Results 4,001-4,020 of 7,359 for speaker:Katherine Zappone

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Combatting Cyberbullying (28 Nov 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Regarding the Deputy's last request, that has been heard and I will take it back to the appropriate Ministry. Regarding the Deputy's first issue concerning the recommendation for the establishment of an office of digital commissioner, we discussed that at the recent meeting with the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, and the Minister, Deputy Naughten. We are aware of that recommendation. What...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: School Completion Programme (28 Nov 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I believe the school completion programme is critical to ensuring that children who are most at risk of early school leaving are supported to stay in education. However, I believe that it needs to be reformed to ensure that it delivers the best possible outcomes for children. To this end, I am examining carefully how best to strengthen it. Any reforms will be informed by the Economic and...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: School Completion Programme (28 Nov 2017)

Katherine Zappone: There are two aspects to the Deputy's question. The first relates specifically to the resources allocated under budget 2018 for the programme I have identified, that reform of the programme is a priority for me in the context of the recent letter I wrote to Tusla in terms of a performance statement and I look forward to receiving its formal response laying out a business plan and identifying...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: School Completion Programme (28 Nov 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I am absolutely committed to making decisions on the reform as soon as possible. I am deeply committed to its reform. I have considerable understanding and experience of dealing with people who work in the context of school completion and have a deep understanding of the issues involved in terms of the programmes and processes that I wish to encourage as we move forward in terms of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Care Orders (28 Nov 2017)

Katherine Zappone: The first issue is the pathway from voluntary care to court-ordered care and that Tusla should be aware of the trends in how many children may move from one to the other. That is an excellent point and Tusla has already taken it into consideration. It is built into the new database that has been developed and that is being rolled out across the country. In recent meetings with the chief...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Care Orders (28 Nov 2017)

Katherine Zappone: This moves into the second area of the Deputy's concerns relating to what happens in the context of voluntary care and decisions that are made to move beyond that. Those are very valid concerns. As the Deputy is aware, voluntary care is an arrangement undertaken by the parents or guardians of a child and Tusla and does not involve the courts system. We need to be aware of the dynamics...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Combatting Cyberbullying (28 Nov 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Protecting children from online abuse, bullying and grooming requires a whole-of-Government approach. The devastating effects are becoming increasingly obvious in our homes, schools and communities. While my Department does not have the lead responsibility in this area, it plays an important role in a wider range of actions across a number of Departments. Last week, I met the...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Combatting Cyberbullying (28 Nov 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I would be willing to accept that invitation and I am certain that my colleagues would also. As the Deputy identified, we need a whole-of-Government approach. The Ministers whose Departments are at the forefront of the issue need to work together to identify more clearly an action plan for what each of us is doing. Together we need to ensure that plan is implemented. For example, the...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education Programmes (28 Nov 2017)

Katherine Zappone: My Department has conducted an analysis of the ECCE scheme capacity and is satisfied there will be no shortfall in ECCE places for the 2017-18 programme year. It should be noted the peak number of children attending ECCE in 2016-17 was just over 120,000. The 2017-18 numbers are expected and on track to be in line with the 2016-17 uptake. From September 2018, the ECCE programme will...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education Programmes (28 Nov 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I appreciate the Deputy's question and the way my Department has answered it. The issue of capacity is consistently monitored, particularly by the city and county child care committees. I am not aware of any specific capacity concerns. If the Deputy has a specific capacity concern, she should bring it to the attention of my Department and the city and county child care committees. There...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education Programmes (28 Nov 2017)

Katherine Zappone: One of the measures I introduced in 2016 and 2017 was to support capital development, specifically for capacity issues. My Department provided €8.4 million for its 2017 early years capital funding programme, €4 million for the 2016 early years capital funding programme and the 2017 funding was made available to providers under three strands, the largest of which, €4.2...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Care Orders (28 Nov 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I thank the Deputy for the explanation of her question. The information requested by the Deputy is not available at present. Tusla’s existing information systems do not directly track movements of children from voluntary to full care orders. However, I am pleased to say the national child care information system, which is being rolled out nationally, will greatly improve information...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Services (28 Nov 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I would like to take this opportunity to highlight my commitment to ensuring that a quality 24-hour emergency social work service is available across the country. I am pleased to have secured funding for Tusla to establish this service. In my performance statement for Tusla's 2018 business plan preparations, I have asked that this important service is in place in early 2018. Tusla has...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (28 Nov 2017)

Katherine Zappone: In June of this year I appointed a multi disciplinary team of technical experts to ensure that decisions on the future of the site of the former Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, Co. Galway would be informed by international best practice. As I have advised the Deputy recently, I have now received the Expert Technical Group's final report. I propose to bring the report to Government shortly with...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education (28 Nov 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 50 and 62 together. My Department has conducted an analysis of ECCE capacity and is satisfied that there will be no shortfall in ECCE places for the 2017-2018 programme year. ECCE providers have catered for over 120,000 children for this programme year and while there can be pressures in some immediate localities; all eligible children have been catered...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Childcare Scheme Implementation (28 Nov 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Budget 2017 announced a radical redesign of how we deliver support to make quality childcare accessible and affordable for families in Ireland. The new Affordable Childcare Scheme (ACS) will provide financial support for parents towards the cost of childcare. This new Scheme will replace the existing targeted childcare programmes with a single, streamlined and more user-friendly scheme and...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Direct Provision System (28 Nov 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I can inform the Deputy that, in my opinion, the lives of children living in Direct Provision improved significantly when it was confirmed that the Ombudsman for Children had remit to receive complaints from them and on their behalf. Even if no complaint is ever made, the ability to make a complaint to the Ombudsman or Ombudsman for Children is a key right of a child or a parent in respect...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Detention Centres (28 Nov 2017)

Katherine Zappone: My paramount objective for Oberstown is the safety, care and well-being of all young people detained there. While each young person is in Oberstown the aim is to provide best care, education and therapy programmes that will support their reintegration into the community through the development of individual and comprehensive placement plans. The so-called "CEHOP" framework supports the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Services Provision (28 Nov 2017)

Katherine Zappone: My Department maintains close contact with the national youth organisations and I and officials from my Department meet formally with these organisations twice a year to share knowledge and information on developments in the youth sector. A separate meeting is held on that day with the five national organisations in receipt of targeted youth funding to keep them updated on the ongoing work...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Detention Centres (28 Nov 2017)

Katherine Zappone: In light of the developments and improvements detailed below regarding the use and monitoring of single separation, I have no plans to introduce a legal framework governing its use. In January 2017 my Department published A National Policy on Single Separation Use in Secure Accommodation for Children: Special Care and Oberstown. It is my Department's policy that the use of Single...