Results 1,341-1,360 of 7,359 for speaker:Katherine Zappone

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child Care Costs (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I am happy the Deputy asked that question because we have had discussions about it. Yes, I have a concern over this and there are different ways of addressing it. My primary concern is that, as the child care sector grows and as qualifications and workload increase, people within the sector are paid a better wage for what they do. As we implement the subsidisation programme there are...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child Care Services Provision (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I am very pleased that from September 2017, a new affordable child care scheme will be introduced to provide financial support for parents towards the cost of child care. Approximately 79,000 children will benefit from the new scheme in its first year, including 25,000 children who will benefit from the universal subsidy. An estimated 54,000 will benefit from the targeted subsidies,...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child Care Services Provision (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: The Department is monitoring this in different ways, such as through a Pobal exercise on vacancies and county child care surveys on capacity and place numbers. It is difficult to determine what the demand will be, or even what the current demand is in certain places, and to match demand and capacity. I have confidence in the Department's ability to monitor that in an appropriate way, such...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child Care Services Provision (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I am well aware that the Association of Childcare Professionals is planning to organise. The association has been in communication with me in regard to its concerns. I am supportive of the right of people to raise their voices on issues of concern to them. This will assist me in my work as Minister in the context of budget 2018. I acknowledge that there is a day of protest planned and I...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child and Family Agency Funding (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I thank Deputy Rabbitte for her question. I am committed to implementing the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2015 which entitles eligible young people to a formal aftercare plan prepared by Tusla in collaboration with the young person leaving care. I am pleased that the Act places an explicit as opposed to an implicit duty, as is currently the case, on Tusla to satisfy itself as to the young...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child and Family Agency Funding (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I am aware of the conference. I met the director of the conference, Ms Jennifer Gargan, subsequent to it and I have offered to continue the conversation by meeting with some of the young people concerned to discuss the issues raised by the Deputy. The benefit of the new legislation is that it will entitle young people to an aftercare plan for the first time. This will make a significant...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child and Family Agency Funding (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I welcome the Deputy's passion and commitment on these issues. The Deputy is correct that it will be important that the relevant aspects of the legislation, once commenced, which I hope to do in the next couple of months, are monitored to ensure their effectiveness over time, which I can promise in terms of the ways in which Tusla has developed monitoring, statistics and percentages around...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Youth Work Projects Funding (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: My Department administered a capital funding scheme in 2016 for youth projects and services which was strictly limited to projects funded under a number of specific schemes. An application for capital funding was received from Kerry Diocesan Youth Service, KDYS, in respect of a European youth centre. Unfortunately, the application was found to be ineligible by the appraisal committee for...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Youth Work Projects Funding (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: As the Deputy notes, I visited KDYS during the summer and was impressed by the commitment, enthusiasm and professionalism I saw. Unfortunately, it was not possible to fund the European youth centre project as it did not fall within the previously established criteria for the scheme. That in no way takes away from the value of the work being done there. I am anxious to work with KDYS to...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Youth Work Projects Funding (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I remember almost every room I saw in that centre. It is an extraordinary place and I was very impressed with the leadership and management team and with what it is doing and how it is reaching out way beyond its base. It is unfortunate that in terms of the capital funding scheme for 2016 the centre did not fall within the criteria because it was not receiving funding in relation to the...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child Care Costs (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: The single affordable child care scheme is a major initiative I am pursuing specifically to ensure that the costs of child care are lowered for families, in particular those on lower incomes. Irish child care costs are among the highest in the world and the burden on many families is unacceptably high. While this aspect of the Irish situation is similar to the USA, in other respects the...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child Care Costs (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: The dual income trap which the Deputy mentioned refers, as he knows, is the subject of a popular book written by Senator Elizabeth Warren and her daughter. It discusses the financial difficulties experienced by American middle-class families with children due to the steady rise in many fixed costs such as health care, child care and finding a good home. Senator Warren and her daughter argue...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child Care Costs (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: There are some good things going on in America. Reference is frequently made to Nordic countries. They are moving away from home care allowance type schemes due to their adverse impact on women's employability and financial independence later in life. I would encourage a vigorous gender impact analysis before importing such policies here. As I am sure the Deputy will remember, not long...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Departmental Budgets (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I was pleased that significant additional funding was allocated to early child care in budget 2017. The largest volume of additional funding was provided to enable the full year costs of the expansion of the ECCE scheme into a second year, and I provided €67.6 million for this. In addition, the full year roll-out of the access and inclusion model, AIM, within the ECCE scheme was...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Departmental Budgets (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: The Deputy had a number of questions and I am with him in his sentiment in terms of his concerns. I hope that this will deliver what we are attempting to deliver. It is a first step towards introducing a radical new plan for child care. We have worked very hard to ensure it happens. I provided the Deputy with full-year costs. The year 2017 will be the first year of the full year of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Departmental Budgets (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: We need a lot of money for 2017 to cover the full-year cost of the two years of preschool plus the cost of the access and inclusion model, AIM. From September 2017, additional moneys will be available to introduce the single affordable child care scheme. This will include the targeted element in the new way that I am doing it as well as the subsidy for those under three years of age. That...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Departmental Budgets (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: We do need a lot more money and I trust the Deputy will continue to raise his voice as we continue to prepare for the next budget because I agree with him in that regard. In terms of his initial comments and concerns, I too am concerned about those on low incomes. This new, targeted single affordable child care scheme is streamlining and simplifying those other targeted schemes that some of...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Departmental Budgets (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I assure the Deputy that no one will be worse off. Most of them will be better off, but it will depend on what they are earning and the number of children, etc. This goes back to Deputy Anne Rabbitte's question. It is hard for people to understand fully how they will benefit because it will depend on their family type. However, the whole point of the single affordable child care scheme is...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Homeless Persons Supports (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I appreciate Deputy Broughan's question. Homelessness among children and families remains a serious problem. In September there were 1,173 families in emergency accommodation, including 1,568 adults and 2,426 dependants. I am committed to supporting the implementation of Rebuilding Ireland: the Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness. We have made some progress in this regard, but...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Homeless Persons Supports (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: On Deputy Broughan's questions, the DRHE is best placed to advise on a safety guidance voluntary code for child safety in emergency accommodation. I understand it has worked with Tusla and that there is a draft national quality standards framework to cover this area of the action plan and that an information guidelines booklet is also being developed in line with this objective. We are also...