Results 3,141-3,160 of 7,359 for speaker:Katherine Zappone

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Cúram agus Oideachas na Luath-Óige (12 Jun 2018)

Katherine Zappone: Is mór againn go léir sa Roinn seo cúnamh na seirbhísí chúram leanaí sa Ghaeltacht chomh maith leis an ról tábhachtach atá ag Naíonraí ar fud na tíre. San am a chuaigh thart, ní raibh na tacaíochtaí do sheirbhísí chúram leanaí a fheidhmíonn trí Ghaeilge i gcónaí chomh...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education (12 Jun 2018)

Katherine Zappone: Roll-out of the Aistear curriculum framework is supported through initial education programmes for early years practitioners (including childminders) as well as through mentoring supports. The National Síolta Aistear Initiative provides funding for mentors in City/County Childcare Committees and Voluntary Childcare Organisations to offer mentoring and quality improvement supports to...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Funding (12 Jun 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I am pleased to inform you that the €18m paid initially in 2017 and secured in my vote in Budget 2018 will be paid to childcare providers in June 2018 in the form of the Programme Support Payment (PSP), formerly referred to as the 'non-contact time' payment. This payment is in recognition of the important administrative role that childcare providers play in the delivery of childcare...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Commencement of Legislation (12 Jun 2018)

Katherine Zappone: The Children (Amendment) Act 2015, the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2015 and the Adoption (Amendment) Act 2017 have provisions awaiting commencement as follows: Children (Amendment) Act 2015 Sections 6 (as it relates to section 88B), 8,9,10,16,18,19 and 26 of the Children (Amendment) Act 2015 relate to the introduction of a new system of remission in the children detention schools and a...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Strategies (12 Jun 2018)

Katherine Zappone: Following a clarification, I understand the Deputy to be referring to the Baby Box pilot initiative. "Baby Boxes" for newborns are to be trialled in a pilot under the National Early Years Strategy that is to be published later this year. Piloting Baby Boxes is just one initiative which will be part of a wide ranging strategy that will address various aspects of the lives of babies and...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Years Sector (12 Jun 2018)

Katherine Zappone: Significant efforts were made this year to announce the successful applications for the Early Years and School Age Childcare Capital programmes earlier in the year to facilitate works over the summer. The appraisal process for applications has now been completed. Over 1,900 applications for funding were received by the closing date of Wednesday 14th March 2018. All applications were...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency (12 Jun 2018)

Katherine Zappone: In 2018, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency received a budget allocation of some €753 million from my Department's voted expenditure, which includes an extra €40.6 million over its 2017 allocation. Late last year, I issued Tusla with its 2018 Performance Statement in line with the provisions of the Child and Family Agency Act, 2013. In the 2018 Performance Statement, I...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Funding (12 Jun 2018)

Katherine Zappone: On the 29th May 2018 I announced that Tusla, the Child and Family Agency had identified 126 cases where births were incorrectly registered between 1946 and 1969. The cases were identified during an analysis of adoption records that were transferred to Tusla by the former adoption society St Patrick’s Guild. It was during the course of working with these records and in particular...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Budgets (12 Jun 2018)

Katherine Zappone: The National Development Plan sets out the Government`s capital investment priorities that will underpin the new National Planning Framework. My Department has been allocated €156 million in capital expenditure over the period 2018-2022 under the Plan as set out in the table below. The Deputy might note that the provisions for my Department in the year's post 2022 will be allocated...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: EU Data (12 Jun 2018)

Katherine Zappone: The Deputy might note that no EU fines were paid by Department in the years 2015 to 2017.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education Funding (31 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: A total of 1,959 applications for funding were received this year under the 2018 Early Years and School Age Capital programmes. The appraisal process of these applications was a large-scale, fair and impartial process carried out by Pobal on behalf of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, in which each application was assessed individually on its own merits. The results of the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education Data (31 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: There is no formal wage structure in operation in the early years sector. Rates of pay are primarily a matter for childcare practitioners and their employers. However, the annual Early Years Sector Profile, published by Pobal, contains useful information on pay including pay rates for the various positions in the sector and county breakdowns of pay rates. The profile also...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Expenditure (31 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: My Department provides funding to childcare services for the delivery of a range of subvented childcare schemes to support families to engage in work or training (CCS and TEC). These scheme subsidies are deducted from the cost to the parent of the childcare they require. The ECCE / pre-school scheme provides early years care and education to 117,000 children approximately per...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education (31 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: As the Deputy will be aware, my Department introduced a qualifications minimum standard into the Early Years sector in Ireland, through the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016. This was enabled in part by a minimum qualification threshold having already been a requirement of Early Years services offering the universal pre-school provision, known as the ECCE...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education Expenditure (31 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: A precise and accurate answer to this question is difficult owing to the many variables involved in defining and calculating the various elements. To assist in answering the question, we have used data from the latest Pobal Early Years Sector Profile. This indicated that some 27,000 staff work in the formal childcare sector, half of which are working full time, and that...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Childcare Scheme Expenditure (31 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: The start date for the Affordable Childcare Scheme (ACS) has not yet been confirmed. The procurement process for the external IT developer for the project is nearly complete, and when the developer is in place and has been able to validate the timeline for completion of the project, I will then announce the planned start date. I have already publicly stated that the existing...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Community Childcare Subvention Programme (31 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: The ‘September Measures’ relates to the introduction of the Community Childcare Subvention Universal (CCSU) payment and the increase in band rates across the different strands of the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) and the Training and Employment Childcare (TEC) Schemes. The increases in supports to Childcare providers which have been provided from September 2017, for...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Services (31 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, has statutory responsibility for the provision of care and protection to victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. In 2018, Tusla is providing €23.8 million in funding to domestic, sexual and gender based violence services, an increase of €1.7m over 2017 funding. This includes funding for some 58 services throughout the country....

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Funding (31 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: In 2018, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency received a budget allocation of some €753 million from my Department's voted expenditure, which includes an extra €40.6 million over its 2017 allocation. Late last year, I issued Tusla with its 2018 Performance Statement in line with the provisions of the Child and Family Agency Act, 2013. Tusla prepared its...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education Funding (31 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: The Department secured an additional €20m of Early Years Care and Education funding in Budget 2018.  This funding was obtained to improve the quality, accessibility and affordability of Early Years Care and Education, through the following policy measures: - Expand ECCE entitlement from an average of 61 weeks to two full programme years (76 weeks) for all qualifying children. -...