Results 10,961-10,980 of 11,816 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Further Revised) (12 Nov 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I have not had a chance to go through that report in detail. It was sent to me yesterday and I received it this morning. I welcome the report and I welcome the engagement of academics and NGOs in continuing to highlight what we all know is the absolute unsuitability of direct provision and the need to move to a new system. I look forward to engaging with them further. The fact that they...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Further Revised) (12 Nov 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I confirm I am not happy about Brexit so that is on the record. I take Deputy Costello's point and we will have a small piece in the Brexit omnibus Bill about the national childcare scheme and its application for British citizens living here post Brexit. The Deputy raised this point with me previously and I will come back to him about it if that is okay. At our last meeting, the Deputy...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Further Revised) (12 Nov 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy. There are a couple of points. Obviously, people are living in direct provision centres at the moment and some have been there for a long time. We all recognise that is not right. In living there for a long time, however, they have become involved in their local communities and we welcome that. One of the goals of the new system is that people will not be waiting such...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Further Revised) (12 Nov 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy and the Chair for their points. On the wider issue of work-life balance, there are a number of initiatives that we are looking at, particularly in the context of work and gender. As the committee is aware, in the previous Dáil the gender pay gap legislation made significant progress, reached Report Stage. However, when the new Dáil reconvened, it was put back...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Further Revised) (12 Nov 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: As the Chair is aware, when Covid hit in March 2020, services in all areas of society, including early years services, shut down. As a result, payments under the early childhood care and education, ECCE, scheme, the national childcare scheme, NCS, and the other saver schemes ceased.

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Further Revised) (12 Nov 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: Payments ceased for a number of months during the year. They resumed for services that deliver a service over the summer on 29 June 2020, and for the others, at the end of August or the beginning of September. That meant that there was a saving, particularly in the ECCE scheme and the NCS over the course of the year where payments were not being made. As the committee knows, we brought in...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Further Revised) (12 Nov 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I take that point. I am not sure if we will know from 1 January. It might be a little bit later. We hope to know in early 2021 if parents can take the leave at that point and claim the benefit later. We intend to have everything squared away by 1 April to allow parents to take the leave and claim the payment. We will look for clarity on that point as soon as possible. We are working to...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2020
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Further Revised) (12 Nov 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I take that point. As the Deputy will be aware, my Department provided additional support for lone-parent families under several headings in the budget.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Youth Services (11 Nov 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Senator for raising this matter. We have not left young people out in our response to Covid. Young people have been central in the response not just of the Government but also of my Department. We are aware that Covid has disrupted all elements of life across the country and has had a particular impact on the well-being of young people. Their educational progress has been...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Youth Services (11 Nov 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I fully agree that investing in our youth is fundamentally important. I have outlined how my Department has done that and will continue to do that. I am always open to considering all avenues. We changed the public health guidelines to ensure that youth services could open even in level 5, albeit in small groups. I talked to a scout leader yesterday whose cubs had met for the first time...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Direct Provision System (11 Nov 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: Responsibility for the provision of accommodation for applicants for International Protection transferred to my Department from the Department of Justice on 14 October, 2020. I published the report by the Advisory Group on the Provision of Support, including Accommodation, to Persons in the International Protection Process on 21 October. Minister McEntee and I submitted the report to...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Direct Provision System (11 Nov 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 162 and 163 together. I am aware of a number of complaints emanating from social media regarding the living conditions in the accommodation centres referred to by the Deputy. Accommodation centres are subject to regular unannounced inspections by both my officials in the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) and an independent...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Covid-19 Pandemic (11 Nov 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I can advise the Deputy that my Department has received contact from Alcohol Action Ireland in relation to their “Alcohol Action Ireland Operation Encompass” and a meeting has been arranged in the coming week to discuss this proposal and how it relates to supporting children who witness domestic violence during the Covid-19 Pandemic. In addition, my Department was contacted by...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Protection (11 Nov 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Deputy is referring to an operational matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. I have therefore referred the matter to Tusla, and asked that Tula respond directly to the Deputy. It may be of interest to the Deputy that Tusla provide details of performance and activity data using a Data Hub available through their website at the following address:

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Expenditure (11 Nov 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department, and the public bodies under its remit, did not rent office space from the named company during 2019 or to date in 2020.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Funding (11 Nov 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: In Budget 2021, the gross allocation provided for my Department for 2021 is €1.95 billion. However, the Deputy will be the aware that the final allocation for my Department for 2021 will be set out in the 2021 Revised Estimates Volume (REV) due to be published later this year. Detailed allocations by subhead will be set out in the REV. The 2021 allocation provided will be targeted at...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Data (11 Nov 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: Please find the current staffing details for my Department outlined in the table below: Division Total Minister's Office, MB, PMO & IA 22.00 Child Policy & Tusla Governance 46.00 Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare Division 77.00 Youth Justice,...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (11 Nov 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 169 and 171 together. In the course of developing the Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020, it was recognised that the compressed timeframe available to bring the legislation through the Houses, to ensure that the records could be protected ahead of the dissolution of the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Staff (11 Nov 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Deputy may wish to be aware that the number of staff employed in my Department working solely within the remit of the Mother and Baby Homes is 8.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Direct Provision System (11 Nov 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am aware of the tragic case to which the Deputy refers. However, I am unable to comment on the specific details pertaining to individual cases. A critical incident policy is in place to provide guidelines for my Department staff and accommodation centre managers and staff in the event of the death of a resident. All deaths and serious incidents that occur within accommodation...