Results 1,601-1,620 of 7,359 for speaker:Katherine Zappone

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Costs (16 Apr 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I am aware that the Deputy has asked a number of questions on matters relating to private residential placements and their related costs. I asked Tusla to respond directly to the Deputy and am aware that Tusla has done so.  I am satisfied that the responses provided by Tusla to the Deputy provide the explanation she seeks. If the Deputy has further questions, I respectfully...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Children in Care (11 Apr 2019)

Katherine Zappone: Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, does not collate national data in respect of children in care and their involvement in the criminal justice system.  Information regarding individual children in care  would be known to the child's social worker, team leader,  principal social worker and foster carer or residential care staff, and would inform the child's care and placement...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Contracts Data (11 Apr 2019)

Katherine Zappone: My Department has awarded no contracts to this company to date.  Tusla, the Adoption Authority of Ireland and Oberstown Children Detention Campus have also confirmed that they have held no contracts with this company. I have referred the question to the Ombudsman for Children's Office and asked them to provide the information sought directly to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: UN Conventions Ratification (11 Apr 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I am firmly committed to the ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. To date, ratification has been pending to ensure that all of the necessary arrangements are in place to comply with the obligations of the Optional Protocol. The recent enactment of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 and the Criminal Justice (Victims...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Services Funding (9 Apr 2019)

Katherine Zappone: My Department administers a range of funding schemes and programmes to support the provision of youth services to young people throughout the country including those from disadvantaged communities. The funding schemes support national and local youth work involving approximately 1,400 youth work staff working in youth services and communities throughout the country. These schemes include...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Domestic Violence Refuges Provision (9 Apr 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 556 and 557 together. Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, has responsibility for the provision of funding, co-ordination and support to 22 organisations which provide emergency refuge and emergency non-refuge accommodation to victims of domestic violence and their children. A refuge facility in South Dublin which has been temporarily closed for...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Domestic Violence Refuges Provision (9 Apr 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I propose to take Questions Nos. 558 and 559 together. Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, has responsibility for the provision of funding, co-ordination and support to 21 organisations which provide emergency refuge and emergency non-refuge accommodation to victims of domestic violence and their children. In addition to this, Tusla maintains a domestic violence refuge in South...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education Funding (9 Apr 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I am committed to ensuring childcare is affordable, accessible and of a high quality. Significant progress has been made in this regard, with an increase in investment in this area of 117% over the past four budgets (increasing from €265 m in 2015 to nearly €574 m in budget 2019). Within these four budgets, a significant amount of Exchequer funding was made available for...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Costs (9 Apr 2019)

Katherine Zappone: In recent years, I have secured significantly increased investment in early learning and care (ELC) and school age childcare (SAC). The annual investment towards high quality, affordable ELC and SAC has risen to €574m, which represents an increase of  117% since 2015. The significant increase in supports I announced in April 2017 represented a major step towards...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education Expenditure (9 Apr 2019)

Katherine Zappone: ECCE capitation rates were increased by 7% in September 2018. The table below outlines the first and full year cost of increasing these rates by a further 10%, with effect from September 2019: Current cost of ECCE  (existing capitation rates) Total cost with 10% Increase Increase First year cost (Sept – Dec 2019) €125m €137.5m €12.5m Full year cost...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Childcare Scheme Expenditure (9 Apr 2019)

Katherine Zappone: The National Childcare Scheme will provide a universal subsidy of 50c per hour, up to a maximum of 40 hours per week, for all families with children under 3 years using registered early learning and care.  The universal subsidy is also available to families with children over three years who have not yet qualified for the free preschool programme (ECCE).  The tables below show the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Irish Language (9 Apr 2019)

Katherine Zappone: My Department committed to continuing to support services wishing to operate through the medium of Irish and I am conscious of the value of supporting the provision of services in the Irish language to children at an early age. I am also aware of the role pre-schools can play in promoting Irish as a living language. In this regard my Department has collaborated with the Department of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Community Childcare Subvention Programme (9 Apr 2019)

Katherine Zappone: As part of its plan to make childcare more affordable, my Department introduced a universal subvention payment from September 2017. The Community Childcare Subvention Universal (CCSU) subsidy, worth up to €20 per week per child, is available for all parents who are not in receipt of any other childcare subsidy for children aged from 6 months to the first eligible point of entry...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education Data (9 Apr 2019)

Katherine Zappone: The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme is a free pre-school programme available to all children within the eligible age range. From September 2018, all children meeting the minimum age requirement of 2 years and 8 months will be eligible for a full two programme years. It provides children with a formal early learning experience prior to commencing primary school. The...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Costs (9 Apr 2019)

Katherine Zappone: Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, is responsible for the welfare and protection of children. This includes the provision of children's residential services for which Tusla requires to purchase services from private providers. The tendering for and purchase of residential placements from private providers is an operational matter for Tusla. I am referring the Deputy's question to Tusla...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: National Youth Strategy (9 Apr 2019)

Katherine Zappone: The LGBTI+ National Youth Strategy 2018 - 2020 was published on June 2018 and is a world first. It is a key commitment for the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) as part of the 2016 Programme for Partnership Government and is making a significant contribution towards the Government's broader commitment to continue to strive for the full inclusion of LGBTI+ people in Irish...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: School Completion Programme (9 Apr 2019)

Katherine Zappone: The School Completion Programme (SCP) continues to deliver a valuable service for some of our most vulnerable young people at risk of early school leaving. It was established in 2002 and became a programme operating under the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) programme in 2005. Responsibility for the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) which included the SCP was...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Children in Care (9 Apr 2019)

Katherine Zappone: The Deputy may be aware that I am not in a position to comment on individual cases.  Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, have advised that all children and young people within children’s residential centres have a placement plan which incorporates the management of curfews and unapproved absences. All centres must adhere to the Joint Protocol for the management of children...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Office of Public Works (9 Apr 2019)

Katherine Zappone: I am advised by the Office of Public Works that the company referred to by the Deputy were paid €56.4m for the construction works, completed in September 2016, on the National Children Detention Facility Construction Project carried out on the Oberstown Campus.  Since then approximately €950,000 has been paid in relation to the replacement of doors in the newly...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Childcare Services (4 Apr 2019)

Katherine Zappone: Assisting families to access high-quality, affordable early learning and care, ELC, and school age childcare is a priority for me as Minister. My Department funds a number of ELC and school age capital, SAC, programmes and I want to see investment in this area continue to increase significantly in the coming years. I am delighted that First 5, the whole-of-Government strategy for babies,...