Results 5,961-5,980 of 7,359 for speaker:Katherine Zappone

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child Care Costs (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: The single affordable child care scheme is a major initiative I am pursuing specifically to ensure that the costs of child care are lowered for families, in particular those on lower incomes. Irish child care costs are among the highest in the world and the burden on many families is unacceptably high. While this aspect of the Irish situation is similar to the USA, in other respects the...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child Care Services Provision (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I am well aware that the Association of Childcare Professionals is planning to organise. The association has been in communication with me in regard to its concerns. I am supportive of the right of people to raise their voices on issues of concern to them. This will assist me in my work as Minister in the context of budget 2018. I acknowledge that there is a day of protest planned and I...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child and Family Agency Funding (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I thank Deputy Rabbitte for her question. I am committed to implementing the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2015 which entitles eligible young people to a formal aftercare plan prepared by Tusla in collaboration with the young person leaving care. I am pleased that the Act places an explicit as opposed to an implicit duty, as is currently the case, on Tusla to satisfy itself as to the young...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child and Family Agency Funding (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I am aware of the conference. I met the director of the conference, Ms Jennifer Gargan, subsequent to it and I have offered to continue the conversation by meeting with some of the young people concerned to discuss the issues raised by the Deputy. The benefit of the new legislation is that it will entitle young people to an aftercare plan for the first time. This will make a significant...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child and Family Agency Funding (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I welcome the Deputy's passion and commitment on these issues. The Deputy is correct that it will be important that the relevant aspects of the legislation, once commenced, which I hope to do in the next couple of months, are monitored to ensure their effectiveness over time, which I can promise in terms of the ways in which Tusla has developed monitoring, statistics and percentages around...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child Care Costs (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: Some of the Deputy's questions relate to the workings of the scheme. The Department is working extremely hard to ensure this ambitious objective is achieved and to provide clarity to people on what kind of subsidy they will receive in light of their net household income. This information will be on the website, which we are designing and will have in place before the scheme implementation...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child Care Costs (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I am happy the Deputy asked that question because we have had discussions about it. Yes, I have a concern over this and there are different ways of addressing it. My primary concern is that, as the child care sector grows and as qualifications and workload increase, people within the sector are paid a better wage for what they do. As we implement the subsidisation programme there are...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child Care Services Provision (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I am very pleased that from September 2017, a new affordable child care scheme will be introduced to provide financial support for parents towards the cost of child care. Approximately 79,000 children will benefit from the new scheme in its first year, including 25,000 children who will benefit from the universal subsidy. An estimated 54,000 will benefit from the targeted subsidies,...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child Care Services Provision (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: The Department is monitoring this in different ways, such as through a Pobal exercise on vacancies and county child care surveys on capacity and place numbers. It is difficult to determine what the demand will be, or even what the current demand is in certain places, and to match demand and capacity. I have confidence in the Department's ability to monitor that in an appropriate way, such...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child Care Costs (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: The new scheme which I announced recently is highly progressive overall. It will encompass both universal and targeted elements which can be incrementally expanded over time. International evidence indicates that systems based on universalism are associated with lower rates of child poverty and deliver better outcomes for all children, with disadvantaged children benefiting more when...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Functions (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: The main responsibility for providing prevention and education support in relation to addiction lies within the Department of Health. However, as Minister for Children and Youth Affairs I recognise that every interaction with a child or young person brings an opportunity to improve their health and well being. In Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures improving Health and Well Being is one of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: School Completion Programme (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: Tusla has had operational responsibility for the School Completion Programme since 2014. This includes decisions on the allocation of funds to local projects. The aim of the School Completion Programme is to retain young people in the formal education system until they complete the senior cycle. The Programme is designed to improve school attendance and participation of young people who...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Guardians Ad Litem (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: It is widely agreed that reform of our current Guardian ad litem provisions is necessary to address significant inadequacies in the existing arrangements. I want to establish an accountable national system for service management and delivery, and to provide assurances regarding the quality and sustainability of services into the future. In particular, I want to provide in legislation for...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Social Workers Recruitment (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: Tusla’s social work services in Tipperary are divided between two areas - Mid West Area and Carlow, Kilkenny and South Tipperary Area. At the end of August 2016 the Mid West Area had 124 whole time equivalent social workers and the Carlow, Kilkenny and South Tipperary Area had 62 whole time equivalent social workers. Tusla services are delivered geographically through 17 areas in...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Provision (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I am pleased to assure the Deputy that no recipients will be made worse off as a result of the improvements I am introducing. Under the current programmes, including the TEC programme to which the Deputy refers, there are many families with low income-levels who are not currently able to access subsidised childcare because of the requirement to be in receipt of certain state benefits or...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Provision (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I am satisfied that the new scheme is properly funded to support people on the lowest incomes. Budget 2017 provided an additional €19m to enable the introduction of a new single Affordable Childcare Scheme from September 2017. This is in addition to the existing funding which supports the current targeted schemes and which equates to €87m annually. The full year cost of the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Funding (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I am committed to implementing the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2015 which entitles eligible young people to a formal aftercare plan, prepared by Tusla in collaboration with the young person leaving care. I am pleased that the Act creates an explicit, as opposed to a current implicit, statement of Tusla’s duty to satisfy itself as to the young person's need for assistance and support as...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: My Department coordinates reporting of the actions of all Government Departments in relation to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and it liaises with the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. The Convention engages the areas of responsibility of various Departments spanning all the UNCRC’s general guiding principles, including that all the rights guaranteed by the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I have received the second Interim Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes. I have already committed to publishing the Report. The report has been prepared to address the requirement in its terms of reference for the Commission to report on any additional matters which it considers may warrant further investigation in the public interest as part of its work....

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Disability Support Services (8 Nov 2016)

Katherine Zappone: The new Access and Inclusion Model (AIM), introduced in September 2016, enables children with disabilities to access and fully participate in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme. The model delivers seven levels of progressive support, moving from the universal to the targeted, to enable the full inclusion and meaningful participation of children with disabilities in the...