Results 2,601-2,620 of 7,359 for speaker:Katherine Zappone

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Data (13 Nov 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I can inform the Deputy that this information is not collated centrally by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. Prior to the establishment of Tusla in 2014, the functions of child welfare and protection were carried out by the Health Services Executive.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Data (13 Nov 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I can inform the Deputy that this information is not collated by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. Prior to the establishment of Tusla in 2014, the functions of child welfare and protection were carried out by the Health Services Executive. I must apologise to the Deputy that I do not have the information she requests in answer to this Parliamentary Question and PQ 46974/18 and PQ...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Data (13 Nov 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I can inform the Deputy that this information is not collated by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. Prior to the establishment of Tusla in 2014, the functions of child welfare and protection were carried out by the Health Services Executive. I would note that family law proceedings are held in cameraand it may not be possible to collate such information as a result.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Staff Data (13 Nov 2018)

Katherine Zappone: For the purposes of this answer, I take "senior positions" as comprising all civil servants at Secretary General, Assistant Secretary and Director levels in this Department. At 1 November 2018 the breakdown of these positions in my department is as follows: Position Gender Assistant Secretary F Assistant Secretary F Assistant Secretary M Director F Secretary General M Total Senior...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Domestic Violence Services Funding (8 Nov 2018)

Katherine Zappone: Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, has statutory responsibility for the care and protection of victims of domestic, sexual or gender-based violence, whether in the context of the family or otherwise. Accordingly, Tusla has provided funding for domestic, sexual and gender-based violence services since its foundation in 2014. This includes services in Counties Cavan and Monaghan. In 2018,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Commissions of Investigation (7 Nov 2018)

Katherine Zappone: One of the issues discussed towards the end of the aforementioned conference was whether the term "transitional justice" is appropriate in Ireland. I, too, have been using that language. Various stakeholders, researchers and experts, having spent two days discussing these matters at the conference, asked whether it would be more appropriate to talk about transformation as distinct from...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Family Resource Centres (7 Nov 2018)

Katherine Zappone: In the time available to me I will deal with two of the issues raised, including the final question about the piecemeal approach being adopted. In the past it was piecemeal, but we are trying to make it less so by focusing on the provision of supports for families within the hubs the Deputy identified. Tusla can provide services and operate in that context, but it also provides other...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Family Resource Centres (7 Nov 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I am always so pleased to be asked a question about concerns about the mental health of children and the services required because I acknowledge that there are not enough such services provided. Tusla has to provide some of them, but other Departments also have to be called on. Some of my biggest concerns are in this area. I share them with the Deputy and others. On family resource...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Commissions of Investigation (7 Nov 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I welcome the submission made by the Clann project to the commission of investigation. I am not in a position to comment in detail on the report, as it was submitted in the context of the commission’s ongoing work, but I thank the Clann project for its work. It is important to recognise that a statutory commission is fully independent in the conduct of its investigations. The...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Commissions of Investigation (7 Nov 2018)

Katherine Zappone: The truth is important. As I indicated in my response to an earlier question, I spent the last week with many of these people and with all of the authors of the Clann project report and am very familiar with their recommendations. As I also said previously, an independent commission of investigation is currently operating. That said, I understand the desire to have some of the testimony in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Child and Family Agency (7 Nov 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I directed HIQA to carry out the report being referred to by the Deputy. HIQA made four key recommendations, one of which was to establish an expert quality assurance and oversight group to support and advise Tusla and the Department on the implementation of the recommendations of this investigation report, as well as the implementation of Tusla’s child protection and welfare strategy...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Child and Family Agency (7 Nov 2018)

Katherine Zappone: The Deputy has articulated her concerns arising from the report of the disclosures tribunal with great passion and clarity, and I share them. The Deputy raised issues and Deputies mentioned other concerns when we discussed the findings of the disclosures tribunal the week before last. I raised them explicitly with the board of Tusla when I met it approximately two weeks ago, just before the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Child and Family Agency (7 Nov 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I will do that if I can. I appreciate and value the Deputy's comments on the way forward for Tusla. I agree with her and it is what I am working towards. When we work with an organisation that has more than 4,000 employees, and which the Deputy knows is in transition with its leadership at executive and board level, the option is to work with the organisation and do the analysis. It is...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Family Resource Centres (7 Nov 2018)

Katherine Zappone: Tusla has an important role to play with a number of elements of Rebuilding Ireland, the national Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness. As the Deputy knows, these include a number of areas where family resource centres, part-funded by Tusla, have a role to play, such as enhanced liaison on family support, child welfare and child protection, practical supports for daily family life and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (7 Nov 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I was at an extraordinary conference in Boston last week. It brought together many top-class Irish scholars as well as some international scholars. It was a privilege to be there, I learned a lot, and I am taking much of it into account as we move forward. On the legislation itself and whether that has the potential to form the basis for the use of a template or model for other sites,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Children in Care (7 Nov 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I thank the Deputy for her important question. The abuse suffered by these very brave young women while in foster care in the early 2000s is shocking, and I am very sorry that their lives were so disrupted and deeply impacted by it. The Deputy will appreciate that although the review was started in 2016, it was suspended during the criminal investigation and prosecution and only became...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Children in Care (7 Nov 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I appreciate Deputy Connolly's frustration and the questions that she is raising. I do. My understanding is that a certain portion of the delay, as the Deputy is aware, is because of the criminal investigation. The national review panel was requested to pause, effectively, and now it is back working. I do not understand that it has to do with resources or people. The NRP is working...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Children in Care (7 Nov 2018)

Katherine Zappone: On the issues the Deputy raised about Tusla and its practices, as I referred to, the national review panel is independent of Tusla as well. It is also independent of me. I again appreciate the questions raised by Deputy Connolly. I indicated that I understand that the report will be delivered within a short time. I do not have any more information than that because it is operating...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Youth Services Funding (7 Nov 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I share the Deputy's concern and I am pleased he raised this matter. He noted that the process of changing the way funding happens has taken some time and I acknowledge that. The research was done, the recommendations came and the sample projects are in place to ensure that youth services do not lose out when we move to the final points of the single targeted funding stream. The Deputy has...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Youth Services Funding (7 Nov 2018)

Katherine Zappone: We are in the process of change. As I said, I share the Deputy's concern and understand what he is speaking about from the perspective of having done that work professionally. I also know that the people who are providing the service, the organisations that Deputy Curran is speaking about, largely have been participating in a process with my Department to try to do this in the best possible...