Results 15,141-15,160 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Adoption Legislation (19 Sep 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I must point out the paradox in the Deputy's question in that he is asking me to deal with particular cases in regard to a country with which we do not have a bilateral agreement and which is a non-Hague country, namely, Russia. At the same time, the Deputy is questioning why I might want to examine the implications of bilaterals. First, there is no question of moving away from the Hague...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Youth Services Funding (19 Sep 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: My Department provides a range of funding schemes and supports to the youth sector. In 2013 funding of some €53.5 million has been made available for these schemes. This funding will support youth work programmes and youth services serving some 400,000 young people, delivered by over 1,400 youth work personnel, who in turn support a large volunteer base of some 40,000 individuals. ...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Youth Services Funding (19 Sep 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I suppose that if the Deputy asked any Minister in this House about the budgetary situation over the past few years, he or she would have to agree there has been an impact because of the overall financial situation we face. We are prioritising managing the public finances, improving our rates of growth and dealing with unemployment because that is what will make a difference in the overall...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Youth Services Funding (19 Sep 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Perhaps the Deputy will correspond with me further on that suggestion about the small grants fund. If there are particular services she feels are being unduly affected, perhaps she would bring those to my attention and I would be very happy to examine that. We are genuinely trying to protect front-line services as much as possible.

Other Questions: Foster Care Provision (19 Sep 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Approximately 92% of all children in care in Ireland are in the care of a foster family. This is very high by international standards and is a welcome situation. Almost 6,000 children are in foster care, of whom over 4,000 are in general foster care, with the remainder, some 2,000 children, with relatives. In 2013, the HSE undertook a national foster care recruitment campaign because...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social Workers Recruitment (19 Sep 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: There is a question about case work management which must be answered, and that is how many high-risk cases can be carried by any one social worker in a team. A review of the social work caseload is under way which involves management and staff union input. I eagerly await the results to see precisely what is being stated about the caseloads Irish social workers carry, whether it is a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Adoption Legislation (19 Sep 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Adoption Act 2010, which entered into force on 1 November 2010, gives force of law to the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. The Act was written against the backdrop of the Hague Convention and a commitment to improving standards as outlined in the convention. The Hague principles of subsidiary, support for birth...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Adoption Legislation (19 Sep 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: My understanding is that when the former Minister of State, Barry Andrews, introduced the legislation in 2010 we became the only country in the world to introduce adoption legislation stating that in order to continue adoptions in non-Hague countries a bilateral agreement would be required. This is my concern and it requires investigation. I have read the article to which Deputy Troy...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Early Child Care Education Standards (19 Sep 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Gordon Jeyes is putting in place a national inspection system for preschool facilities for the first time. I am in discussions with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform on allocating sufficient resources to employ an inspector in every area. That will be a budgetary decision but my Department and I are involved in key discussions in that regard. It is clear that we need more...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social Workers Recruitment (19 Sep 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I acknowledge the challenges facing our child welfare and protection services and the pressures facing social work teams around the country. The service is operating in a climate of increased demand, particularly in the area of child neglect. Since 2006 the number of referrals on child protection and welfare reports has almost doubled from 21,000 in 2006 to 40,000 in 2012. It is not that...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social Workers Recruitment (19 Sep 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I acknowledge the Deputy's point. The age and gender profile of social workers mean that their numbers are constantly in flux. Recruitment is ongoing, however. The Deputy asked a valid question about maternity leave given that the workforce is young and largely female. One area in County Kildare recently had nine vacancies because of maternity leave. This issue probably also arises in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Child Detention Centres (19 Sep 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy is aware, residential care in detention centres is very demanding work. We have appropriate practices in place to deal with those violent incidents, as Deputy has described them. They take place in every detention centre. We want to reduce these to a minimum, ensure staff are supported and that appropriate interventions are in place to support both staff and young people and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Early Child Care Education Standards (19 Sep 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: As I have outlined in previous replies, my Department and I, in conjunction with the HSE and other stakeholders, are progressing a preschool quality agenda involving a range of actions in eight key areas aimed at improving quality within early years services and enhancing the regulatory regime. The actions include improving the qualifications for all staff in preschool services to a minimum...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Early Child Care Education Standards (19 Sep 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Let us look at the big picture. For the first time we have national inspection and inspection reports online. They were never available before except under freedom of information requests from parents. We are bringing in national standards for the first time and frameworks that will be applied consistently. This is a huge number of changes. There will also be legislation, which I hope to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Child Detention Centres (19 Sep 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: In line with the programme for Government commitment, I am working with Government colleagues to end the detention of children in St. Patrick's Institution. To achieve this objective, my Department has provided €50 million for the development of national child detention facilities at Oberstown. Following extensive work involving my Department and the Office of Public Works since...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Child Detention Centres (19 Sep 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The key point about detention is that it should be a measure of last resort. We are building a new facility because we do not want 16 and 17 year olds in St. Patrick's Institution but in an appropriate care centre. Great care been taken with the design of that new building. International best evidence has been taken into account to ensure the mix the Deputy is describing is appropriately...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Protection Services (19 Sep 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The provision of appropriate training and support for social work staff is a matter of critical importance to ensuring quality and capacity in child protection and welfare services, in particular given the challenging environments within which social workers operate. As Minister, I have overseen the introduction, for the first time, of new National Standard for child protection and welfare...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Corporal Punishment (19 Sep 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Considerable progress has been made to restrict the use of corporal punishment in Ireland. Corporal punishment in schools is banned, and regulations for creches, foster care and residential settings address the use of appropriate discipline. Corporal punishment in the home, while not specifically outlawed, is governed by the provisions of section 246 of the Children Act, 2001. Section 246...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Adoption Services Provision (19 Sep 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 and 163 together. I have the utmost concern for the position that the prospective adopters who were close to finalising adoptions from Russia now find themselves in following the recent changes to the Russian adoption process. I have received a large volume of representations on behalf of the applicants involved and I and my officials have actively been...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Child Care Education Issues (19 Sep 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 11, 29 and 38 together. The current free Pre-School Year in Early Childhood Care and Education - ECCE programme - was introduced in January 2010 and provides a free pre-school year to all eligible children before commencing primary school. Almost every pre-school service in the State (more than 4,300) is participating with over 68,000 children, or 94% of...