Zappone, Katherine

Family Resource Centres

Was asked: if her attention has been drawn to the value of family resource centres to communities; if additional ring-fenced funding will be allocated to assist in promoting their work and enabling the centre...

There are currently 109 communities supported through the Family Resource Centre Programme which is funded by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. The Family Resource Centre Programme is a national...

I recognise and value the very positive impact of the work of the Family Resource Centres in supporting families and local communities. The Centres provide a holistic service of child, family an...

The precise level of funding to be allocated in 2017 to the Family Resource Centre Programme will be considered by Tusla in preparing its Business Plan for next year, which will be submitted to m...

Voluntary Sector Funding

Was asked: if she will remedy Government funding cuts experienced by Scouting Ireland by increasing funds to match its increasing size in budget 2017; and if she will make a statement on the matter.

My Department administers a range of funding schemes and programmes to support the provision of youth services by the voluntary youth sector, to young people throughout the country. The funding sc...

Scouting Ireland receives funding under the Youth Service Grant Scheme administered by my Department. In 2016 current funding of €834,606 has been allocated to the organisation.

In 2016 some €2.6m has been allocated to my Department for a capital funding scheme for youth projects and services. Organisations in receipt of funding under the Youth Services Grants Scheme we...

In addition, Scouting Ireland has been allocated €200,000 under the Dormant Accounts scheme to support its Lelievlet youth employability initiative for young people who are disadvantaged.

Following the Budget 2017 announcement, my Department will immediately commence a process with national organisations and local services to identify service development needs for 2017 and to agre...

Early Childhood Care and Education Programmes

Was asked: if she will consider the benefits that would come from improving the quality of the current child care system by extending the early childhood care education scheme and establishing formal after-sc...

My Department is committed to the provision of high quality and affordable childcare, with a number of initiatives being progressed.

From September 2016, the extension of ECCE made free pre-school available, for 15 hours per week, for 38 weeks per annum, to all children from the time they turn three, until they go to school. ...

As part of Budget 2017, my Department announced the introduction of the Single Affordable Childcare Scheme, a new national scheme of financial supports for parents towards the cost of their child...

It is intended that the new Single Affordable Childcare Scheme will 'wraparound' the ECCE programme so that the two schemes align seamlessly to support access to early childhood care and educatio...

The 2016 Programme for a Partnership Government contained two specific commitments in relation to School Age children. The first was a commitment to introduce a new system to support and expand ...

As part of its work, the Group has considered and assessed the many issues surrounding this commitment, and the funding implications of implementing an after-school scheme for school-aged children.

Matters to be considered by the Inter-Departmental group included the demand for services and the capacity to provide these and the development of an appropriate quality and standards framework. ...

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs has also undertaken consultations with children to identify what children like and dislike about afterschool care and to identify the places where chi...