Results 3,361-3,380 of 7,359 for speaker:Katherine Zappone

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Childcare Scheme Data (19 Apr 2018)

Katherine Zappone: Under the Affordable Childcare Scheme, a family will be able to benefit from either a universal or a targeted subsidy. The basis for determining the level of targeted subsidy will be a family's net income, rather than gross income. Given the variation in tax situations between families, it is therefore not possible to state definitively the subsidy that will be awarded to a family with a...

Seanad: Childcare Support Bill 2017: Second Stage (18 Apr 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I am pleased to have the opportunity to introduce the Childcare Support Bill 2017 to the Seanad. In March, the Bill completed its passage through the Dáil, following positive and constructive engagement with Deputies. There was cross-party support for the Bill and cross-party collaboration on a number of amendments which have strengthened the Bill and resulted in the text we now have...

Seanad: Childcare Support Bill 2017: Second Stage (18 Apr 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I warmly thank Senators for their words of support for the Bill. It is great that they support it, although it does not surprise me. At the same time, it is important for me to receive their encouragement in respect of the Bill and my ongoing work on childcare and early years education and care. I genuinely mean that. I found the contributions of Senators thoughtful and their excellent...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Protection (18 Apr 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I am committed to the protection and welfare of children and believe that there is a moral duty on Government and on society to work together to protect children and to ensure their safety. As Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, I have sought to maximise the resources available for this important work and the effectiveness in the deployment of these resources. From my...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Internet Safety (18 Apr 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I can confirm that the development of an Action Plan is being coordinated by the Department of the Taoiseach, that officials from my Department are participating in the process and that actions for inclusion in the Plan are being considered as part of this process.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: National Counselling Service (18 Apr 2018)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 223 to 225, inclusive, together. Persons affected by experiences connected to mother and baby homes may wish to contact the HSE National Counselling Service (NCS) which provides free professional, confidential counselling and psychotherapy services in all regions of the country. Persons seeking access to this support and other health services can contact the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Garda Vetting of Personnel (18 Apr 2018)

Katherine Zappone: As you are aware, matters relating to Garda vetting, carried out under the National Vetting Bureau Act 2012-2016, fall under the remit of the Department of Justice and Equality.  The Deputy may therefore wish to ask the Department of Justice and Equality to respond to specific queries in relation to any new vetting procedures or Garda vetting forms. The National Vetting Bureau...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Special Educational Needs (18 Apr 2018)

Katherine Zappone: The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) is a programme of supports to enable children with a disability to access and fully participate in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme. It was introduced in June 2016 and is administered by Pobal on behalf of my Department. AIM is a child-centred model, involving seven levels of progressive support, moving from the universal to the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Domestic Violence Refuges Provision (17 Apr 2018)

Katherine Zappone: Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, has statutory responsibility for the care and protection of victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. I have requested the required information from Tusla in order to respond to this question. I will forward this information to the Deputy when it has been received.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (17 Apr 2018)

Katherine Zappone: In accordance with section 9 of the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004, it is essential to recognise that the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes is independent in the performance of its functions. The engagement with witnesses is a matter for the Commission to manage and progress and I do not have any role or information in this regard. The legislative...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Family Resource Centres (17 Apr 2018)

Katherine Zappone: In Budget 2018, I secured an additional €3.0m for Tusla to support the Family Resource Centre Programme. The additional funding provided is being used to support the 109 existing Family Resource Centres, and also provides for expansion of the Programme with the inclusion of 11 new centres. Following a public application process, Tusla recently announced the eleven centres which...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Family Resource Centres (17 Apr 2018)

Katherine Zappone: As part of Budget 2018, I secured an additional €3.0m for Tusla to support the Family Resource Centre Programme in 2018, and was pleased to announce the inclusion of an additional 11 community organisations to the Programme. It is not possible at this stage to speculate as to the level of funding that may be available to Tusla to further support the Family Resource...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Children First Guidelines (17 Apr 2018)

Katherine Zappone: My Department has not written to employers of persons designated as mandated persons under the Children First Act. As with any regulatory regime, it is a matter for each organisation to establish whether it has any statutory obligations under the Act and to discharge those obligations accordingly.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Children First Guidelines (17 Apr 2018)

Katherine Zappone: It is the responsibility of each organisation to ensure that its staff receive adequate and appropriate child welfare and protection training to meet their child protection obligations under the Act.  To assist organisations in this regard, my Department and Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, worked collaboratively to produce a suite of information and training resources, which were...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Children First Guidelines (17 Apr 2018)

Katherine Zappone: Section 8 of the Children First Act defines a relevant person as "a person who is appointed by a provider of a relevant service to be the first point of contact in respect of the provider's child safeguarding statement." It is a matter for each provider to appoint a relevant person for the purposes of the child safeguarding statement. While this person may be the child protection officer of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Children First Guidelines (17 Apr 2018)

Katherine Zappone: My Department will not be monitoring all organisations providing relevant services to children to establish whether they have developed a child safeguarding statement. The obligations of all Government Departments regarding oversight and compliance with the Children First Act are set out in section 27 of that Act.  Section 27 requires each Government Department to prepare and publish a...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Children First Guidelines (17 Apr 2018)

Katherine Zappone: The Children First Act 2015 was fully commenced on 11 December 2017. The provisions commenced on that date include those relating to the obligations on organisations providing services to children to keep children safe from harm, to carry out risk assessments and to prepare and publish Child Safeguarding Statements. Providers of relevant services to children were required to meet...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Protection Guidelines (17 Apr 2018)

Katherine Zappone: Tusla's response to all reports of child welfare and protection is detailed in the Tusla Child Protection and Welfare Practice Handbook, which is available on the Tusla website (www.tusla.ie).  This covers both the immediate and initial areas of consideration and the various responses Tulsa offer to children and families to ensure child protection and welfare concerns...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Consultancy Contracts Data (17 Apr 2018)

Katherine Zappone: My Department engages a wide variety of professional services to provide advice within a particular field of expertise where such expertise is not readily available within my Department. This ranges from archaeology services to the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes to ICT related professional services, such as web design and maintenance. Other areas include graphic...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Legislative Measures (17 Apr 2018)

Katherine Zappone: Since the establishment of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in 2011, none of the legislation enacted or published by this Department originated in work carried out by the Law Reform Commission.