Results 321-340 of 7,359 for speaker:Katherine Zappone

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Abuse (13 May 2020)

Katherine Zappone: Thank you for asking this very important question about the standard of care provided to a child in foster care. The trauma and neglect detailed in the article by the woman concerned, about her care as a child, is most distressing. I am reassured that upon new information coming to light the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission has begun a new probe. I await the outcome. I have...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Services (13 May 2020)

Katherine Zappone: Low pay and poor working conditions in the sector remain a serious concern and impact on the quality of provision to children through their effect on the recruitment and retention of qualified staff. The lack of consistency of care caused by high staff turnover impacts directly on quality, while low wages are a constraint on plans to upskill and professionalise the workforce. As the State...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Strategies (13 May 2020)

Katherine Zappone: The Draft Childminding Action Plan, which was published for the purpose of public consultation in August 2019, sets out a pathway to achieving Government commitments in First 5.Officials in my Department are in the process of analysing the findings from the public consultation process and making revisions to the Draft Childminding Action Plan, with the aim of bringing a revised Childminding...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Services (13 May 2020)

Katherine Zappone: In line with emerging best practice to support the integration and independence of children with a disability, the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) provides financial support to the pre-school provider which can be used either to reduce the adult to child ratio in the pre-school room or to buy in additional assistance. Accordingly, staff employed with funding under Level 7 of AIM are a shared...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Abuse (13 May 2020)

Katherine Zappone: The Deputy is asking about an operational matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. I have therefore referred the matter to Tusla and asked that a direct response be provided to the Deputy. I have been informed by Tusla that a direct response issued on 15 April 2020. I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education (13 May 2020)

Katherine Zappone: The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) for pre-school children was established in 2016 and is now in its fourth year of operation. It aims to support children with disabilities to access and meaningfully participate in the ECCE universal pre-school programme. AIM is a child-centred model that involves seven levels of progressive support, moving from the universal to the targeted, based on the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Protected Disclosures (13 May 2020)

Katherine Zappone: My Department is currently collating the data required I will correspond directly with the Deputy on the matter.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Offices (13 May 2020)

Katherine Zappone: My Department offices are situated in Dublin and there are no offices in the locations mentioned by the Deputy.

Covid 19 (Childcare): Statements (6 May 2020)

Katherine Zappone: I share the Deputy's frustration at the situation around the provision of childcare for essential or healthcare workers. I spoke about that. We certainly were encouraging it as much as we could along the way. I understand that the mother and baby homes commission is still on schedule to submit its report in June. I have been in communication with the commission and hope to meet the...

Covid 19 (Childcare): Statements (6 May 2020)

Katherine Zappone: I loved every contribution Deputy Connolly made.

Covid 19 (Childcare): Statements (6 May 2020)

Katherine Zappone: I thank the Deputy for her kind comments. I acknowledge her extraordinary work over the years, which I have observed from a distance. In making her first point, she referred to an email calling for childcare for healthcare workers. I understand what she is saying about the response and the feeling of being in limbo. We felt we needed to at least begin the process so we could be ready...

Covid 19 (Childcare): Statements (6 May 2020)

Katherine Zappone: On the Deputy's first question, Deputy Farrell raised something similar but I did not get to it. Allianz will give a rebate for insurance costs and Early Childhood Ireland is working with it further to maximise the return. An absolute sum has not yet been decided but Allianz has agreed to provide a rebate. On the other insurance issue, Allianz has agreed that when childcare workers go into...

Covid 19 (Childcare): Statements (6 May 2020)

Katherine Zappone: Deputy Murphy will not be surprised if I say that I do not think it was all a failure. We have gone through a lot of those arguments before so I do not think I need to identify them again and come back at the Deputy, as I often would, with regard to what did happen. I do not think it was all a failure. The Deputy is looking at the Minister who helped to negotiate the temporary wage subsidy...

Covid 19 (Childcare): Statements (6 May 2020)

Katherine Zappone: I am glad the Deputy asked that question. Let our actions stand. Did the Deputy's second question refer to healthcare workers?

Covid 19 (Childcare): Statements (6 May 2020)

Katherine Zappone: Was it in relation to everybody?

Covid 19 (Childcare): Statements (6 May 2020)

Katherine Zappone: Our healthcare workers.

Covid 19 (Childcare): Statements (6 May 2020)

Katherine Zappone: Exactly. My sentiments are with the Deputy, but I do not think those decisions are up to this Department.

Covid 19 (Childcare): Statements (6 May 2020)

Katherine Zappone: I thank the Deputy. Starting with his last question first, and I think I tried to answer this before, it is reasonable to ask why it took so long. I heard the frustration from the healthcare workers as well and I spoke to many of them myself. I went on radio and was public about saying I thought we should have it, and this was before there was a decision by Dr. Tony Holohan and the...

Covid 19 (Childcare): Statements (6 May 2020)

Katherine Zappone: I thank Deputy Whitmore. The way she laid out the complexity of the challenges, her empathy, her representation of her constituents and her concerns, as many of the Deputies have done, demonstrates how big the issue is in general and especially for our children and young people. I thank the Deputy and I am with her in this regard. I understand a little bit about it, in trying to take...

Covid 19 (Childcare): Statements (6 May 2020)

Katherine Zappone: I thank the Deputy for his questions and his opening comments regarding the importance of childcare and the reality of, although he did not use that phrase, the double jobbing and extra responsibility on mothers. I thank him for his honesty in that regard. As we move forward, we need to find a new way to fund some forms of increased provision. I already indicated that even in the reopening...