Results 5,541-5,560 of 7,359 for speaker:Katherine Zappone

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Juvenile Offenders (14 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: The Children Act 2001, as amended, provides the statutory basis for dealing with children who come into contact with the criminal justice system. The key principle of the Children Act 2001 is that detention of a child should only be imposed as a last resort. When children come into contact with the criminal justice system there is an emphasis on the promotion of community based options in...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Mental Health Policy (14 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Growing Up in Ireland, The National Longitudinal Study of Children in Ireland, which is almost wholly sponsored by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, collects some data broadly related to the mental health of children and young people. I note that recent data published from the study found that just under 10% of 17/18 year olds said that had been diagnosed with depression or...

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

Katherine Zappone: My Department administers a range of funding schemes and programmes to support the provision of youth services to young people throughout the country including those from disadvantaged communities. The funding schemes support national and local youth work provision to some 380,000 young people and involve approximately, 1,400 youth work staff in more than 450 projects and 40,000 volunteers...

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

Katherine Zappone: Quality assurance will be an absolute prerequisite for participation in the Affordable Childcare Scheme. The Scheme will be open to all Tusla-registered childcare providers, including child minders. In the Heads of Bill and General Scheme for the Affordable Childcare Scheme Bill, it is also proposed that the legislation should allow for the possibility of additional categories of childcare...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Funding (9 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Quality assurance will be an absolute prerequisite for participation in the Affordable Childcare Scheme. The Scheme will be open to all Tusla-registered childcare providers, including childminders. In the Heads of Bill and General Scheme for the Affordable Childcare Scheme Bill, it is also proposed that the legislation should allow for the possibility of additional categories of childcare...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Public Relations Contracts Data (9 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I can inform the Deputy that the information below is from the establishment of my Department in June 2011. I am requesting the bodies under the aegis of my Department, namely, the Child and Family Agency, the Adoption Authority of Ireland, Oberstown Children Detention Campus and the Ombudsman for Children's Office to provide the relevant information to the Deputy. Photography Costs for...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Funding (9 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I am aware of the additional needs of childcare providers in Cork City as a result of the full implementation of the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016. I am committed to assisting services who find themselves in difficulty owing to these changes, and I will be making an announcement shortly in this regard.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Regulation (9 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 274 and 275 together. Since early 2016 the Department of Children & Youth Affairs has been working with Childcare Committees Ireland to help services prepare for the full implementation of the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016. These regulations have been in development for several years and implementation was delayed...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education (9 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: As the Deputy is aware, the initial Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme had one entry point (September) from when children could begin pre-school, and children had to be aged between 3 years and 2 months and 4 years and 7 months by the September to avail of the free pre-school year (i.e. 38 weeks). The programme was then expanded by reducing the age of eligibility to 3 years...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Child Care Scheme: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Yes, but I have just made arrangements in case we need to stay.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Child Care Scheme: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Of course.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Child Care Scheme: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Do members have a copy of my opening statement?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Child Care Scheme: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I will offer a summary of some of the key points before engaging in prelegislative scrutiny of the affordable child care scheme. I appreciate the fact that the committee was willing to meet me so quickly. It is good to be here with it, as I have always found this process helpful to our work. As members know, there is an urgent need to address the high cost of child care. We require...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Child Care Scheme: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Child Care Scheme: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: Thank you, Chairman.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Child Care Scheme: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I will give the initial response and then ask others to respond to the excellent questions asked. A couple of members raised the question of pay and conditions. As the Chairman identified, many of these issues are outside the context of the Bill on which we are working. At the same time the legislation will put in place very different infrastructure and a way to provide for State...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Child Care Scheme: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: My apologies. What was the Deputy's question?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Child Care Scheme: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I ask Ms McNally to respond.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Child Care Scheme: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: I thank Ms McNally for that reply. On Deputy Kathleen Funchion's question on the early years strategy, we had an open policy debate last December and it is feeding into the strategy which we hope to bring to the Government before the summer recess, following further consultation. I ask Mr. Wolfe to address the questions on family income supplement and the budget cap.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Child Care Scheme: Discussion (8 Feb 2017)

Katherine Zappone: There are one or two other questions I have not addressed yet-----