Results 721-740 of 21,128 for speaker:James Reilly

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care Education (28 Apr 2016)

James Reilly: In Budget 2016 it was announced that, from September 2016, children will be eligible to start free pre-school when they reach the age of 3, and can continue in free pre-school until they start primary school (once the child is not older than 5½ years at the end of the pre-school year i.e. end June). The age range for eligibility for children enrolling for the Early Childhood Care and...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Funding (27 Apr 2016)

James Reilly: My Department provides funding to childcare facilities under a number of programmes, some of which are targeted at children from disadvantaged backgrounds, and others which make universal provision. The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme is the largest single programme administered by my Department - this provides free pre-school care and education to all children before...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care Education (26 Apr 2016)

James Reilly: In Budget 2016 I announced the extension of the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme which means that children will be eligible to start free pre-school when they reach the age of 3, and can continue in free pre-school until they start primary school (once the child is not older than 5½ years at the end of the pre-school year i.e. end June). In order to provide the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Social Workers Recruitment (26 Apr 2016)

James Reilly: Tusla has advised that it would cost in the region of €13.5m to recruit an additional 275 social workers. This figure is based on the mid-point of salary scale plus an additional 25% to cover employer PRSI, travel and other non-pay costs associated with the performance of the function.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Insurance Costs (26 Apr 2016)

James Reilly: Insurance cover is one of a number of costs that impact on the sustainability of services providing care and education in the early years sector. Early years childcare services are supported through a number of childcare support programmes implemented by my Department. In the region of €260 million has been provided annually over the past number of years to support these...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Staff (26 Apr 2016)

James Reilly: As these are operational matters, I have asked Tusla - the Child and Family Agency to respond directly to the Deputy with the most up-to-date information.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Services (26 Apr 2016)

James Reilly: As these are operational matters, I have asked Tusla - the Child and Family Agency to respond directly to the Deputy with the most up-to-date information.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Aftercare Services (26 Apr 2016)

James Reilly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 239 and 240 together. Aftercare is the term used to describe the planning and support put in place to meet the needs of a young person who is leaving statutory care at 18 years of age, to assist him/her in making the transition to independent living. An aftercare programme is based on assessed need, and an aftercare worker will arrange for various supports,...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Years Strategy Implementation (26 Apr 2016)

James Reilly: My Department currently administers four targeted childcare programmes to support low income families. These are: 1. Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) Programme 2. Childcare Education and Training Support (CETS) Programme 3. After-School Childcare (ASCC) Programme 4. Community Employment Childcare (CEC) Programme The combined budget for 2016 of these programmes is €70m. The recent...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Preschool Services (26 Apr 2016)

James Reilly: I have been conscious for some time of the difficulty experienced by some children with a disability in accessing and benefitting fully from the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme. With this in mind an Inter-Departmental Group, led by this Department, was established in June 2015 with a brief to bring forward recommendations to address this issue. The Group concluded its work...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Investigations (21 Apr 2016)

James Reilly: The issues raised by the Deputy are a matter for Tusla the Child and Family Agency and I have asked the Agency to respond directly to the Deputy in this regard.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Foster Care Expenditure (21 Apr 2016)

James Reilly: I have referred the Deputy's question to the Child and Family Agency, Tusla for a response, and will revert when this is to hand.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Foster Care Policy (21 Apr 2016)

James Reilly: It is important to note that any child welfare or protection issue raised by a child should be dealt with under Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children (2011). Allegations of abuse can be made against anyone, including foster carers, biological parents, family members, friends, professionals, other children and in some cases, people unknown to the child....

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Unaccompanied Minors and Separated Children (20 Apr 2016)

James Reilly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 248 and 252 together. The Child and Family Agency, Tusla, has a role in providing care and protection for any unaccompanied minors who present seeking asylum. These children are, by definition, without parents or family in this jurisdiction and Tusla receives them into care on this basis while their applications for asylum are being processed and are referred...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Appointments to State Boards (20 Apr 2016)

James Reilly: I am responsible for the appointment of members to the boards of the Adoption Authority of Ireland, Tusla (the Child and Family Agency), the Board of Management for the Children Detention Schools and Gaisce (the President's Award). All the aforementioned agencies are located in Dublin. The following tables set out the appointments to the respective boards during 2015 and to date in 2016....

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Data (20 Apr 2016)

James Reilly: I refer the Deputy to my previous reply on 6 April 2016 regarding this matter. The position remains the same. The information sought by the Deputy has been requested from the Child and Family Agency. I will respond directly to the Deputy when the information is received.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Foster Care Supports (20 Apr 2016)

James Reilly: It is vital that all children in care and their carers receive adequate support to ensure a successful placement. Foster care is the main form of alternative care for children in need of care and protection and is the preferred option for children who cannot live with their parent(s)/guardian(s). At the end of December 2015, there were 6,388 children in care in Ireland. Some 93% (5,932) of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care Education (20 Apr 2016)

James Reilly: The expansion of the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme on foot of the allocation of additional funding in Budget 2016 will see the number of children benefitting from the Programme rise from around 67,000 to around 127,000 in a given programme year. For the 2016/17 programme year, it is estimated that 89,500 children will be eligible to enrol in the Programme from September...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Data (20 Apr 2016)

James Reilly: Prior to Budget 2016, the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) Programme supported disadvantaged parents, parents in low-paid employment and parents in training or education by enabling those who qualify to avail of reduced childcare costs at participating community or not-for-profit childcare services. Due to economic constraints, Budget 2012 closed the CCS Programme to new applications...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Provision (20 Apr 2016)

James Reilly: Capital funding of €4 million is being made available through the Early Years Capital Programme in 2016 for early years pre-school services, both private and not-for-profit/community, that are intending to expand their service to provide for more capacity in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme. The maximum grant available under this programme is €10,000....