Results 5,681-5,700 of 7,359 for speaker:Katherine Zappone

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Appointments to State Boards (16 Dec 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I am responsible for the appointment of members to the boards of the Adoption Authority of Ireland, the Child and Family Agency (Tusla), Gaisce (the President's Award) and the Board of Management for Oberstown Children Detention Campus. The following table sets out the information requested by the Deputy. State Board Number of positions on each Board Positions Currently Filled Number of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Justice Strategy (16 Dec 2016)

Katherine Zappone: The development of a Bail Supervision Scheme on a pilot basis was identified as a part of the Youth Justice Action Plan 2014 - 2018. The Bail Supervision Scheme has commenced on a pilot basis and began to accept referrals of children from 12 October 2016. The Scheme will provide more therapeutic supports in the community for children who are subject to bail conditions by providing a...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Area Based Childhood Programme (16 Dec 2016)

Katherine Zappone: The Area Based Childhood (ABC) Programme is a joint prevention and early intervention initiative led by my Department and The Atlantic Philanthropies. The ABC Programme commenced in 2013 and was co-funded for the period 2013 to 2017 in the amount of €29.7m. The programme is managed by the Centre for Effective Services and Pobal on behalf of the funders. The aim the programme is to...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Reports (16 Dec 2016)

Katherine Zappone: The second annual report on Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures: the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People (2014-2020) was published in August 2016, and is available to the public on my Department’s website. This covers implementation for the second year of the framework, April 2015 to 2016. My Department has taken an innovative approach to development of the annual...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Capitation Grants (16 Dec 2016)

Katherine Zappone: The detailed information sought by the Deputy is not available in my Department in the format requested. It is not possible to break this information down by month or calendar year but it can instead be provided by programme year. ECCE Capitation payments had been administered by my Department prior to September 2016 and by Pobal since September 2016. Officials in my Department are compiling...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Regulation (16 Dec 2016)

Katherine Zappone: The Childcare Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations were published on 4 May 2016 and commenced on 30 June 2016.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Legislative Measures (16 Dec 2016)

Katherine Zappone: As the Deputy will be aware, the Children First Act 2015 was signed into law on 19 November 2015, in accordance with a key commitment in the Programme for Government, and provides for, inter alia - - mandatory reporting by key professionals, - mandated assisting, - comprehensive risk assessment and preparation of Child Safeguarding Statements by services for children, and ...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Data (16 Dec 2016)

Katherine Zappone: The following table shows a breakdown of the number of children in care by area at the end of 2014, 2015 and at the end of September 2016: Area 2014 2015 2016 (end Sept) Cork 928 899 866 Dublin North City 626 625 609 Mid West 592 605 596 Dublin North 306 331 327 Waterford Wexford 497 447 436 Galway/Roscommon 484 407 436 Kerry 146 145 154 Dublin South Central 407 393 394 Dublin...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Funding (16 Dec 2016)

Katherine Zappone: Capital funding of €4.5m in respect of the Childcare Sector was made available in Budget 2017 and I intend to bring forward proposals for a grant funding scheme to access this funding in early 2017. I intend that this funding will be available to childcare services seeking to increase the capacity, quality and/or efficiency of their services. Over 1,000 services received capital...

Other Questions: Child Protection (14 Dec 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I have reviewed the Barnardos report and its recommendations, many of which we anticipate having in train. For example, one of the recommendations is the ratification of the Istanbul convention. In the 2017 budget, some of the moneys I am providing to Tusla for the unit on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is to provide it with the resources to prepare us for the ratification of...

Other Questions: Preschool Services (14 Dec 2016)

Katherine Zappone: As the Deputy knows, we launched the access and inclusion model in 2016 and are in the process of rolling it out. There are seven levels of support. During the initial months, we got huge uptake and response to the model. The objective of the programme is to ensure children with any form of disability are able to participate in our free preschool settings and to change the culture in those...

Other Questions: Preschool Services (14 Dec 2016)

Katherine Zappone: Those are excellent questions and I will refer to my officials regarding the particular cases the Deputy identified and with which we are already in communication. It is always important, as a Minister, to respond to what is in front of me, individually, whether it is a person or an issue, as well as the overall policy and programme. This provides me with the best ways of understanding how...

Other Questions: Child Protection (14 Dec 2016)

Katherine Zappone: A couple of weeks ago, I chaired the first interdepartmental group whose responsibility it is to ensure and oversee the commencement of the Children First Act in 2017. Many of them had been around that table before with regard to the development and implementation of the Children First guidelines. They are familiar with it from an interdepartmental perspective in terms of the...

Other Questions: Child Protection (14 Dec 2016)

Katherine Zappone: It is my greatest hope and ambition. Am I satisfied it absolutely will not happen? It would be dishonest to say "yes". I am satisfied that under my responsibility, the people I work with are pulling together, in particular in the interdepartmental group, and they are all working earnestly together to ensure they understand all the people they are responsible for, the guidelines and the...

Other Questions: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (14 Dec 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I am aware of the request by the group in question to remove the word "home" from the arrangements for the commission of investigation into mother and baby homes and certain related matters and to replace it with the word "institution". When the term "home" is used to describe institutions such as mother and baby homes, it may not sit easily with some given the general perception and...

Other Questions: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (14 Dec 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I thank the Deputy for drawing attention to this. I share her empathy and commitment. I will say a little bit more about the use of the word "home" because it is important that we put a spotlight on this now. In light of the issues raised by this group, what I have been trying to say is that, by definition, legal instruments are technical in nature and the language used must be precise. I...

Other Questions: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (14 Dec 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I remember well the evidence provided by the mixed race group when I was a member of the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality. Their evidence was very powerful and impactful. I hope some of them were in the position to offer testimony and to bear witness to the commission. It is important and, as the Deputy has said, it demonstrates the different ways in which the experience of...

Other Questions: Child Protection (14 Dec 2016)

Katherine Zappone: As Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, I am greatly saddened by the levels of domestic violence in our country and the impact this has on our children. Many cases are covered by the media but many others remain hidden, as the Deputy will be aware. While overall policy responsibility for domestic, sexual and gender-based violence rests with the Department of Justice and Equality, it is...

Other Questions: Child Detention Centres (14 Dec 2016)

Katherine Zappone: As I indicated, I also met the staff and have listened to their concerns. There are contingency plans in place if there is a strike. Conversations are taking place, along with efforts to get the parties back around the table to resolve the issues, particularly those relating to safety. Works by the Office of Public Works are moving forward. I do not have the exact details for Deputy...

Other Questions: Domestic Violence Policy (14 Dec 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I am in the process of providing observations on the domestic violence Bill, which was recently circulated to Departments by the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality for comment. I welcome the expansion of the existing provisions of domestic violence legislation. The Bill will have legal, operational and potential resource implications for Tusla, which is committed to all...