Results 6,801-6,820 of 11,745 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Home Help Service (2 Jun 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I completely understand the frustration felt by the public health nurses to whom the Deputy spoke, the frustration and anger, probably, of the family he referred to for whom support was withdrawn, and his own frustration and anger in dealing with these situations. I know the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, sees the urgency of the situation. She met the chief officer of community...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Child Abuse (2 Jun 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I cannot answer the first question. Dr. Shannon is an extremely thorough individual, as demonstrated by the reports he has done in the past and the quality of the work. It is important that we give him time to do this work. He made it very clear that he wants to engage with victims face to face. He did not want to do this through Zoom or online but in person. That is why it took some...

Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Referral to Select Committee (2 Jun 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth pursuant to Standing Orders 95 Standing Orders 95(3)(a) and 181(1).

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Child Abuse (2 Jun 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy. First, I want to recognise the Deputy's consistent advocacy on this issue. The Deputy and Senator Ruane in the Seanad have both been strongly vocal on this issue. I know reports of historical sexual abuse in St. John Ambulance Ireland have been highlighted over recent years. As the Deputy states, the case initially concerned three men who made allegations against one...

Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage (Resumed) (2 Jun 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank all the Deputies, in particular those who made their significant contributions yesterday. I thank Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, for leading off on Second Stage. During our discussions yesterday Deputies spoke to the problems of wardship, the extremely outdated nature of the system, the fact that it has been with us for more than 100 years. It is a system dating from the...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (2 Jun 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: First, I recognise the really important work that has been done by the Deputy and her colleagues on that committee and the hugely significant testimony that has come in from so many experts, but particularly from families in terms of what surrogacy means to them. As the Deputy knows, the reason this committee was established was because the Government identified that this issue is critical,...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (2 Jun 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: It is an important question. Deputy Ward and other Deputies have raised legitimate points about the interaction with vulnerable children and, in particular, children who are in State care. When we have different State agencies looking after them, silos can sometimes build up. I have dealt with that in respect of Tusla and the HSE in the context of children with significant needs who are in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Youth Services (2 Jun 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I agree with the Deputy. I do not want to let this opportunity go by without referencing the young adult travel card that the Government has introduced, which will benefit young people between the ages of 19 and 23. This was an initiative brought forward by Comhairle na nÓg to me. I and Comhairle approached the Minister, Deputy Ryan, and got the funding for that, and it applies as of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Direct Provision System (2 Jun 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy. I echo his praise for the huge national effort that has been made by communities, local authorities, State agencies, charities and NGOs. An amazing effort has been made to extend a welcome and send practical supports to Ukrainians. The provision of accommodation to Ukrainians is imperfect. It is something we have had to put in place in such a short period for an influx...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Direct Provision System (2 Jun 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I share the Deputy's concern about the vacancy level in certain parts of the country, particularly in the smaller urban areas and small towns and villages. When the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, announced a package to respond to the Ukraine crisis and the wider housing crisis in April, he changed the measures under which people can apply for...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Youth Services (2 Jun 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: We had a good discussion about the funding of youth services earlier. Unfortunately, there are no plans for a specific funding stream for transport right now. I realise it is an issue. It is raised with me by those in the sector. We have a capital budget for youth services, amounting to €2.7 million, but the vast majority of these funds are for small grants to help services to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Ukraine War (2 Jun 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I remember during the programme for Government negotiations there was a real focus to ensure that, inasmuch as we were putting significant investment into public transport in city areas, and my own very urban constituency is benefitting from that, there was a real need to focus on enhancing the local network around the country. Connecting Ireland is the roadmap towards doing that and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Child Abuse (2 Jun 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy. While the statutory bodies with primary responsibility for child welfare and protection are Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, and An Garda Síochána, sometimes concerns about a child or a retrospective allegation are reported to my Department. My Department is committed to acting promptly when notified of any concerns and follows the principles of Children...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Child Abuse (2 Jun 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: No, I was not. I am not aware of the two cases the Deputy has spoken about. If he wants to provide me with information about them, I will be happy to examine them.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Child Abuse (2 Jun 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: It is my understanding that when an allegation of retrospective child abuse is being investigated, the full processes of Children First are implemented. I will come back to the Deputy in writing on what exactly that means in terms of whether every single adult is contacted. I do not have the absolute detail on that. It is a fair question and I will come back to the Deputy on it in writing....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Direct Provision System (2 Jun 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Deputy is correct about the direct provision system. He knows of my efforts to end direct provision. We have the White Paper. We had a quite substantive discussion about that during the taking of questions earlier today and I set out what we are doing. I have been honest about the impact of the war in Ukraine, which has affected my Department's ability over the past three months. ...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Youth Services (2 Jun 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: Absolutely. I hope to continue to grow the overall funding envelope. We have grown it by €5 million cumulatively each year and hope to continue to do that. The key scheme we are looking at is UBU Your Place Your Space, which is a targeted funding scheme. We have announced eight new schemes this year and announced six new schemes last year. We will look to continue to grow that....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Youth Services (2 Jun 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Deputy made that point strongly when we met. I take it on board. It is good to give some degree of local autonomy when identifying these issues. When my Department and I identify what Youghal, Fermoy or other parts of Cork mean, it is not as good as when local elements do so. We need to ensure there is a wide spread of funding and to recognise the importance of supporting youth in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Ukraine War (2 Jun 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department is focused on providing short-term accommodation to people fleeing the conflict in Ukraine. As we spoke of earlier, more than 23,000 people have sought short-term temporary accommodation from my Department to date. Once accommodation is allocated to beneficiaries of temporary protection by my Department, transport to that location is organised for them. I have spoken directly...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Ukraine War (2 Jun 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am happy to engage with the Deputy. I understand that general information was provided by my Department to Connecting Ireland and the Department of Transport about where concentrations of Ukrainian displaced persons are accommodated. The Department of Transport examined the plans for new routes under Connecting Ireland and acted to bring some forward more quickly. On the two specific...