Results 15,641-15,660 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Other Questions: Adoption Services Provision (9 May 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 17 together. These questions continue the discussion on adoption tracing and information. Work is continuing on the preparation of the heads of Bill of the adoption (information and tracing) Bill. My view is that persons affected by adoption or involved in the adoption process should be provided with a statutory right to as much information as...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: After-School Support Services (9 May 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: As part of budget 2013, I was pleased to announce, together with my colleague, the Minister for Social Protection, a new after-school child care initiative which will be targeted at low income parents availing of employment opportunities. As we know, lack of access to affordable, quality child care is a significant barrier to many low income and disadvantaged families seeking to avail of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: After-School Support Services (9 May 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: It is useful to have these pilots before we begin the full scheme in September. It is intended to have the full scheme - the 6,000 places - operating from September. A decision was taken subsequent to the first announcement to do a second pilot in July because it was felt it would be helpful to roll it out in a number of other areas and learn from that. My Department has had a huge amount...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: After-School Support Services (9 May 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I assure the Deputy about the detailed contact that has been taking place. I am aware that the Department staff who have been involved in working with the child care committees have visited all the child care committees and had national meetings with them on the range of issues that arise in their portfolios in local areas. Up to now, county child care committees have been doing their work...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Adoption Records (9 May 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: In consultation with the Adoption Authority and the Health Service Executive, HSE, my Department is examining legislative and administrative options in relation to accessing records which may exist. I intend strengthening the legislative provisions regarding maintenance and access to adoption records in the forthcoming adoption (information and tracing) Bill. An important aspect of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Child and Family Agency (9 May 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I will come back to the Deputy with the details of the school completion programme. Obviously, the intention is to continue this work. There is no need for those working in the programme to doubt its continuation.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Child and Family Agency (9 May 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Yes.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Youth Services (9 May 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: In 2013, my Department will provide some €53.498 million to support the provision of youth services and programmes to young people across the country, including those from disadvantaged communities. This funding will support youth work programmes and services serving some 400,000 young people, delivered by over 1,400 youth work personnel who in turn support a large volunteer base of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Youth Services (9 May 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I recognise the value of youth work and am very pleased we have been able to maintain 95% of funding that youth services receive. It is important Deputy Boyd Barred does not exaggerate what is happening. The majority of front-line youth work services have been protected and will continue to be available to young people. The Deputy referred to various areas in Dublin. For example, the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Youth Services (9 May 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Every Minister has to make cuts in their Department and every Minister will have argued, exactly as the Deputy has, on the value of what they are doing in their Department. I will certainly argue that we should have increased resources going into early intervention. As I have explained before about protecting the funding for early intervention, I had to seek an extra €10 million to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Child and Family Agency (9 May 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Government has approved, on my recommendation, the appointment of Ms Norah Gibbons as first chairperson of the board of the agency. In preparation for the formal establishment of the new agency Ms Gibbons will be initially appointed as chairperson of the existing Family Support Agency, one of the constituent bodies to be merged into the child and family agency. In line with the practice...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Child and Family Agency (9 May 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Deputy's question, to which I am responding, was primarily about the board and its membership. I understand that the assessment of the school completion programme is under way. I will check the proposed date of completion of that work and will pass on the information to the Deputy. It was undertaken because of the wide variety in approaches to school completion around the country and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Preschool Services (9 May 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The free preschool year in early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme, which was introduced in January 2010, provides a free preschool year to all eligible children before they commence primary school. It is a universal programme with an attendance level of 94% of qualifying children, which equates to approximately 67,000 children. The free preschool provision was introduced...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Preschool Services (9 May 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: We need to examine the various building blocks that would be required if we were to establish a second year. As the Deputy said, the quality issue is one that we have to address and there are a variety of ways to do that. We have to examine outcomes. From the research available in this country, the outcomes of early intervention are very good. We know the research is available...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Preschool Services (9 May 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: There are a range of financial issues that need to be addressed. I remind the Deputy, for example, that the Mangan report, which examines the interaction between the tax and welfare system and addresses some of these issues, is currently being examined by the education committee. I await the outcome of those discussions at the committee. Clearly, any decision in regard to child benefit is...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Ministerial Appointments (9 May 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Government has approved the Heads of the Child and Family Agency Bill and has also agreed to the priority drafting of this Bill. The necessary legislative and organisational preparations are being prioritised so that the Agency can be established as soon as possible. This piece of important legislation provides for the subsuming of functions from three separate agencies; namely the HSE,...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Children in Care (9 May 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 and 20 together. The HSE compiles monthly performance reports which include statistics in relation to children in care. These reports are published on the HSE website. The latest published report shows that there were 323 children in general residential care in February 2013, 291 (90%) of whom had a written care plan. All children in Special Care or in...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Protection Issues (9 May 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The recent publication of a further seven reviews, conducted by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church into safeguarding practices at both diocesan and Religious Congregation level, is a further important step in presenting a national picture of how both are engaging with the issue of child protection, and the regimes in place to ensure that proper safeguarding...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Sunbed Usage (9 May 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: The prime responsibility for policy in relation to the legislation referred to by the Deputy lies with the Department of Health. My Department has been assured by the Department of Health that, in view of the potential adverse health effects on children's health and well being in later life resulting from sunbed use, the forthcoming sunbeds legislation to be introduced by the Minister for...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Education (9 May 2013)

Frances Fitzgerald: Nearly all pre-school services in the State are now participating in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme which was introduced in January 2010 and which provides a free pre-school year to all eligible children before they commence primary school. The minimum qualification requirements have, in fact, been increased for those delivering the ECCE programme. During the...