Results 2,141-2,160 of 11,700 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Emergency Accommodation (29 Feb 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Deputy will be aware that I am currently in the process of extending the termination date of the Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP) scheme to March 2025 to mirror the extension by the EU of the Temporary Protection Directive as it applies to the war in Ukraine. In making an Order to extend the scheme, I am required under the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 (Act of...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Youth Services (29 Feb 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department provides significant funding to youth services which provide targeted services to young people who are marginalised, disadvantaged or vulnerable under the UBU scheme. €48million has been allocated to UBU services in 2024. Young people who are applicants for, or are in receipt of, international protection come within the ambit of the UBU scheme, and can therefore...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (29 Feb 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I wish to express my continued commitment to improving pay and conditions for early years educators and school-age childcare practitioners through the provision of public funding to Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC) service providers via the Core Funding scheme, to support the outcomes of the Joint Labour Committee negotiation process. I met with the members of...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Covid-19 Pandemic (29 Feb 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department actively developed supports for children and young people impacted by the COVID-19 restrictions across a range of service provisions including: 1. Participation and Consultation 2. Youth Services 3. Traveller and Roma 4. Oberstown Children Detention Campus 5. Children and Young People’s Services Committees 6. Growing Up in Ireland 7. Early Years 8. Irish...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Tax Code (29 Feb 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Tax credits/ deductions have previously been considered in the context of work by my Department to reduce the cost of early learning and childcare to parents. Research by an Inter-Departmental Group back in 2016 showed that supply-side measures (such as subsidies paid directly to providers to reduce fees to parents), rather than demand-side measures (such as tax credits to parents),...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Emergency Accommodation (29 Feb 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department has carried out a review of communications channels with regard to the Deputy’s concerns and a Department official contacted the Deputy on the 23rd of February in relation to this matter. A proposal for temporary accommodation for Ukrainian Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) at the location to which the Deputy refers was submitted to my Department late last...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (29 Feb 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Officials in my Department are progressing work to finalise the Equal Participation Model (EPM) which will aim to help children and their families who may be experiencing disadvantage to access early learning and childcare settings, through a range of supports, universal and targeted. This proposed new funding strand within Together for Better will ensure supports are allocated adequately and...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (29 Feb 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: There has been a number of steps taken by my Department to increase childcare places: Some €69 million has been allocated over the period 2023-2025 to the early learning and childcare sector under the revised National Development Plan (NDP). This will enable significant capital investment across three pillars: Building Blocks - Improvement Grant; Building Blocks - Capacity Grant;...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: National Cultural Institutions (29 Feb 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: In March 2022 Government approved high level proposals for the National Centre for Research and Remembrance to be located on the site of the former Magdalen Laundry in Sean McDermott Street, Dublin 1 to comprise: a museum and exhibition space, the development of which will be led by the National Museum of Ireland a research centre and repository of records related to institutional trauma in...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (29 Feb 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department provides a number of schemes which provides assistance to families with the cost of childcare both directly and indirectly, these include: The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme The Core Funding Scheme The NCS is a subsidy provided to help parents to meet the cost of childcare and allow children to access Early Learning...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Mother and Baby Homes (29 Feb 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 provides for the release of information to all relevant persons, that is individuals who were adopted, boarded out, nursed out, the subject of an illegal birth registration, or resided as a child in one of the institutions listed in the Schedule. The Schedule as included in the Act was based on the list of institutions that were investigated as part...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (29 Feb 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 135 and 148 together. The Deputy will be aware of the shortage of accommodation for adult male applicants for international protection. IPAS is unable to offer transfers to alternative accommodation on request at this time, due to unprecedented pressure on the accommodation portfolio. The IPAS Centre Management Team has been actively engaging with the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Emergency Accommodation (29 Feb 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy for this question. My Department is engaged in discussions with the owner of the property identified. Once the discussions on this specific element conclude I will be providing the Deputy with an update.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (29 Feb 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I wish to confirm to the Deputy that, at present, there is no intention to reduce the weekly payment to existing Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs). On 12 December 2023, the Government agreed to amend its support offering for newly arriving BOTPs to more closely align with supports in other EU Member States and to ensure Ireland can continue to meet its obligations under the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (29 Feb 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Programme for Government contains a number of commitments for early learning and childcare, including reforming the system to create one that brings together the best of community and private provision and the development of a new funding model for affordable, accessible, sustainable and high quality early learning and childcare. An Expert Group was established in September 2019 to...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (29 Feb 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: In December 2023 the Department launched the Early Learning and Childcare Data website. The website provides a new and innovative way of displaying administrative data as well as survey data collected annually from over 4,400 Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) services across the country, to support evidence-informed policy development and planning. This website...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Children in Care (29 Feb 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Deputy has sought information in relation to the number of children currently in State care in special emergency accommodation, including the number of whom are unaccompanied minors. I am informed by Tusla that, as of the 18th of February, there are 176 children in Special Emergency arrangements (SEAs), and that 115 of these children are separated children seeking international...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (29 Feb 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am pleased to say that a new local integration model has been developed in collaboration with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH), the City and County Management Authority (CCMA) and the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA). The model centres on a new national network of four-person Local Authority Integration Teams (LAITs), funded by DCEDIY, to be located...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Community Welfare Services (29 Feb 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: St John of God Community Services provide essential disability and mental health community supports to 8,000 people across the country. The Government recognises that they are a valued long-term partner in delivering publicly funded services. Following agreement with the HSE, St John of God Community Services has withdrawn notice of transfer and confirmed it will continue to deliver...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Child and Family Agency (29 Feb 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I acknowledge that the situation you have described must be very difficult for all involved. However, statutory and operational responsibility for the delivery of child protection and welfare services is a matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. I must inform you that as Minister I am not in a position to intervene in individual cases as Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, is required...