Results 1,801-1,820 of 7,359 for speaker:Katherine Zappone

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Child Care Scheme: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Yes, the overall capped budget.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Child Care Scheme: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I will start and then-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Child Care Scheme: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: As the Deputy will appreciate, we have done a massive amount of work, particularly the man to my right, to estimate the demands of the scheme. We would be fairly confident that the amounts of money we have for budget 2017 will be sufficient for those who wish to avail of the scheme. We have placed a budget cap in terms of the overall scheme. That was partly our own decision but it was also...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Child Care Scheme: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I want to address the questions from Deputy Rabbitte and Deputy Funchion on when the system will be available online, the concerns around working with providers and especially parents to ensure the appropriate information is provided and that there is awareness raising in terms of how this works, the level of engagement with the Department of Social Protection and the Revenue Commissioners as...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Child Care Scheme: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I will respond to the first point made by the Chairman by saying that parents will be able to apply online. It is intended that this will happen from September. There will be two aspects to what they will be applying for. In the case of the universal payment for children under the age of three, the calculation that has just been identified by the Chairman will not be required. There will...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Child Care Scheme: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Exactly. It will be a universal payment. It will be very quickly determined that an application is correct and a subsidy will be offered depending on the length of time for which the child is to be put into the child care centre. As members are aware, the targeted aspect of the scheme is increasing and will ultimately be determined by the net income threshold level. Information and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Child Care Scheme: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Did we look at that specifically?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Child Care Scheme: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I would like to pursue this a little bit more. Perhaps we can have discussions with the committee and carry out a specific analysis of this.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Child Care Scheme: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: We will look at it in more detail and come back to the committee.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Child Care Scheme: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Okay. Thank you very much, Chair, and thanks to the other members also.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Funding (9 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Quality assurance will be an absolute prerequisite for participation in the Affordable Childcare Scheme. The Scheme will be open to all Tusla-registered childcare providers, including childminders. In the Heads of Bill and General Scheme for the Affordable Childcare Scheme Bill, it is also proposed that the legislation should allow for the possibility of additional categories of childcare...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Public Relations Contracts Data (9 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I can inform the Deputy that the information below is from the establishment of my Department in June 2011. I am requesting the bodies under the aegis of my Department, namely, the Child and Family Agency, the Adoption Authority of Ireland, Oberstown Children Detention Campus and the Ombudsman for Children's Office to provide the relevant information to the Deputy. Photography Costs for...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Funding (9 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I am aware of the additional needs of childcare providers in Cork City as a result of the full implementation of the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016. I am committed to assisting services who find themselves in difficulty owing to these changes, and I will be making an announcement shortly in this regard.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Regulation (9 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 274 and 275 together. Since early 2016 the Department of Children & Youth Affairs has been working with Childcare Committees Ireland to help services prepare for the full implementation of the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016. These regulations have been in development for several years and implementation was delayed...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education (9 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: As the Deputy is aware, the initial Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme had one entry point (September) from when children could begin pre-school, and children had to be aged between 3 years and 2 months and 4 years and 7 months by the September to avail of the free pre-school year (i.e. 38 weeks). The programme was then expanded by reducing the age of eligibility to 3 years...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Family Resource Centres (14 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I very much value the role that family resource centres play in providing support to vulnerable children and families. Tusla provides a significant level of financial support to family resource centres across the country to assist them in their work with vulnerable children and families. Tusla provides funding to some 109 communities through the family and community services resource centre...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Family Resource Centres (14 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I thank Deputy Rabbitte for those qualifying questions. Tusla is currently finalising details of the funding to be allocated to family resource centres in 2017. As the Deputy knows, I was able to increase the overall budget for Tusla for 2017. It will confirm funding levels for individual centres shortly. I understand the various issues raised by the Deputy in terms of the difficulties...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Family Resource Centres (14 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I have no doubt that Tusla will be aware of and listening to the comments that the Deputy is raising, as I am myself, in terms of the ways in which the supports and resources that are being provided to the family resource centres can be used in the most effective manner. The Deputy has suggested that there are certain ways in which additional resources should be targeted in order to increase...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education Programmes (14 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I acknowledge the Deputy's initial comments. I am very willing and happy to participate in any of the decisions that the business committee is now engaged in. With regard to the parliamentary question, I am aware that providing care for children below the age of three results in higher costs to services than caring for older children. This is as a result of the legally required adult-child...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education Programmes (14 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: As Deputy Ó Laoghaire is well aware, we have had these discussions extensively with regard to concerns that he has raised about centres in his own constituency. We have been attentive to those and I have been specifically concerned about the centres he has raised. I know that resources are required. The Deputy questioned that €1 million figure. However, we did set aside a...