Results 4,221-4,240 of 7,359 for speaker:Katherine Zappone

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child and Family Agency Funding (17 Oct 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I am fully aware of the difficulties in County Cork. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that I have allocated an extra €40.6 million to Tusla for next year. This will bring its allocation to more than €753 million in 2018. It is higher than the extra €37 million allocated in 2017. I will shortly issue Tusla with its 2018 performance statement in line with the...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child and Family Agency Funding (17 Oct 2017)

Katherine Zappone: On children living in emergency accommodation, the same supports will be available to them as they move from hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation into family hubs. Tusla does have some responsibilities in that regard. There has been a lot of investment in family resource centres throughout the country. Existing centres will be able to apply for up to €10,000 in additional...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Departmental Expenditure (17 Oct 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I am open to correction, but it is my understanding, based on communications with my Secretary General, that Mr. McBride indicated that there could be a significant increase in the number of referrals to Tusla as a result of the roll-out of mandatory reporting. I understood it to be a 50% increase, as distinct from 150%, but we can take another look at that matter. It is Mr. McBride's job...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Departmental Expenditure (17 Oct 2017)

Katherine Zappone: The Deputy has asked some excellent questions. In announcing the resources I shared a platform with Mr. McBride and we had a lot of discussions in that regard. He has identified that there are 305 people at various stages of recruitment; that Tusla is in the process of recruiting and ultimately employing the people concerned. In that context, there has been a lot of positive action in the...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child and Family Agency Staff (17 Oct 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I acknowledge that the recruitment and retention of social workers are among the biggest challenges for Tusla. Working in child protection is one of the most difficult tasks and I welcome the dedication of all professionals in Tusla who undertake this extremely important task. Tusla has worked hard to retain staff by developing a supportive working environment. Its overall turnover rate...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child Poverty (17 Oct 2017)

Katherine Zappone: The reduction of child poverty and supports for homeless children and families are key political priorities for the Government. My Department works closely with the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection which has lead responsibility for child poverty in informing the development of this cross-sectoral priority. My Department administers a range of funding schemes...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child Poverty (17 Oct 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I agree with the Deputy that the number of children in emergency accommodation is unacceptable. I indicated in my speech in response to the budget that the Government could be doing more, particularly in regard to preventative measures, in order to prevent as many people and families as possible moving into the emergency accommodation. One of the difficulties is that many children and...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child Poverty (17 Oct 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I thank Deputy Ó Laoghaire for the excellent question. As the Deputy will be aware, I was able to secure funding in budget 2018 in order to ensure the continuation of the area-based programmes that are going on in different places throughout the country. As the Deputy indicated, there are different models being employed in that regard, but they certainly are all focused on prevention...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Departmental Expenditure (17 Oct 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I recently announced my intention to commence the mandatory reporting provisions of the Children First Act 2015 with effect from 11 December this year. It is not possible at this stage to be precise about the amount of funding to be allocated to a specific area such as Children First. Children First mandatory reporting, for example, could benefit from social workers who are dealing in...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child Care Costs (17 Oct 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I believe that budget 2018 marks another substantial further step forward in supporting families with young children. In recent years, I have secured significant additional investment in the early years sector, focusing investment on different but critical elements of early years care and education. The new measures announced in budget 2018 form part of a trend in continued growth and...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child Care Costs (17 Oct 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Those are very helpful questions with regard to the Deputy's original question. On subsidies provided for families to ensure that the cost of child care is more affordable, the Deputy's first question asked if we are on track to ensure that the affordable childcare scheme will be able to be delivered in 2018 in light of the ICT issues. As I understand it, that process is continuing within...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child Care Costs (17 Oct 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I know the Deputy is aware of this, but it is important to put on record that significant increases to reduce the cost of child care for families are being put in place and have begun to be delivered since September. There is a significant sign-up rate for those various schemes, including the universal scheme for under threes, which was the first time that the Government has put in place...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services (17 Oct 2017)

Katherine Zappone: The cost of childcare continues to be a major issue facing parents in Ireland. We remain the most expensive in the OECD. To alleviate some of this financial burden, I introduced a range of supports in September to make childcare more affordable for families, including a new universal subsidy for all children aged between 6 months and 3 years of age, or until they are eligible for ECCE....

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Data (17 Oct 2017)

Katherine Zappone: In 2016 there was a total of 47,630 referrals made to Tusla. Following Tusla's initial review of each referral, just over 19,000 were deemed to be a concern about abuse. These referrals relate to physical, emotional, sexual abuse and neglect, and multiple referrals can relate to the same child. Last year, thirty-six per cent of referrals were for emotional abuse, sixteen per cent for...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Protection (17 Oct 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, has a statutory duty to promote the welfare of children who are not receiving adequate care and protection. Tusla provides a continuum of prevention and early intervention care supports to children and their families who are experiencing difficulties. Approximately 60% of all referrals to Tusla require this type of support. Tusla has made real...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Foster Care Provision (17 Oct 2017)

Katherine Zappone: We need a regular supply of foster carers to provide a quality service for children. A small number of areas have problems in recruiting enough local foster carers. Other areas have good availability, but not all foster carers will have the skills needed for children with more complex needs. Foster carers are acknowledged as the backbone of our child care services, looking after 92% of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Homeless Persons Supports (17 Oct 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 44 and 65 together. I am committed to helping children and families as part of a whole-of-Government response to the problem of homelessness. While statutory responsibility for the provision of accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with individual housing authorities, and responsibility for the provision of a national framework of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Family Support Services (17 Oct 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I am committed to the provision of childcare options for families that respect parental choice and reflect international evidence on how to attain the best outcomes for children. The Government has provided additional support for parents who choose to care for their children at home by increasing the Home Carer Tax Credit to €1,200 per year in Budget 2018. Previous provisions for...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Adoption Records Provision (17 Oct 2017)

Katherine Zappone: The term ‘illegal adoption' is used to cover a wide range of situations and actions including the incorrect registration of a birth. Such persons can currently seek information and assistance from the Adoption Authority of Ireland, Tusla and a number of accredited bodies. The Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2016 will for the first time, provide a statutory basis for the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Services Provision (17 Oct 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 47 and 72 together. I was advised two weeks ago that a decision had been taken by the board of the management company operating Brookfield Youth and Community Centre to cease operations with immediate effect. I was not provided with advance notice of the closure but I believe that the Centre’s closure was not as a result of funding issues. I am...