Results 1,021-1,040 of 11,700 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (9 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Core Funding is a is a payment to Partner Services designed to support quality, sustainability, and enhanced public management. To receive Core Funding, Partner Services must uphold their contractual obligations as laid out in a Partner Service Agreement. Pobal, on behalf of my Department are responsible for the day-to-day management of Core Funding in their role as Scheme Administrator. In...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (9 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Improving access to quality and affordable early learning and childcare is a key priority of Government. My Department has in place a range of supports and funding schemes to support the delivery of early learning and childcare places but services are independently operated, either by community not-for-profit or by private for-profit providers. This year, I established a Supply Management...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Youth Work Supports (9 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Budget 2025 is currently being considered by Government in the context of the annual estimates process. Therefore, the Deputy will appreciate that it would not be appropriate for me to comment further at this stage. However, from 2020 to Budget 2024, current Exchequer funding for youth services and programmes increased from €61.79 million to €77.95 million, a 26% increase...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Mother and Baby Homes (9 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1339 and 1340 together. As at Monday 2nd September, 5,035 applications have been received of which 4,242 are complete applications and are progressing or have been determined. (In the incomplete application category, the applicants are being supported by the Payment Scheme Office in order to provide the outstanding information required so that their...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (9 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The flexibility requested by the Deputy is already a key aspect of the NCS scheme. There is no restriction on parents availing of a National Childcare Scheme (NCS) subsidy if they are only utilising childcare for a portion of the week. The number of subsidised hours available to a parent can be used as needed across a week. The NCS is designed to be flexible and acknowledge that childcare...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (9 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Accommodation Recognition Payment is administered by the Department of Social Protection on behalf of my Department. I am informed that the data as requested by the Deputy is not available. Applicant data is not collected by reference to local authority area. However, the distribution of ARP recipients by county is set out below. Property Eircode County Name Property Count (as of...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (9 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1345 and 1441 together. The service referred to by the Deputy has been in contract for Core Funding since the scheme was introduced in 2022. The service received €481,157.98 in year 1 of Core Funding and, as of June this year, the service had an approved contract value of €498,003.32 for year 2 of the scheme. As of 2 September, the service...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Social Welfare Benefits (9 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The administration and payment of the statutory foster care allowance and associated payments to foster carers falls under the remit of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. My Department resources Tusla to provide alternative care services, including the foster care allowance. It was a priority of mine to secure a meaningful increase to the foster care allowance in this year’s Budget in...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Mother and Baby Homes (9 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: By use of the term "engaged", I am taking to mean the Deputy is enquiring about applications. As at Monday 2nd September, 5,035 applications have been received of which 4,242 are complete applications and are progressing or have been determined. (In the incomplete application category, the applicants are being supported by the Payment Scheme Office in order to provide the outstanding...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (9 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: As the State does not employ staff in Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC) services, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY), does not keep a staff register of those who have graduated with a recognised Early Years qualification, nor of graduates who join the sector as part of the workforce. The information below sets out the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Parental Leave (9 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1351 and 1357 together. Under the Parental Leave (Amendment) Act 2019, an employee who is a relevant parent in respect of a child under the age 12 is entitled to 26 weeks’ unpaid parental leave for each child. Where a child has a disability or long-term illness, the entitlement can continue until the child is 16. A relevant parent is a parent, an...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Youth Services (9 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: In regard to youth workers terms and conditions, my Department does not directly employ youth workers. Rather, funding is allocated on a 'provision of service' basis to meet the needs of the youth population in an area. The recruitment and employment of staff including youth workers is a matter for the youth organisations and services in receipt of funding. I have continued to invest...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Health Services (9 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I acknowledge that Children at Risk in Ireland (CARI) offers an important and vital service to children who have experienced sexual abuse, and the support offered by the service to the parents of those children. CARI is commissioned by Tusla to provide child-centred therapy for children & adolescents who have been affected by sexual abuse. CARI also provides therapy to children, up to...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Parental Leave (9 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: There have been significant improvements in the entitlements to paid and unpaid leaves for working families in recent years in line with the Government's commitments in the Programme for Government around supporting working parents, including by extending paid leave for parents to allow them to spend more time with their baby during their earliest years. The Maternity Protection Act 1994 and...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (9 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1358 and 1359 together. My Department and Tusla continue to take the issue of non-compliance with Garda vetting requirements by commissioned services very seriously and are committed to ensuring ongoing review of compliance by these services. Tusla has oversight and governance measures in place for all commissioned services. Tusla ensures that all commissioned...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (9 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Improving access to quality and affordable early learning and childcare is a key priority of Government. My Department has in place a range of supports and funding schemes to support the delivery of early learning and childcare places but services are independently operated, either by community not-for-profit or by private for-profit providers. This year, I established a Supply Management...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (9 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The introduction of Core Funding in 2022 brought a significant increase in investment for the sector, with €259 million of funding paid directly to services in year 1 of the scheme, of which €210.8 million was entirely new funding. This funding, which increased by 11% (to €287 million) in year 2, will increase again by another 15% in year 3 (to €331 million). This...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (9 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: To be eligible for Core Funding for the 2023/2024 programme year, it is necessary for all Partner Services to agree to the Core Funding Fee Management terms and conditions as laid out in the Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement, and the fee management guidelines. These terms and conditions require services not to increase the fees charged to parents above what was charged on 30...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (9 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The number of services who remain open who have withdrawn from Core Funding since it launched in September 2022 are included in the table below. These figures do not include services who have since closed, or services who have received a new Service Reference Number due to a change in circumstance. Month Number of services withdrawn September 2022 2 April 2023 1 June 2023...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Family Support Services (9 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I wish to inform the Deputy that since I first assumed office at the end of June 2020 there have been no additions to the Family Resource Centre Programme, which stands at 121 member organisations. However, I recently brought forward a funding equalisation scheme for existing Family Resource Centres, which will ensure that all Family Resource Centre Programme members are in receipt of a...