Results 1,501-1,520 of 7,359 for speaker:Katherine Zappone

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Data (24 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: From September 2017, a new Affordable Childcare scheme will be introduced which will provide financial support for parents towards the cost of childcare. The new scheme will provide a system from which both universal and targeted subsidies can be provided towards the cost of childcare. This new scheme will replace the existing targeted childcare programmes with a single, streamlined and...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Funding (24 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: Each City/County Childcare Committee (CCC) receives funding from the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to implement its Local Implementation Plan, and they also receive funding to provide additional support to childcare providers working with children with disabilities under the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM). In 2016, the total amount allocated to the CCCs is €11.14m. ...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Funding (24 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: My Department provides funding to a number of National Voluntary Childcare Organisations (NVCOs), including Barnardos, National Childhood Network, National Childminding Association of Ireland, St. Nicholas' Montessori Society, Irish Steiner Kindergarten Association and the EECE & Play Early Childhood Ireland. To date the total funding provided to these organisations from the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Inspections (24 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: Tusla has responsibility for the inspection of childcare services. Inspection is carried out to monitor compliance with the Child Care (Pre-School) (No 2) Regulations with the aim of ensuring the health, safety and welfare of children enrolled in pre-school services. Funding of €1.1m was provided from the childcare funding subheads of my Department in respect of these; however due to...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Qualifications (24 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 271 and 276 together. The funding referred to by the Deputy is provided through the 'Learner Fund', and also through the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) which provides supports to enable children with disabilities to participate in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme. The Learner Fund was introduced in 2014 to provide support for...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Data (24 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: Pobal acts as an intermediary for programmes funded by my Department and carries out significant work in the fields of programme development and management, project assessment, financial management and accountability, compliance, audit, data capture, monitoring and evaluation. Pobal also plays an active role in supporting recipients of programme funding to manage their services and to...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Data (24 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: The Better Start Quality Development Service is a national initiative established by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) to bring an integrated national approach to developing quality in Early Years Education and Care (ECEC) for children aged from birth to six years in Ireland. It is intended to coordinate and extend the wide-ranging choice of supports and services already...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Garda Vetting of Personnel (24 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 274 and 275 together. The Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016 require a registered pre-school service provider to ensure that each employee is suitable and competent by consideration of the vetting disclosure received from the National Vetting Bureau. This requirement is no different to the requirement contained in the 2006...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services (24 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I understand the 'childcare budget ' mentioned by the Deputy to refer specifically to the 'Sectoral Programmes For Children And Young People' funding lines of the Departmental Vote given that my Department also provides core funding to Tusla. Tusla has responsibility for the inspection of childcare services. Inspection is carried out to monitor compliance with the Child Care (Pre-School)...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Expenditure (24 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 278 and 279 together. Community Childcare Services and private childcare services operate a variety of childcare schemes funded by my Department. These include the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme, the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) programme, the Community Education and Training Scheme, the After School Childcare Scheme and the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Detention Centres (29 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: A copy of the separation policy has been forwarded to the Deputy directly. The separation policy and the other policies for children detention schools are available on the website of the Irish Youth Justice Service and can be accessed at the following web address: www.iyjs.ie/en/IYJS/Pages/WP12000013. The Oberstown Children Detention Campus is responsible for collating information on the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Adoption Records Provision (29 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: Tusla has advised me that all records held by the Tusla adoption service in Cork, including those related to the Sisters of the Sacred Heart, Bessborough, are stored in fire proof cabinets in a dry and secure location. Access to records is by Tusla staff only due to the highly confidential nature of the records. Tusla has begun the process of centralising all adoption records held by the...

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

Katherine Zappone: 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 work staff in 477 projects and 40,000 volunteers working in...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Staff Data (29 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 766 and 767 together. As my Department was established in June 2011, the information requested by the Deputy is set out in tabular form with effect from that date. The information supplied refers to staff seconded to other Departments, agencies or bodies in the public sector. Currently there are two members of staff on secondment from my Department to such...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Staff Data (29 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 768 and 769 together. Since its establishment in June 2011, my Department has not seconded staff to any private sector organisation. There is currently one person from the Children's Rights Alliance, which is a registered charity, seconded to this Department.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Bodies Data (29 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I am responsible for the appointment of members to the boards of the Adoption Authority of Ireland, the Child and Family Agency (Tusla), Gaisce (the President's Award) and the Board of Management for Oberstown Children Detention Campus. There are currently seven vacant positions on the Gaisce Council, one vacant position on the Board of the Child and Family Agency and one vacant position...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Funding (29 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: In Budget 2017 provision was made for a fund of €1m to assist in the investigation of sustainability issues being faced by childcare providers, and to develop a policy to guide any future interventions. This initiative is at an early stage and officials will commence work in this regard in early 2017. At present there is no fund in place that would provide additional funding to...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Regulation (29 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: Under the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016, registered providers of pre-school services will, from 31st December 2016, be required to ensure that each employee working directly with children attending the service holds at least a major award in Early Childhood Care and Education at Level 5 on the National Qualifications Framework or a qualification deemed by the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Community Childcare Subvention Programme (29 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: Officials from my Department have sought clarification from the Deputy as to what is meant by CSSF funding, and it is my understanding that the Deputy is referring to the Community Childcare Subvention Programme. Childcare service providers receive grant funding from the Department for the provision of ECCE for a period of 38 weeks, as per the 2016/17 ECCE grant funding agreement....

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Staff (29 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: Although my Department does not act as employer to childcare it does acknowledge that the sector is under cost pressure, and that staff wages are a large component of cost. To go some way towards addressing this, I have secured additional funding of €14 million in Budget 2017 which will enable ECCE providers to be paid for a 39th week and part of a 40th week (7 ECCE days in total or...