Results 1,181-1,200 of 7,359 for speaker:Katherine Zappone

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Irish Language (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I appreciate the Deputy asking his question in the language I can understand. I am very conscious of the value of supporting the provision of services in the Irish language to children at an early age and of the role early learning and care services can play in promoting Irish as a living language, which is the subject of the Deputy's comment. My Department has committed to a range of actions...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Recreational Facilities Provision (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I certainly agree that it is important to maintain and service facilities. Some funding goes towards upgrading them. As the Deputy indicates, there has been ongoing and really good engagement between the local authority play and recreation network, my Department, and other local authorities. We need to take account of his suggestion that some of the investment go towards ongoing servicing,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Childcare Services (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: The OECD's 2017 Faces of Joblessness report compared the childcare supports for lone parents previously available in Ireland with the expected impact of the national childcare scheme. It found significant improvement for lone parents. It found that, for certain lower-paid lone parents working full time, the scheme will bring net childcare costs down from being the highest across the OECD to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Childcare Services (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: The first point I will make is that we have outside evidence and analysis that suggests a significant number of lone-parent families will be better off after the introduction of the national childcare scheme. Let us get that word out there. That is really important. Outside evidence being given to my Department supports the analysis it has done of the impact of the national childcare...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Childcare Services (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I will answer that question. It is a very good suggestion. I have had discussion with my officials in recent weeks on the need to prepare for that and on the potential need for more ongoing communication with a wider group of lone parents because of the concerns raised by some of the advocacy groups. With regard to the Deputy's first input, we have heard the concerns of SPARK, other...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Childcare Services Regulation (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: My Department is working very closely with the city and county childcare committees to ensure the recruitment this summer of a team of regional childminding development officers. I understand that we have the national person in place. The immediate task of the regional development officers will be to work with all of the city and county childcare committees to maximise the number of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Childcare Services Regulation (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: The Deputy's question centres much on the public consultation. As I said, we will publish the draft action plan relatively soon. I do not have an exact date. It is then that the public consultation process will take place. It will be a full public consultation over the coming months, which will be relatively soon. The responses to that will assist my Department in finalising the action...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Recreational Facilities Provision (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: The capital grant funding scheme in my Department for play and recreation was introduced in 2013 to support the development or refurbishment of play and recreation facilities. A total of €250,000 was provided each year between 2013 and 2018 for new and innovative play and recreation spaces and facilities, with a maximum grant allocation of €20,000 per local authority. Each...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Recreational Facilities Provision (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I completely agree with the Deputy on the importance of this funding for play areas and that more are developed to offer the opportunity consistently for refurbishment and development. This is the purpose of the funding. The Deputy referred to only three playgrounds with regard to Tipperary. In 2019, our investment went from €250,000 in 2018 to €450,000, which is a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Completion Programme (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I am conscious that the school completion programme continues to deliver a valuable service for some of our most vulnerable young people. Currently, the SCP receives annual funding of €24.7 million. My Department works with the Educational Welfare Services, EWS, to ensure that necessary resources are available to support this programme and to ensure staffing levels are sufficient to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Completion Programme (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I agree with the Deputy about the incredible work of the SCP, the co-ordinators, project workers and all the other people they bring in to help them work in the context of usually difficult circumstances for children and families. I have visited a number of them in my own constituency and outside it. I cannot speak highly enough of them. I also understand the challenges and frustrations...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Completion Programme (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: On targeted work versus universal supports, and what is going on currently in the SCP, several co-ordinators were part of the consultation event and my Department is in ongoing engagement with them and one of them is represented on the task force. I hope there is enough of a vehicle or pathway for their engagement as we develop the blueprint for the SCP, listening to the concerns and the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Childcare Services Regulation (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I am strongly committed to supporting positive reform of the childminding sector to enable more parents to access affordable and high quality early learning and care and school age childcare. I intend to develop regulations for childminders that are proportionate and appropriate to the home setting in which childminders work. The current regulations both for early learning and care settings...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Affordable Childcare Scheme Implementation (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I thank the Deputy. The national childcare scheme is fundamental to delivering quality, accessible, affordable childcare to families throughout Ireland. I am pleased that we are making good progress on the development of the scheme. Many of the major elements are now in place in preparation for the scheme’s opening in October 2019. Following the enactment of the Childcare...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Affordable Childcare Scheme Implementation (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: On the numbers of providers signing up, I will have to get those for the Deputy. We are trying to emphasise that 2,300 is a significant number-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Affordable Childcare Scheme Implementation (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: -----in a relatively short period. I will share the cut-off date with the Deputy. I apologise; I just do not know that directly. On the ICT issues, the project management team and all the other people who are engaged in this, especially Pobal and the contracted provider who has been developing this with us and providing oversight, have worked exceedingly hard. The online system will be...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Affordable Childcare Scheme Implementation (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: The Deputy has asked two questions, the first of which is on the transfer of data in the application process. I assure the Deputy as well as parents that over the past couple of years in preparing for this, we have gone back and forth in respect of all of those obligations and in terms of data protection, especially in respect of the general data protection regulation, GDPR, as well as in our...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Staff (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: The recruitment and retention of social workers continues to be a significant challenge for Tusla in 2019. Tusla is one of many employers of social workers in Ireland and it is competing with other employments that are often perceived as less challenging. Tusla’s new Strategic Workforce Planning Model will be accompanied by a renewed focus on retention of social workers and other key...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Cúram agus Oideachas na Luath-Óige (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I welcome the report recently launched by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Irish language, the Gaeltacht and the Islands in relation to the challenges associated with running Irish medium childcare centres in the Gaeltacht.    A number of officials from my Department attended this launch on 25th June 2019, along with officials from Tusla and from the Department of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education (10 Jul 2019)

Katherine Zappone: A key priority for me as Minister for Children and Youth Affairs is seeking to ensure high quality early learning and care services for children, which includes having a valued and stable workforce.   It is part of the reason I have fought so hard for increased investment. I have pushed for investment to address affordability and access for parents, but also quality for children and...