Results 3,281-3,300 of 7,359 for speaker:Katherine Zappone

Priority Questions: Voluntary Sector Funding (1 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: When I became aware of governance issues within Scouting Ireland I decided to withhold the drawdown of further funding to the organisation under the youth service grant scheme. I wrote to the organisation on 13 April advising it of this decision and outlining my concerns. I also sought an urgent meeting to discuss governance issues within the organisation so as to give Scouting Ireland...

Priority Questions: Child Protection (1 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I thank the Deputy for those questions. Deputy Rabbitte asked me whether I saw the programme. Yes, I did. Even though I was away I saw the programme. It was very difficult to watch and I have acknowledged the bravery of the young women in coming forward. Deputy Rabbitte's second question was whether they should have received an apology directly from the HSE. I think so.

Priority Questions: Child Protection (1 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: That was the question.

Priority Questions: Child and Family Agency Staff (1 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I thank the Deputy for her important questions. I will address the issue of unallocated cases first. Then I will deal with the recruitment of social workers. In February Tusla had 4,756 cases waiting for the allocation of a social worker. This has fallen from the 4,892 cases in December 2017, as referred to by the Deputy. This is consistent with the general downward trend in...

Priority Questions: Child and Family Agency Staff (1 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I agree with Deputy Mitchell in respect of the question she has posed. I posed the same question to my officials in preparing the answer to the question of whether anything more can be done. I would take issue with one point. Tusla has engaged in a substantial recruitment and retention programme. In that context, although we are losing some we are gaining others. Our retention rate is...

Priority Questions: Child and Family Agency Staff (1 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I believe it is working up to a certain point. Clearly, we are not receiving the number of social workers that we require. I have tried to indicate that the number leaving represents a retention issue. We are doing pretty well in that regard by comparison with other jurisdictions but we need to recruit more. Tusla is engaged on the matter. With my encouragement and the support of my...

Priority Questions: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (1 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I thank the Deputy for her question. I know she is interested in and supportive of the work of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes. I am keen to provide a status update on the commission. It is important to reiterate that the commission is an independent statutory investigation. It was established by the Oireachtas in 2015 to examine the experiences of vulnerable...

Priority Questions: Child Protection (1 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I am deeply sorry that the young lives of the three women who were in the foster home in Galway were blighted by abuse. Their devastating experiences while in a foster home in the care of the State are heart breaking. The immense bravery and determination shown by the three young women in this harrowing case is truly incredible. I am sure their strength has been greatly tested in sharing...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Childcare Scheme Implementation (1 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I am pleased to present a positive update on progress with the scheme. There is much work to be done, but we have made good progress. Officials from my Department, along with colleagues in Pobal, have been working hard to develop the legal, technical and administrative infrastructure for the new Affordable Childcare Scheme. This scheme will provide financial support for parents,...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Staff (1 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 37, 38 and 45 together. I acknowledge that the recruitment and retention of social workers is one of the biggest challenges for Tusla with only 200-250 graduating per year in a very competitive labour market. Working in child protection is one of the most difficult areas, and I fully appreciate the dedication of all professionals in Tusla who undertake this...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Provision (1 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I understand the Deputy is referring to issues around childcare supports in Dublin 1, particularly for lone parents and parents wishing to return to education. I am aware of issues relating to the availability of early years places in that area and officials from my Department are in fact scheduled to meet with stakeholders this week to discuss them. Dublin City Childcare Committee, which is...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Children and Family Services Provision (1 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I am committed to supporting and promoting the development, welfare and protection of children, and to help families be the best that they can be. I want to see every child maintaining positive contact with both of their parents, whatever their circumstances. For some children, it is in their interest that this contact happens in a supervised, neutral, child friendly venue. The evaluation...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (1 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: The costs incurred to date by my Department in relation to the specific categories of expenditure identified by the Deputy are collated in the following table. The expenditure on consultancy relates to the costs incurred by the expert technical group in providing advices on the options for the future of the Tuam site. The Collaborative Forum is in the process of being established so the costs...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Mental Health Services Provision (1 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I am pleased to say that the Working Group referred to by the Deputy held its inaugural meeting on 19th January 2018. The group is co-chaired by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the Department of Health. The group is made up of senior officials from both Departments with representatives from Tusla, the Child and Family Agency and the Health Service...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Funding (1 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: The Pobal annual survey on childcare conducted on behalf of my Department provides extensive and very useful data on childcare fees. This survey showed that the average cost of childcare in Ireland rose by 4% or €7 per week last year, which is well below the €20 per week on offer through the newly introduced universal subsidy and significantly lower than the €145 per...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Protection Guidelines (1 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I met with Scouting Ireland on Thursday 19 April to provide the organisation with an opportunity to clarify the revelations highlighted in the media coverage which have raises reputational questions for the organisation. I was informed at that meeting of the organisation’s plans to reform the governance of the organisation and to put new structures in place.  Scouting Ireland...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Protection (1 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 46 and 57 together. Officials from my Department have been in contact with this organisation in relation to the allegations made. They were informed that the organisation carried out its own internal investigation into handling of the allegation of serious abuse and determined that the complainant had not reported the alleged abuse to any member of staff...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Protection (1 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: The Children First Act 2015 places a number of statutory obligations on organisations providing relevant services to children. These obligations include: a requirement to keep children safe from harm while they are availing of the service; a requirement to carry out a risk assessment, and, a requirement to prepare a child safeguarding statement which sets out the policies and procedures which...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Contracts (1 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: Pobal is a not-for-profit company, which works on behalf of the Irish Government in managing programmes that contribute to social inclusion, equality and reconciliation. Pobal operates under the aegis of Department of Rural and Community Development (DCRD). Consequently, any decisions regarding its structure or statutory relationships require the consideration of my cabinet colleague,...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education Programmes (1 May 2018)

Katherine Zappone: From September 2018, all children meeting the minimum age requirement of 2 years and 8 months will be eligible for a full two programme years on the Early Childhood Care and Education programme (ECCE). The upper age ECCE requirement is that the child must not reach 5 years and 6 months before the end of the programme year. Some children will not be able to commence their ECCE in September...