Results 19,901-19,920 of 21,128 for speaker:James Reilly

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care Education (21 Oct 2015)

James Reilly: At present, the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme covers children who have reached the age of 3 years and 2 months by 1st September of the relevant year. Children born between 2nd February 2011 and 30th June 2012 and who have not previously availed of the ECCE programme in the Sept 2014 pre-school year, are eligible to avail of the provision in the September 2015-June...

Seanad: Children First Bill 2014: Report and Final Stages (21 Oct 2015)

James Reilly: I will address amendment No. 1 first. This is a technical amendment to amend the Long Title of the Bill in order to provide for the abolition of the defence of reasonable chastisement by way of an amendment to the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997, as proposed in amendment No. 2. As amendments Nos. 1 and 2 are being taken together-----

Seanad: Children First Bill 2014: Report and Final Stages (21 Oct 2015)

James Reilly: This amendment proposes to amend the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 and provide for the abolition of the defence of reasonable chastisement. As I stated on Committee Stage, the Government is fully committed to the elimination of corporal punishment and to protecting children from violence. This amendment not only abolishes the defence of reasonable chastisement but will also...

Seanad: Children First Bill 2014: Report and Final Stages (21 Oct 2015)

James Reilly: I will make a few comments as concerns were raised by Senator Leyden on the effect of the amendments on Garda resources. Tusla will still be the first port of call. No new offence is created. I believe matters will be dealt with in the way they have always been addressed very seriously by Tusla if there are allegations or reports of any breach of the legislation. It is progressive...

Seanad: Children First Bill 2014: Report and Final Stages (21 Oct 2015)

James Reilly: Schedule 2 specifies professions or occupations for the purposes of specifying classes of persons to be mandated persons in accordance with the Bill. Amendment No. 3 proposes to include a person taking care of one or more children in his or her home who is not a relative of the child. One of the reasons a person taking care of a child in his or her home is not a mandated person under the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Cafés Provision (22 Oct 2015)

James Reilly: Youth Cafés offer young people a safe, alcohol and drug free space, for recreation, non-formal learning and youth activities and they make an important contribution to facilities for young people at local level. In recent years capital funding has been made available to my Department for the development of youth café facilities. Some 100 new youth café facilities have...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency (22 Oct 2015)

James Reilly: With regard to the specific question raised by the Deputy, I expect to be in a position to furnish a complete reply very shortly. My Department has, in recent days, received additional information and clarification requested from Tusla, the Child and Family Agency to allow for a complete response to issue. We are in the process of compiling this information for issue to the Deputy. I...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Services (22 Oct 2015)

James Reilly: The establishment of the Centre for Effective Services (CES) as a charitable organisation in 2008 reflected agreement, including a commitment to joint funding, by Atlantic Philanthropies, the Office for the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs to support the organisation. The purpose of which was to improve outcomes for...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Costs (22 Oct 2015)

James Reilly: I am aware of the relatively high cost to parents of childcare in this country and of the difficulties that this presents, particularly where both parents are in employment outside of the home. Prior to Budget 2016, my Department provided funding of more than a quarter of a billion euro annually to support the implementation of a number of childcare support programmes that assist parents...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care Education (22 Oct 2015)

James Reilly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 244 and 245 together. The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme currently provides a free pre-school year to all eligible children before commencing primary school. Funding of over €170 million is provided for the ECCE programme annually in which some 67,000 children participate. This programme is delivered for three hours per...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: General Scheme of Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2015: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2015)

James Reilly: Unfortunately Ms Michelle Shannon cannot be here as she is unwell, so we are joined by Ms Anne-Marie Kilkenny instead.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: General Scheme of Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2015: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2015)

James Reilly: I thank the Chairman and the Oireachtas Joint Committee for Health and Children for inviting me to address it on the heads of the adoption (information and tracing) Bill 2015. The legislation is of huge importance to people who have been affected by adoption, and addresses some very challenging legal issues, so I am grateful to the committee for taking the time to provide pre-legislative...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: General Scheme of Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2015: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2015)

James Reilly: I am always delighted to hear my constituency colleague, but not during the course of this.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: General Scheme of Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2015: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2015)

James Reilly: Indeed, and newfangled technology. As all of those affected by adoption in this country will know, efforts have been ongoing for many years to provide a statutory entitlement to identity information, in particular an original birth certificate, to adopted people. My overall policy objective in bringing forward this legislation has always been to provide access to as much information as...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: General Scheme of Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2015: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2015)

James Reilly: I echo Deputy Catherine Byrne's comments about the work of the staff of the Department on this legislation. They have worked tirelessly on a compromise to find a means of balancing rights. What they have achieved is very fair. I thank Deputy Robert Troy for his remarks. What is seldom is wonderful. Many members have referred to the need for a statutory declaration. I know that it is a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: General Scheme of Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2015: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2015)

James Reilly: This issue was also mentioned by Senator Jillian van Turnhout, who asked where the bar was. As I said, arising out from the committee's consideration in the pre-legislative process, we will look at what people are saying. Ultimately, where the bar should be will be legally determined. We will consider the matter. I will restate what we are trying to achieve. We want to give people as...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: General Scheme of Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2015: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2015)

James Reilly: The Adoption Authority of Ireland will have the authority to obtain records. We are still working with the Data Protection Commissioner on some grey areas, for example, in cases where information could be held in a piecemeal fashion in various ledgers and so forth. This was the experience of officials when they sought information and found bits of information in one ledger and other bits in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: General Scheme of Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2015: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2015)

James Reilly: No, people attribute far more knowledge to me than I possess.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: General Scheme of Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2015: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2015)

James Reilly: That is a fair point and one we will certainly consider. We do not want people to feel they must return to the place where they were hurt.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Domestic Violence Refuges (3 Nov 2015)

James Reilly: The information sought by the Deputy has been requested from the Child and Family Agency and I will respond directly to the Deputy when the information is received.