Results 721-740 of 11,700 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Direct Provision System (8 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Senior departmental officials are located within the Citywest Complex and work there on a daily basis. Additionally, a dedicated senior official in my Department has overall responsibility for the hotel and visits the hotel weekly. This official receives daily occupancy reports and holds regular meetings with hotel management.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Direct Provision System (8 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: My officials have confirmed that the number of meals served to Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) staying in Citywest Hotel is approximately 4,000 per day. Residents contribute €10 per adult and €5 per child per day and are provided with three meals daily. I can confirm that BOTPs are required to check in outside the food hall before gaining access to ensure they...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Direct Provision System (8 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The number of Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) from Ukraine who have stayed in Citywest Hotel and subsequently checked out since Citywest Hotel first accepted BOTPs is 7,702.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Direct Provision System (8 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department is not always made aware of where Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) go to after they leave the temporary accommodation provided by my Department. Therefore, it is not possible to provide the number of BOTPs who have left Citywest Hotel that are still resident in the State.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Direct Provision System (8 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department is not always made aware of where Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection go after they leave DCEDIY-supported accommodation. While it is not possible to provide the number of BOTPs who have left Citywest Hotel and returned to Ukraine, where a reason has been provided on departure, approximately 15% of BOTPs who have left DCEDIY-supported accommodation have stated that they...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Direct Provision System (8 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The number of Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) from Ukraine currently staying in Citywest Hotel is 1,426. My Department does not have access to the information the Deputy has requested in relation to the number of BOTPs who have departed Citywest, and are still in receipt of State payments.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Children in Care (8 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Tusla’s Strategic Plan for Foster Care Services for Children and Young People 2022 – 2025 forms part of Tusla’s overall Alternative Care Strategy across the continuum of care. The implementation plan for this strategy and regular progress updates are shared with my Department. As you are aware, the strategic plan sets out various recommendations to strengthen support to...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Mother and Baby Homes (8 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I can reassure the Deputy that applicants to the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme do not solely need to use the digital application system which is used by the majority of applicants. It is also possible to apply on a paper application form. This is available in libraries and citizen information centres nationwide or can be posted by the Payment Scheme office if requested....

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Mother and Baby Homes (8 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am very aware of the pain felt by survivors and relatives of the deceased who died at the former Mother and Baby Home, Bessborough. One of the most tragic aspects of what happened is the uncertainty regarding the burial place of many children who were resident there. There is no particular expertise in my Department in relation to estimating the cost of a geophysical survey. I...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Correspondence (8 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The availability of high-quality early learning and childcare (which includes school aged childcare) is a key Government priority. Considerable investment has taken place in recent years to improve the resourcing, quality and availability of early learning and childcare. Data available shows that the level of capacity in the sector has risen substantially in recent years. However, I am aware...

Financial Resolutions 2024 - Financial Resolution No. 5: General (Resumed) (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I begin by recognising the huge work done by the Ministers, Deputies Donohoe and Chambers, and their teams over the last months in delivering budget 2025, the fifth and final budget of this Government. The delivery of this final budget gives us a moment to reflect. When the Green Party contested the election in 2020, we did so proposing a manifesto entitled Towards 2030: A decade of change....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Parental Leave (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: It would probably be addressed through something bespoke for that group of parents rather than through a change to parent's leave. The process for parent's leave is a good one and works well. I would like to see it grow. As we know, the rate of parent's leave has grown by €15. I hope to see the take-up increase in the years to come. I believe that one of the reasons take-up is...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The core funding model has been tweaked quite significantly between years one and three. In year one, funding was allocated according to the number of hours and the number of children that a service had but we recognised after year one that smaller services were disadvantaged by that. In year two, we brought in two changes. We brought in a minimum floor of core funding below which no...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I really enjoyed my trip to the Waterford Childcare Centre and the beautiful poster I received from the children and staff there with the handprints on it has pride of place in my office. We will have the opportunity in the general election to really tease out issue of the degree of State involvement in the provision of childcare because I recognise parental choice is really important...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Parental Leave (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy. There have been significant developments in the entitlements to family leaves and working family payments in recent years. The Government committed in the programme for Government to supporting parents, including by extending paid leave for parents to allow them to spend more time with their baby during the first year. Under the Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Parental Leave (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: This type of leave has always been seen as leave pertaining to the parent rather than to the child, as the Deputy described it. That is not to say additional types of leave could not be introduced looking specifically at the needs of one-parent families. This leave is designed to recognise a situation where there is a one-parent family as the result of maybe a relationship breakdown, and it...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: International Protection (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: There is one other piece of context worth noting and that is the war in Ukraine. Since February 2022, in addition to the work we had been doing to deal with the needs of international protection applicants, my Department has had to deal with the needs of up to 100,000 Ukrainians and a very significant increase in the number of international applications. This is just for context which I...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: International Protection (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: To respond to Deputy Connolly, the process is to provide a core of 13,000 State-owned beds between now and the end of 2028. That is what is set out in the comprehensive accommodation policy and that will be done through building on State land and purchasing sites. That will bring us to that capacity. I have set out the work we are doing on State land. Part of that State land is the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The introduction of core funding in 2022 brought a significant increase in investment for the sector. A sum of €259 million in funding was paid directly into services in year one of the scheme, of which €210.8 million was entirely new funding. This funding, which increased by 11% to €287 million in year two, increased again by 15% in year three to €331 million. ...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Family Resource Centres (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: On the latter point, what I always say is that if a family resource centre is in difficulty, the staff should talk to their local Tusla point of contact. Tusla sees the family resource centres as very much the front line of its public engagement and we want to support them. There is no specific hardship fund but Tusla will usually work to find a solution for family resource centre, if...