assume the Deputy is referring to the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016 which commenced on 30th June last. The new Regulations replace the Pre-School Service Regulations 2006. The new Regulations contain a number of new requirements that must be satisfied by the providers of pre-school service, both private and community/not-for-profit, including a minimum...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency (4 Oct 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I wish to reassure the Deputy that Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, has not made any agreement with the company referred to in her previous question, to utilise the assessment service described. I must also stress that Tusla does not place children who have been received into care in residential centres that are not registered. The requirements for placing a child in a children's...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Staff (4 Oct 2016)

Katherine Zappone: The information requested is not readily available in my Department. My officials have requested the information from Tusla and I will forward the reply to the Deputy once I have been furnished with it.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Strategy Statements (4 Oct 2016)

Katherine Zappone: It is important that every effort is made by public bodies to meet their obligations to promote equality, prevent discrimination and protect the human rights of their employees and everyone affected by their functions and services. For my Department, this has a particular resonance in the context of our dealings with children and young people and the many and varied levels of engagement on...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Staff Data (4 Oct 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I am not aware of any retired civil servant from my Department who is in receipt of a civil service pension and has been re-employed in the public sector. Where an employee retires from this Department and is re-employed in another public sector body, it is the responsibility of that body to inform the relevant authority. I have requested the required information from bodies under the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Staff Data (4 Oct 2016)

Katherine Zappone: At end September 2016, there were 184 people employed by my Department, equating to a whole time equivalent number of 171.76 members of staff. This figure includes staff seconded to the Department at that date as well as Temporary Clerical Officers employed by my Department at that date.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Public Sector Staff Retirements (5 Oct 2016)

Katherine Zappone: My Department does not make pension payments to retired civil servants. All Civil Service pensions are paid directly by the Paymaster General's Office which falls under the aegis of my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. As such I am not in a position to provide the information requested.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Services Data (5 Oct 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 243 and 244 together. My Department administers a range of funding schemes and programmes to support the provision of youth services to young people throughout the country including those from disadvantaged communities. The funding schemes support national and local youth work provision to some 380,000 young people and involve approximately 1,400 youth...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2016: Vote 40 – Department of Children and Youth Affairs (5 Oct 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I thank the Chairman. I am pleased to join the committee this morning to deal with issues relating to the Estimates for my Department and to discuss my plans for the future in the context of the programme for Government. I welcome the opportunity to brief the committee on the key issues from my perspective. Before I continue, I wish to extend an invitation to the committee to visit...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2016: Vote 40 – Department of Children and Youth Affairs (5 Oct 2016)

Katherine Zappone: My officials are Ms Michele Clarke, Mr. Dermot Ryan, Dr. Fergal Lynch and Ms Bernie McNally. They are delighted to join me along with the others behind us.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2016: Vote 40 – Department of Children and Youth Affairs (5 Oct 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I thank everyone. It is great to have the questions. I will start with Deputy Anne Rabbitte's questions and my answers may cut across similar questions from the other Deputies. The capital expenditure by Tusla, including on ICT, is on target. Tusla is working on a comprehensive ICT strategy, which I expect to receive shortly. Progress on the national child care information system is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2016: Vote 40 – Department of Children and Youth Affairs (5 Oct 2016)

Katherine Zappone: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2016: Vote 40 – Department of Children and Youth Affairs (5 Oct 2016)

Katherine Zappone: We need another 150. A total of 248 social work graduates were recently put on a panel and 69 of them have been offered posts. I have a lot more detail in that regard if the Deputy would like it. In response to the focus of her question, I was trying to describe the various campaigns that are ongoing to recruit the diversity of staff that will be required by Tusla. I might come back to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2016: Vote 40 – Department of Children and Youth Affairs (5 Oct 2016)

Katherine Zappone: Members will be aware that the Estimates process is continuing. In that context, we have identified a certain figure that we are looking for to support the implementation of the various initiatives that come out of our budget. We are working across Government in terms of some of the other commitments. I have answered Deputy O'Sullivan's question about social workers, so I will move on to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2016: Vote 40 – Department of Children and Youth Affairs (5 Oct 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I thank Ms Clarke. I will answer the question that was asked about family resource centres before I respond to Deputy Ó Laoghaire. We are very much aware of the need for financial support. I suppose that is an aspect of the budget negotiations we are in the middle of.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2016: Vote 40 – Department of Children and Youth Affairs (5 Oct 2016)

Katherine Zappone: It is fine. Deputy Rabbitte can go ahead.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2016: Vote 40 – Department of Children and Youth Affairs (5 Oct 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I hope the information I have provided has been of assistance to the Deputy.