Results 9,541-9,560 of 11,754 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Child and Family Agency (27 May 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I recognise that the Deputy and others have been highlighting the impact of the recent cyberattack on the HSE's servers and Tusla's ability to support vulnerable children. I have been deeply engaged with Tusla since the attack occurred. As the Deputy referenced, she participated in a briefing for relevant spokespersons from political parties with the chief executive officer of Tusla. We...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Direct Provision System (27 May 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: In terms of processing time, working is ongoing in the Department of Justice. Significant additional resources have been put in to a better IT system but also to put in place additional staff to speed up the processing time at first instance and the appeal stage. My colleague, the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, is committed to delivering in that regard. On the question raised by...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (27 May 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I agree with the Deputy absolutely. My colleagues, the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, and the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, are very focused on schools and on addressing the issues the Deputy has raised. In particular, as Minister of State with special responsibility for special education, Deputy Madigan has placed a real focus on these issues. With regard to those wider...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (27 May 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy very much. I will be honest; I do not have the full information for him as I stand here. I know the Deputy has mentioned the importance of this centre for the wider community before. It sounds like a great project. I ask the Deputy to write to me. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and I will commit to getting back to him and letting him know where we are with the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (27 May 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I know from my own engagement with survivors over the past months that respectful treatment of burial grounds is an issue of great sensitivity. In response to the final report of the commission on mother and baby homes, the Government has committed to a strategic action plan encompassing a wide-ranging suite of 22 actions. These actions include advancing legislation to support the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (27 May 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I absolutely agree. I am not suggesting for a moment that we should place that obligation on families. I did not see a reference to development plans in the Deputy's question so I apologise if my answer was more on the national level that the specific level. The Deputy is absolutely right. We have seen a number of local authorities respond to the report of the commission quite proactively...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (27 May 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Deputy is absolutely correct. Particularly in the context of county homes, a sample of four county homes was looked at specifically but all of the county homes are referenced in the appendix to the commission's report. We are clear that they are all included when it comes to the commission's recommendations. As the Deputy will know, among the 22 action points there is a specific...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Direct Provision System (27 May 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take questions Nos. 6, 28, 40, 52 and 81 together. They are all on this topic. I believe I have some additional time if the questions are grouped in this way. I thank the Deputy for the question. As he will know, the Government published a White Paper at the end of February in which the new approach to accommodating applicants for international protection in Ireland is set...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Youth Services (27 May 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I assure Deputy Funchion that the extraordinary role of this sector does not go unnoticed by me or my Department. We feel passionately about supporting youth services. The Deputy is right. During the economic crisis, funding was cut back dramatically and this had a major impact. I know we are playing catch-up. This year, I was able to show my good faith and that of my Department by...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Youth Services (27 May 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: We did research with SpunOut.ielast year, which indicated that those young people who were engaging with youth services during the pandemic did better and their mental health and optimism were increased. I am aware of that and we have the research to prove the impact. For many of these groups, fundraising, fees and capitation have been badly impacted. Even though we have been putting in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (27 May 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: While my Department does not provide any specific funding for sensory rooms or SNA supports, a wide range of supports is available through the access and inclusion model, AIM, to support children with disabilities to access and fully participate in the universal preschool programme, ECCE. The allocation of targeted AIM supports is based on the needs of the child and the context of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Childcare Services (27 May 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I am concerned to hear about any individual provider proposing to increase charges to parents at a time when the Government continues to support early learning and childcare to a significant extent. In view of the amount of State support, increases of this nature are just not justified at this time. One of my key priorities is to achieve...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Childcare Services (27 May 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: Affordable and high-quality childcare is an absolute priority for me and my Department. We have gone to great lengths throughout the pandemic to keep services open across the country. In the lockdown in January, we kept services open for the most vulnerable children and the children of essential workers. We also made it clear that we will be increasing the level of investment in childcare...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Childcare Services (27 May 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I absolutely accept that parents are struggling with the cost of childcare, and that is why my commitment is to ensure the additional State investment in childcare is tied to conditions, including reductions in fees. The Deputy spoke about the lack of regulation. She is correct about fees but it is important to state the quality of childcare is significantly regulated by Tusla. The system...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Youth Services (27 May 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I cannot overstate the significance and value of the contributions made by volunteers to the community life of our country and to supporting our most vulnerable. In the youth sector, the work of some 40,000 volunteers was key to maintaining the ability of youth work organisations to function effectively prior to the pandemic. I provided an increase of €5 million in funding for...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Childcare Services (27 May 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am aware of the complaint and of the concerns raised. I am strongly committed to supporting all children to develop to their full potential, especially those who are most disadvantaged. There will always be some debate about how best to do this, but I do not believe that the national childcare scheme, NCS, discriminates in the way that is stated. The NCS represents the first ever...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Childcare Services (27 May 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Deputy is right. We discussed this matter previously and I put in place a number of short-term measures to deal with some of the some of the issues around the NCS, particularly the issue of sponsorship, which will come up later today. When I began as Minister there were perhaps 30 children sponsored across the country, now it is 1,900 so there has been a very significant increase in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Childcare Services (27 May 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Deputy's point about school-age childcare is well made. I recognise that there is a specific issue there in how the NCS has operated in the context of existing provision of school-age childcare. There are two reviews. The first is the review of the first year of the implementation of the NCS. We expect that to be completed in the final quarter of this year and the information to...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Registration of Births (27 May 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am committed to addressing the distressing situation of those affected by the St. Patrick’s Guild Illegal Birth Registrations. In February, I established an Interdepartmental Group to develop a set of integrated proposals that would address the issues arising for these individuals.They span a range of areas including, in particular, birth registration, identity, parentage and...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (27 May 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: The National Childcare scheme launched in November 2019, marking the first ever statutory entitlement to financial support for early learning and childcare in Ireland. To date, over 105,200 applications have been submitted for the NCS relating to over 99,400 children. There are currently 911 community services contracted to provide the NCS, out of a total of just over 1,200 community...