Results 14,301-14,320 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Child Care in Ireland: Discussion (20 Feb 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: No, it is still in place. Those who are looking for child-care services want full-day care more than they do after-school care. Perhaps they make their own arrangements for after school. There is also perhaps the cost issue, but it was funded. On Deputy Fitzpatrick's point about those who are working in the sector, we want staff to be qualified. We will demand that, by September 2014...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Child Care in Ireland: Discussion (20 Feb 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: In the budget, €1.5 million was allocated for this year. It is quite significant. There has been a strong take-up already. We also gave funding to a number of the national organisations. When I meet those from the sector, they tell me that they are delighted to have the opportunity to get this subsidy and to do the training, and they are hugely motivated to do it. Many in the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Child Care in Ireland: Discussion (20 Feb 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: In terms of the early years investment, we now have for the first time - from the ESRI study on work and others - results of research on Irish children and the benefits of early years intervention. We have a long way to go before there will be a shared understanding of that at societal level. We have not had sufficient focus on early years. While we say we are very child centred, and while...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Child Care in Ireland: Discussion (20 Feb 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: The issue in regard to childminders is actually broader than the point Deputy Troy is making on staff who had a particular responsibility for childminding. It is interesting that, during the period when there were people with particular responsibility for working with childminders, there were still only 1,200 childminders registered out of perhaps 30,000 or 40,000. With regard to getting...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Child Care in Ireland: Discussion (20 Feb 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: Yes. I would like the presentations from this morning to be given to the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. This is a very good place in which to start because it is the Joint Committee on Health and Children. There is no question but that the issues are cross-departmental. It is a whole of Government...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Child Care in Ireland: Discussion (20 Feb 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: That would be welcome. As Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and as somebody who has worked, as have many members of the committee, for many years to develop a child care service that both presenters this morning would like to see, we are very familiar with the issues and many people around the table have done much work on these issues, including myself, over the years. Clearly, there...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Child Care in Ireland: Discussion (20 Feb 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I thank the committee for devoting the morning to this discussion on child care. It is a very important topic and a priority for me as Minister to address the range of issues which the committee has been considering this morning. Very soon after becoming Minister I stated that I wanted a focus on early years because it has been lacking in policy, funding and approach. Child care is a...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Data Protection (20 Feb 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: My Department is currently launching a new records management protocol and database system to manage all records held / created within the Department. The role of Information Officer will be incorporated into this records management function.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Adoption Legislation (20 Feb 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I have highlighted previously the Constitutional and legal barriers to providing access to adoption records, including birth certificates, without the consent of the birth mother. The Adoption (Information and Tracing ) Bill will address this matter but the legislature will be constrained in the nature of any access which can be granted to adoption records by these legal issues. My Department...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Inter-Country Adoptions (20 Feb 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: Efforts are ongoing in my Department in relation to a bilateral agreement on intercountry adoption between Ireland and the Russian Federation. Following my invitation to the Russian Ministry of Education and Science in August 2013 , a delegation of Russian officials travelled to Ireland in October 2013 for discussions on a bilateral agreement on intercountry adoption between Ireland and the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Juvenile Offenders (19 Feb 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I understand that my colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality, is providing a separate answer in relation to children detained in adult prison facilities. I have responsibility for the children detention schools under Part 10 of the Children Act, 2001. The three children detention schools in the State are located in Oberstown, Lusk, Co Dublin and comprise Trinity House School,...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: State Bodies Expenditure (19 Feb 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: In preparation for the establishment of the Child and Family Agency on 1st January 2014 and in order to establish a single brand identity, the HSE Children and Family Services decided to formally engage external support. A tendering process was entered into by Children and Family Services and three companies were invited to make presentations. Creative Inc were selected and contracted for...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Adoption Records Provision (18 Feb 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I have highlighted previously the Constitutional and legal barriers to providing access to adoption records without the consent of the birth mother. The Adoption (Information and Tracing ) Bill will address this matter but the legislature will be constrained in the nature of any access which can be granted to adoption records by these legal considerations. My Department is continuing to work...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Legislative Programme (18 Feb 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: My Department is continuing to work on the Heads of Bill for the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill and I hope to be in a position to seek Government approval to publish the Heads of Bill as soon as possible. However, as I have previously advised the House, very complex legal and constitutional issues have arisen in the drafting of the Bill, in particular in seeking to reconcile an...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Remit (18 Feb 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: The functions and operational responsibilities of the former National Educational Welfare Board are now part of the new Child and Family Agency, which was established on 1st January 2014. Within the Child and Family Agency, the Education Welfare Service has specific responsibility for the Agency’s general function to ensure that each child attends a recognised school or otherwise...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Staff Career Breaks (18 Feb 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: The information requested by the Deputy on the number of staff in my Department currently on a sabbatical/career break by duration is set out as requested in tabular form. Currently by duration 0-6 months 6-12 months 1-2 years 2-3 years 4-5 years 5 years No. of staff 0 1 1 0 1 0

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Staff Sick Leave (18 Feb 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: As my Department was established on 2nd June 2011, the information requested by the Deputy is provided from June 2011 onwards. Absenteeism information relating to staff currently employed by my Department for the years 2009, 2010 and up to end May 2011 will be included in the returns from the Departments where the staff involved were employed prior to transfer to my Department. YEAR...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Guardian Status (18 Feb 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I believe there is a clear need to radically reform the basis to the current arrangements in relation to guardians ad litem. The current, essentially ad hoc, arrangements for the operation and management of guardian ad litem services is a legacy issue which my Department is addressing as a priority this year in liaison with the Department of Justice and Equality. My Department is...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Adoption Services Provision (18 Feb 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: As this is a service matter, the information sought by the Deputy has been requested from the Child and Family Agency and I will be in touch as soon as this information is received

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Care Services Provision (18 Feb 2014)

Frances Fitzgerald: I have been advised by the Child and Family Agency that no child or young person who was the subject of a Special Care Order was placed in a private Child Care Centre in this jurisdiction during 2012 and 2013.