Results 701-720 of 7,359 for speaker:Katherine Zappone

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Years Sector (19 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 571 and 572 together. I am not familiar with the specific €1.5m increase that the Deputy has referred to. On Budget day I announced that €2.6m of additional funding had been secured to promote quality and support the delivery of the Early Years Learning and School Aged Childcare programmes. This additional €2.6m was allocated to the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Services (19 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: A number of quality supports have been provided to the service in question, including by Better Start. While both inspectorates of preschool services have inspected the service, their inspection reports are not intended to provide an assessment of the quality supports provided. In relation to the service in question, the Better Start Quality Development Service assigned an Early Years...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Costs (19 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: According to data from Growing Up in Ireland, parental care is the main childcare arrangement used for children of all ages and there is a diverse landscape of provision for non-parental childcare. A key form of Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) is centre-based provision, operated by private (for profit) and community (not-for-profit) organisations. In 2018/19,...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Services Expenditure (19 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: There are approximately 4500 early learning and care and school age childcare services registered with Tusla, the Early Years Regulator. The vast majority of these are contracted to provide various government schemes which offer subsidies. or free early learning and care, to children. All these services are private, however approximately 25% are not for profit. In 2018, DCYA provided a...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Services Staff (19 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: Based on extrapolated figures in the Pobal Sector Profile Report for 2017/2018, there were 29,555 staff working in the Early Learning and Care sector. Of these, 25,893 work directly with children which represents an increase of 2,006 staff or 8% on the previous year. This increase matches the number of children enrolled in childcare which increased by 9% from 186,190 in 2016/2017 to 202,633...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Services Data (19 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I am not, currently, in a position to provide the cost of a free national childcare service. This is because there are a significant number of variables which, if costed for, could result in an extremely wide costing range. Work has begun in my Department on a review of the future funding model for Early Learning and School Age Childcare, in accordance with the commitment made in First...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Services Provision (19 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I am committed to ensuring that all children and families, and in particular those from low income backgrounds, can access high quality early learning and care and school age childcare services. My Department currently operates a number of targeted schemes to support parents and guardians to secure such services. The majority of these schemes are targeted at low income families. Other...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education (19 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: Overage exemptions were introduced at the onset of the ECCE programme in 2010. At that time ECCE operated for a 38 week period, or one programme year. For some children with special/additional needs, attending preschool five days a week was not feasible and they were permitted to split their ECCE entitlement over two years, e.g. a child may have availed of three days a week ECCE provision...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Services (19 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: Na Páistí Beaga – Magnet Community Group CLG is a community not-for-profit childcare service in County Cork. My Department has been informed that the service intends to close on 31st December 2019. I am acutely aware of the difficulties this future closure may impose on the families and children who attend the facility, as well as the staff who work there. My Department...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Bodies Reports (19 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: The latest progress report for the organisation was published on their website on Friday the 8th November 2019. It can be accessed at: I acknowledge the progress achieved by the organisation in the implementation of numerous important recommendations, particularly with regard to safeguarding issues. I have extended funding to the organisation for a further four-month period, up until the end...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Data (19 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: The Deputy is referring to an operational matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. I have therefore referred the matter to Tusla, and asked that a direct response be provided to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Services (19 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: Low pay and poor working conditions in the sector remain a serious concern and impact on the quality of provision to children through their effect on the recruitment and retention of qualified staff. The lack of consistency of care caused by high staff turnover impacts directly on quality, while low wages are a constraint on plans to upskill and professionalise the workforce. The most recent...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Services Inspections (19 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: Tusla Early Years Inspectorate provides regular updates to my Department in relation to services that are being removed from the Register of early years services or are being prosecuted, and in relation to the ongoing work of Tusla's National Registration and Enforcement Panel. It is not possible for me to comment on individual services that may be subject to regulatory or prosecutorial...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: City and County Child Care Committees (19 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: My Department funds 30 City and County Childcare Committees (CCCs) across the country. Part of their role is to advise my Department on capacity issues and to assist families in securing childcare places, including when a service closes unexpectedly. I would encourage anyone having difficulty in securing a place to make contact with their local CCC immediately. Contact details for all of the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Years Sector (19 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 586 and 587 together. Tusla’s Early Years Inspectorate was given substantial new powers just three years ago. These include the powers to: - Maintain a register of early years services; - Place conditions on that registration, refuse to register a service, or remove a service from the register where that service is not operating in accordance with the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Services Funding (14 Nov 2019)

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 overall budget allocation for the youth sector in my Department for 2019 is €61.791 million in current funding and a further €3.2 million has been allocated for capital...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Children in Care (14 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: The Deputy is referring to an operational matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. I have therefore referred the matter to Tusla, and asked that a direct response be provided to  the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Foster Care Data (14 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: The Deputy is referring to an operational matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. I have therefore referred the matter to Tusla, and asked that a direct response be provided to  the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Services (13 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: As the matters to which the Deputy refers are operational matter for Tusla, I have requested Tusla to respond to the Deputy directly within 10 working days.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Family Resource Centres (12 Nov 2019)

Katherine Zappone: Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, administers the Family Resource Centre (FRC) Programme. In 2018, €16.5 million was allocated to the Family Resource Centre Programme. In Budget 2019, I secured an increase of €1.5 million in funding for the FRC Programme, bringing the overall financial allocation for the Programme to €18 million this year. This additional funding is...