Results 17,921-17,940 of 21,096 for speaker:Charles Flanagan

Other Questions: Child Abuse Prevention (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: The Deputy raises an important issue. Notwithstanding the additional resources to which I referred, the prioritisation of current services and the provision of additional services, as proposed by all Deputies, we must acknowledge the demand pressures being experienced in children and youth services as a result of social factors and demographics. The Deputy raised two specific issues,...

Other Questions: Child Detention Centres (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: I thank the Deputy for raising those very important points. I wish to assure him that the delivery of child detention services is very much focused on education and rehabilitation of those involved and those in detention. This is in order to minimise re-offending and to support the early re-integration into the community. A number of criteria have been taken into account in assessing the...

Other Questions: Child Detention Centres (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: On the HR issues to which the Deputy referred, a recruitment process carried out in late 2013 has resulted in the appointment of a campus manager for the Oberstown campus. The manager reports to the board of management and is responsible for driving the reforms that are taking place at Oberstown. I advise further that a care staff recruitment programme to meet the needs of the increased...

Other Questions: Child Detention Centres (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: I undertake to have a look at the report to which the Deputy referred and, if appropriate, to take matters further. As Members will be aware and I am sure will agree, the ultimate goal is the creation of a single cohesive national detention facility on the Oberstown campus through the integration of the three children detention schools, CDS. As I stated earlier, I intend to visit the site...

Other Questions: Child Detention Centres (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: I thank the Deputy for his question. He will be aware there is a commitment in the programme for Government to end the practice of detaining children, which under the Children Act means all young people up to the age of 18 years, in adult facilities. This will be met later this year when the extension of the Oberstown campus results in the transfer of responsibility for 17 year old boys...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Child Care Services Provision (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: The Deputy is aware that as far as the capital funding for the current year is concerned we are targeting the scheme towards community not-for-profit child care services. I am sure the Deputy will agree the priority must be to ensure the continuation of the provision of a quality service, particularly in areas of disadvantage in the Deputy's constituency and beyond. I reiterate the fact...

Other Questions: Child Detention Centres (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: There is a commitment in the programme for Government to end the practice of detaining children in adult prison facilities, which under the Children Act 2001 means all young people up to the age of 18 years. I wish to assure the House that this will be at the top of my agenda, as it was for my predecessor. The transfer of responsibility for 16 year old boys has already taken place and this...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Child Care Services Provision (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: If I do not have the information to hand I will forward it to the Deputy as early as possible. I refer to my initial response to Deputy Troy who seeks more capital investment and more money. He will be aware that between 2008 and 2011 his own party in government cut €384 million or 60% from the child care budget. It is a bit rich for him to come to the House and bemoan the lack of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Adoption Legislation (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: I do not accept what the Deputy said that this is a recipe for delay. I am committed to having this review at the earliest opportunity. The chair of the Adoption Authority of Ireland, Dr. Geoffrey Shannon, has been asked by my Department to carry out a review of the Act. There is a number of issues which he quite rightly referred to as being important in the context of change. As the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Adoption Legislation (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: There are issues which have raised significant legal and policy questions that need to be resolved. I accept they need to be resolved but they need to be resolved in the broader framework of family law relating to parentage and guardianship. It is a complex and technical issue and it will be done.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Child Care Services Provision (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: To date, a range of capital investment programmes have supported progress in improving the quality of early childhood care and education services provided to children, including the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme, the National Childcare Investment Programme and the Early Years Capital Programmes 2012 and 2013. Some €2.5 million capital funding is being made available in 2014...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Adoption Legislation (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: I assure the Deputy that there is no cooling off as far as I am concerned over how this issue is listed or prioritised. I am unable to give a definite timeframe, but I fully agree with the Deputy that this is an anomaly that must be addressed. I agree that it is a most sensitive and personal issue, visiting trauma and upset on all those involved. However, it would not be appropriate to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Preschool Services (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: Regarding the Deputy's final supplementary, this is an issue upon which there has been considerable discussion during the past number of years. It is not something that is directly under the remit of this Department and it involves engagement with other Departments. It will impact substantially on local government funding but I undertake, as the Deputy suggested, to have a further look at...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Adoption Legislation (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: The Deputy could be surprised.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Adoption Legislation (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 100 and 102 together. I thank the Deputy for his questions and I know this is a matter upon which he has engaged on previous occasions with the previous Minister and in the course of other debates. Under our adoption legislation, as the Deputy will be aware, when a child is registered on the register of adoption the child is deemed to be the legal child of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Preschool Services (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: I do not disagree with what the Deputy said. There have been developments to improve the infrastructure of facilities. I expect there will be more announcements and more capital funding available within a short time. My Department has introduced measures to support training for child care staff to enable them to upskill to meet the increased qualification requirements and €3...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: After-School Support Services (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: This is one of a number of schemes run by the Department and it relates specifically to after-school care. Parents opt for full-day and half-day care and this is another scheme. I accept the uptake could be better and it will be better. There are 400 spaces and there is no shortage. The low uptake on the after-school programme allows for the refocusing of some of the allocated funding to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Preschool Services (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: I thank Deputy Ó Caoláin for his comments about my predecessor and accept his good wishes towards myself. More than 4,300 preschool child care facilities, which is nearly all of the preschool services in the country, are participating in the early childhood care and education programme, ECCE. The objective of the ECCE programme is to make early learning in a formal setting...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: After-School Support Services (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: While it may be my first Question Time, it is a bit rich of Deputy Troy to use words such as "abysmal" and "disaster", given his party's record in government. The Department of Social Protection has identified 31 qualifying parents and provided them with an after-school place under the scheme, with 42 children receiving after-school child care under the programme in the week ending 2 May...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: After-School Support Services (13 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: As part of budget 2013, my predecessor, together with our colleague, the Minister for Social Protection, announced a new after-school child care initiative which is targeted at low income parents availing of employment opportunities. Lack of access to affordable, quality child care is a significant barrier to many low income and disadvantaged families seeking to avail of work opportunities....