Results 6,161-6,180 of 7,359 for speaker:Katherine Zappone

Other Questions: Domestic Violence Refuges Provision (21 Jul 2016)

Katherine Zappone: The Deputy has put forward his case regarding Wexford and I have agreed to take a look at it. The action plan was very important to me and I was keen to ensure that within the context of the action plan we did something about the fact that some of the people who are moving into homelessness are fleeing their homes because of domestic violence. I have identified an action to provide...

Other Questions: Child Care Costs (21 Jul 2016)

Katherine Zappone: Reducing the cost of child care is a key priority for me and for the Government. We have a number of commitments in the programme for Government relating to enabling access to high quality and affordable child care, including subvention of child care for nine to 36 month old children. I am determined to deliver on these commitments. From September 2016, the extension of the early childhood...

Other Questions: Domestic Violence Services Funding (21 Jul 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I agree that we do not need there to be a gap in services. I fully support the Women's Aid helpline but there are other national helplines and Tusla is developing the commissioning of a service which could mean a number of helplines. It will take a look at the best way to provide a proper service and ensure that, as well as value for money, we get quality too because this is integral to...

Other Questions: Domestic Violence Services Funding (21 Jul 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I completely agree with Deputy O'Sullivan. People need access and it needs to be clear. We need to have enough capacity and it needs to be done right. That is what Tusla is doing at the moment in reviewing the process and in due course it will invite service providers to apply so that we have a better service for the women and others who need it.

Other Questions: Child Care Services (21 Jul 2016)

Katherine Zappone: The programme for Government commits to conducting and publishing an independent review of the cost of providing quality child care. I envisage that my Department will tender for independent expertise to conduct the review in the autumn with a view to commencing it later this year. The report will need to be finalised by quarter two of next year and will be published. This commitment will...

Other Questions: Child Care Services (21 Jul 2016)

Katherine Zappone: The Deputy's question was about me working as hard as I can to increase investment in early years provision. I am committed to doing that and I will do that. I have met with child care providers and county child care committees in the past couple of months and I have supported them in their efforts to advocate and organise. They are amazing individuals. The challenges are to invest to...

Other Questions: Child Care Services (21 Jul 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I am very aware of that and of concerns that some workers are paid close to the minimum wage and are requesting a living wage. I am also aware of concerns around non-contract hours. In terms of their own learning, there are concerns also about accessing the learner fund. We may need to examine the different schemes that have been developed over the years to ensure that they can access the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social Workers Recruitment (21 Jul 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I have outlined a proactive approach in terms of the recruitment campaign. I hear what Deputy Shortall is saying about additional measures that can be taken in terms of retention and support of social workers in the agency. The Deputy is well aware of the challenging child protection and welfare issues social workers face every day, be it on the telephone or coming through their doors. It...

Other Questions: Family Resource Centres (21 Jul 2016)

Katherine Zappone: This is my fault.

Other Questions: Family Resource Centres (21 Jul 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I apologise. I have located the reply to Deputy Rabbitte's question. I am happy to take it or-----

Other Questions: Family Resource Centres (21 Jul 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I am very conscious of the role that family resource centres play in offering early intervention and support to families in difficulty. The level of funding provided in 2016 demonstrates the Government's support for child and family services around the country. There are currently 108 communities supported through the family resource centre programme funded by Tusla. In 2016, Tusla is...

Other Questions: Family Resource Centres (21 Jul 2016)

Katherine Zappone: Let me first address the general issue. I have identified some of the ways in which Tusla has increased resources for the family resource centres. I visited a couple of them, including one in Roscommon, in the past few weeks of my Ministry and it is true to say that we are investing in those that have a focus on child care, including the provision of early childhood care and education....

Other Questions: Family Resource Centres (21 Jul 2016)

Katherine Zappone: A number of programmes are in place in family resource centres that provide psychological support to the people who avail of their services. I hear the Deputy's suggestion on the provision of a counsellor in each one. I will raise and discuss that matter with Tusla over the next while to see if it is an efficient way to utilise resources in light of the other projects and programmes it is...

Other Questions: Domestic Violence Services Funding (21 Jul 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I am aware of the Taoiseach's comments in the House on 15 June during his interaction with Deputy Howlin on this important issue. Tusla has allocated funding of €20.6 million in 2016 to support front-line services dealing with domestic, sexual and gender-based abuse. This includes additional funding of €200,000, requested by Tusla, to implement the provisions of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Homeless Persons Supports (21 Jul 2016)

Katherine Zappone: Deputy Harty outlines his concerns with great eloquence and I do not disagree with anything he identified, except for his initial point. The actions I identified will be helpful and I hope they will enable in a very significant way the children in homeless and emergency accommodation to find ways to move towards a sense of normality, in spite of the fact they are homeless or in emergency...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Homeless Persons Supports (21 Jul 2016)

Katherine Zappone: Of course it is an absolute political priority of mine, as the Deputy is aware. I thought it critical to identify a number of short-term measures to ensure homeless children do not experience lasting damage. Having listed some of those key actions that I will be driving to implement, I expect the Deputy to agree that they may help to provide a more normal or better experience while they are...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social Workers Recruitment (21 Jul 2016)

Katherine Zappone: I strongly support Tusla's Survival to Sustainability plan. This is a three-year plan that includes provision of extra staffing to meet critical service concerns. This includes addressing children with no allocated social worker. The plan involves increasing overall staffing levels in Tusla by 323 whole-time equivalents, with an investment of €19.4 million over the period 2016 to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social Workers Recruitment (21 Jul 2016)

Katherine Zappone: With regard to recruitment, the Tusla graduate campaign has resulted in more than 300 graduate applications and interviews are currently under way. At the same time, social work recruitment from existing panels continues. The graduate campaign has been very well received and planning for a 2017 campaign has commenced and will include colleges in Ireland and the UK. Tusla intends to work...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (21 Jul 2016)

Katherine Zappone: The commission is open to receiving any kind of written submission from anyone who wants to provide one to it. I would encourage such submissions from anybody who is in a position to provide one and wishes to do so. In terms of the numbers of identified homes and also the representative sample, there are quite a large number of people who have come forward and identified that they wish...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Children and Family Services Provision (21 Jul 2016)

Katherine Zappone: Adult disclosure, or retrospective cases, are where an adult comes forward and makes a complaint that he or she was abused as a child. The vast majority of such complaints relate to sexual abuse. The Garda is always informed of these complaints and its role is to carry out a criminal investigation into the complaint. Tusla's job is to try to establish if the alleged abuser poses a risk of...