Results 2,301-2,320 of 21,128 for speaker:James Reilly

Other Questions: Early Child Care Education (24 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: The early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme provides one free preschool year to qualifying children before they commence primary school. The ECCE programme is a free and universal programme to which all children, including those children with special needs, have access. The issue of access to the free preschool year for children with special needs was taken into account when the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Early Child Care Education (24 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: I utterly reject the contention that we are not giving this the focus it deserves. This is the first Government to have a senior Cabinet Minister responsible for and focused on the needs of children. That is something which successive Governments did not do beforehand. As I pointed out already, we know some children go straight into junior infants rather than participating in the early...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Services for People with Disabilities (24 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: The ECCE programme is one of a number of child care support programmes implemented by my Department to assist parents to access quality child care services. The programme, which provides one free preschool year to qualifying children before they commence primary school, is a free and universal programme to which all children, including those children with special needs, have access. The...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Early Child Care Education (24 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: I have information that I am given to understand indicates that the HSE is not withdrawing any funding in this area. Maybe further funding is required, and that might be an issue. As we know, an extra €650 million has been made available to the Department of Health to disperse. We would not expect to see any further cuts in this area. The Deputy asked when we will have the full...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Child Care Services Funding (24 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: The second free preschool year is accommodated and planned in the document produced by Government, "Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures", to be delivered on fully by 2020. It is not in the programme for Government. That does not mean we are not committed to it but it is a question of the timeframe around which it can be delivered. The second preschool year would cost €175 million, at...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Early Child Care Education (24 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: The early childhood care and education programme is a free and universal programme to which all children, including those children with special needs, have access. The objective of the programme is to make early learning in a formal setting available to all eligible children before they commence primary school. The issue of access to the free preschool year for children with special needs...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Child Care Services Funding (24 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: I thank the Deputy for his comments. I believe we are all on the same page on this issue. All the international and national evidence we have indicates clearly that investment in this area yields the greatest financial return. More important, it adds a value that is incalculable to children and society in general. The Deputy is quite right. It has a major influence on educational...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Preschool Services (24 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: Having read out the answer I do not believe the Government is dragging its heels. It has made this service universally available to children in the eligible age category. It makes particular allowance for those with special needs through the mechanisms I have outlined, by allowing them to split the year over two years and by not having an upper age limit for children with special needs,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Preschool Services (24 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: The interdepartmental group seeks to clarify the goals for public investment, including ensuring that services are of a high standard. It will review current investment in light of these goals to ensure any gaps and duplication are addressed and programmes are a good fit to achieve policy goals. The issue of workforce sustainability is also important in this regard. The group will analyse...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Child Care Services Funding (24 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: The Department supports the provision of early childhood care and education by providing in the region of €260 million annually to provide for three child care support programmes that make child care services more affordable and ensure that more than 100,000 children have access to quality child care. This high level of support has been maintained despite the difficult budgetary...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Early Child Care Education (24 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: Deputy Troy pointed out that the child care providers have to pay rates. They always had to pay rates. Nothing has changed in that regard except that not-for-profit child care providers have been afforded some relief by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. He pointed out some of the measures that were put in place as other things were taken away, which I pointed out.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Early Child Care Education (24 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: Then the party ran away and left no money in the coffers to sustain them. It is all very well to allude to services being put in place that were put in place with money the party knew it would not have, did not have and could not sustain, and then try to blame others who come after who try to fix the economy for all the ills in the service. This group is a very important one. I believe...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Preschool Services (24 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: The early childhood care and education programme is a free and universal programme to which all children, including children with special needs, have access. The objective of the programme is to make early learning in a formal setting available to eligible children before they commence primary school. Participating child care services are, therefore, expected to provide age-appropriate...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Early Child Care Education (24 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: I do not wish to be overly-confrontational but Deputy Troy has some neck talking about this Government having taken four years to do this work given the net effect of Fianna Fáil in government for 14 years was a reduction from €480 million to €175 million in child supports. This Government has successfully maintained this level of support despite the now well-known fiscal...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Early Child Care Education (24 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: The Government provides €260 million - in excess of quarter of a billion euro - annually to a number of child care support programmes that assist parents with the cost of child care. This figure includes €175 million provided annually to support the universal free preschool provision under the early childhood care and education programme. These programmes are, of course, in...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Costs (24 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: I am aware of the relatively high cost to parents of child care in this country and of the difficulties that this presents, particularly where both parents are in employment outside of the home. The figures produced by the CSO indicate that child care fees generally across the country increased by 2.4% in 2014. To help address child care costs, in the region of €260 million is...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Funding (24 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: The Government provides €260 million annuallyto a number of child care support programmes that assist parents with the cost of child care. This figure includes €175 million provided annually to support the universal free preschool year under the Early Childhood Care and Education programme. These programmes are, of course, in addition to the support provided to all parents...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Regulation (24 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: Preschool services are subject to the Child Care (Pre-School Services) (No.2) Regulations 2006, as provided for under Part VII of the Child Care Act, 1991. The Deputy may be aware that my Department is progressing the Early Years Quality Agenda which introduces a number of key of reforms that provide for the further development of the child care sector. To underpin these reforms, it...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Costs (24 Feb 2015)

James Reilly: I am aware of the relatively high cost to parents of child care in this country and of the difficulties that this presents, particularly where both parents are in employment outside of the home. Recent figures supplied by the CSO indicates the child care fees generally across the country increased by 2.4% in 2014. I do not have specific figures for the level of increase in the counties...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Costs (24 Feb 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. The article referred to by the Deputy refers to figures produced by the CSO which indicates that child care fees generally across the country increased by 2.4% in 2014. To help address child...