Results 5,501-5,520 of 7,359 for speaker:Katherine Zappone

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Detention Centres (14 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: It is Government Policy to end the practice of detaining children in adult facilities. Currently all children, other than 17 year old boys serving a sentence, are referred by the Courts to Oberstown Children Detention Campus (the Campus); 17 year old boys who are serving a sentence of detention are currently detained in Wheatfield Place of Detention. Currently (as of 8 February 2017) there...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (14 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: The Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and certain related matters was established by Government Order on the 17th February 2015. In accordance with its comprehensive Terms of Reference, the Commission is tasked with thoroughly examining the experience of mothers and children resident in 14 named Mother and Baby Homes and a representative sample of County Homes. ...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Family Support Services (14 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: The ABC programme is a prevention and early intervention initiative led by my Department. The programme commenced in 2013 and was designed as a time-bound co-funding arrangement for the period 2013 to 2017 in conjunction with the Atlantic Philanthropies. The aim of the ABC Programme is to test and evaluate prevention and early intervention approaches to improve outcomes for children, and...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Aftercare Services Provision (14 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Under Tusla's current National Leaving and Aftercare Policy, young people leaving care are expected to have an aftercare plan. Tusla has informed me that from January up to the end of September 2016, 467 young persons in care turned 18 years of age. Of these, 457 young people were eligible for aftercare supports and 412 are are availing of the aftercare supports. There were a total of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Services Funding (14 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: It is important to say at the outset that there is no reduction in funding for youth services in Roscommon North East Galway. The decision to withdraw funding from the Special Projects for Youth projects in Ballaghaderreen and the Youth Information Centre in Roscommon town, both of which were operated by Youth Work Ireland Roscommon North East Galway, was arrived at based on a Finance and...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Unaccompanied Minors and Separated Children (14 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: In regard to children being relocated from France, I requested that Tusla put in place a project office to manage the assessment and reception of children being relocated following the Dail resolution last November. As the Deputy may appreciate, the needs of the young people have to be assessed carefully. At the moment it appears that many will need support in a residential setting. The...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services (14 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Since early 2015, my Department has supported intensive engagement with Pobal and Longford County Childcare Committee to maintain childcare provision in the service in question. Unfortunately, following an EGM of the board in March 2016, my Department was informed of the intention to proceed with an orderly wind-down of the service. Following this closure I delegated Pobal, as agents of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Family Resource Centres (14 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I very much value the role that Family Resource Centres play in providing support to vulnerable children and families around the country. Tusla provides financial support to some 109 communities through the Family and Community Services Resource Centre Programme. This typically covers the employment of two to three members of staff and some overhead costs. In 2016, Tusla provided...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Services Funding (14 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: It is important to note at the outset that there is no reduction in funding for youth services in Roscommon North East Galway. My Department withdrew funding from the Special Projects for Youth project in Ballygar, County Galway in early 2016 as Youth Work Ireland Roscommon North East Galway had moved the service elsewhere without my Department's permission and no service was being provided...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services (14 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: The systems that are being developed for the Affordable Childcare Scheme are being designed so as to minimise the administrative burden on both parents and childcare providers. Full information on the Scheme will be made available well in advance of September, and a range of supports will be provided to help parents and childcare providers manage the transition to the new Scheme. As part of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Commencement of Legislation (14 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Since the Children First Act 2015 was signed into law on 19 November 2015, a number of provisions of the Act have already been commenced as follows: (i) Sections 1 to 5 (Part I) and section 28 (Part V) of the Act were commenced on 10 December 2015. Sections 1 to 5 are standard provisions in relation to title, citation, regulations, definitions etc. Section 28 relates to corporal...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Election Management System (14 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I wish to inform the Deputy that my Department has no function with regard to lowering the voting age to 16 in local, general and European elections. The lead responsibility for this matter is the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Services Expenditure (14 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: In 2016, funding of €51m was provided to my Department for various youth schemes. I was delighted to receive an additional €5.5m in current funding in Budget 2017 to support the provision of youth services, bringing the total youth funding in 2017 to €57.4m. This additional funding will be used for programmes that target disadvantaged young people and to assist national...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Unaccompanied Minors and Separated Children (14 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I am very conscious of the need for additional resources for the Separated Children Seeking Asylum team in Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, to allow us to respond to the current crisis facing all of us in Europe. I saw this for myself when I met with Greek ministers and with vulnerable families being assisted by our efforts in Greece under the Irish Refugee Programme. I want to...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Poverty (14 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: The reduction of children's poverty is a key political priority for me as a Minister. I have devoted all of my professional life in Ireland to the development of community based approaches to tackle children's poverty and designing and delivering effective prevention and early intervention strategies to do same. In recognition of the higher risks and life-long consequences of child poverty,...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Tusla Payments (14 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I can advise the Deputy that Tusla have confirmed that the arrears due to the person referred to were paid on 23 January 2017.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Poverty (14 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: This Government and my Department remain committed, as outlined in the programme for Government, to addressing the contributions to child poverty and the improvement of outcomes for children in Ireland. To this end, we are leading and supporting a number of key initiatives in the area of community based prevention and early intervention. One of these is the ABC programme, which is a...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services (14 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I recently announced that €1m of additional funding will be made available to childcare providers who have been facilitating the training of Community Employment (CE) scheme workers, to ensure that regulatory changes do not impact on service delivery or the availability of childcare places. In preparation for the implementation of the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services)...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Staff (14 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I am aware that providing care for children below the age of three results in higher costs to services than caring for older children as a result of the legally required adult:child ratio, which is as low as 1:3 in the case of the youngest children. Some services providing this care, including those in Cork City, have been impacted by the full implementation of the Child Care Act 1991...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (14 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I recognise the importance and value of memorials for former residents of mother and baby homes and their families. A number of advocacy groups have made representations to me seeking support for the provision of such memorials. I believe it is appropriate that their experiences would be publicly acknowledged in this way. I am also aware of the positive indications of my predecessor as...