Results 11,201-11,220 of 11,817 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education (20 Oct 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: Over the past six budgets, investment in Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) has increased by 141% - rising from €260 million in 2015, to €638 million in 2021. This excludes substantial funding provided to support the sector during the closure period from March - June and to operate in a COVID-19 context since reopening. Despite this progress, investment...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Services (20 Oct 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am aware that school-age childcare providers have been particularly affected by lower demand from families in the initial weeks of reopening, during the Covid-19 pandemic. School-age childcare has been centre-stage in the Department’s thinking throughout this time, and it remains high on the agenda of the Advisory Group on Reopening, which meets on a regular basis. Throughout the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Work Projects (20 Oct 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: Localise Youth Volunteering carries out valuable work by involving young people in directly addressing the needs of the most disadvantaged locally. In recognition of the importance of such activities both to the young people involved and to their local communities, my Department provides funding to Localise through the Youth Services Grant Scheme. The funding provided to Localise under this...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: National Childcare Scheme (20 Oct 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: While the National Childcare Scheme is an initiative of my Department, a Scheme Administrator has been engaged to manage the operation of the Scheme on the Department’s behalf. Pobal acts as this capacity as Scheme Administrator and it is their role to follow up on individual cases. My Department has referred this case to Pobal for appropriate follow up. From the 7thSeptember 2020, the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Parental Leave (20 Oct 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Parent’s Leave and Benefit Bill 2019 provides for two weeks of parent’s leave and benefit for all new parents in employment or self-employment in respect of children born or placed for adoption on or after 1 November 2019. This is to facilitate parents to spend more time with their children in their critical first year of life. The Minister for Public Expenditure...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (20 Oct 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: €2.2m was made available to services who require sustainability support in 2020. In addition to this, I have secured an equal amount of funding in the Budget for sustainability efforts in 2021. Information on the sustainability fund can be accessed through participation in the Case Management process. My Department oversees a Case Management process through which local City/County...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (20 Oct 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The DCYA-led Temporary Wage Subsidy Childcare Scheme (TWSCS) was launched on 15 April as a unique, sector specific response to the COVID-19 crisis. While the scheme's operational details were being finalised, to assist with cashflow challenges, preliminary payments were paid in advance to providers to enable them retain their staff and cover some overhead costs. The preliminary payments...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Community Childcare Subvention Programme (20 Oct 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: Pobal have informed my Department that they are not aware of any issues or delays in relation to making payments for the week of 17 August. The week beginning 17 August was the first week of the 2020-21 CCSP programme year and preliminary payments issued on August 14 to all providers who had signed a funding agreement. The number of children on CCSP which includes CCSU and CCSRT for the week...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Protection (20 Oct 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Deputy is asking about an operational matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. I have therefore referred the matter to Tusla, and asked that a direct reply be provided in due course.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Migrant Integration (20 Oct 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 459 and 460 together. The Government is committed to the development and nurturing of an all-inclusive society in Ireland. We are in the process of implementing a number of key strategies which are helping to promote inclusion and diversity across Irish society. The Migrant Integration Strategy 2017 – 2020 is one such strategy. The Migrant...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Equality Issues (20 Oct 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Government is committed to achieving equality across all areas of society in Ireland. Ireland was ranked 7th in the EU-28 on the European Institute for Gender Equality's 2019 Gender Equality Index which is based on data from 2017. Between 2005 and 2017, Ireland’s score increased by 9.4 points (+ 1.8 points since 2015), showing faster progress towards gender equality than other EU...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Protection (20 Oct 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, implemented a national information system, the National Childcare Information System (NCCIS) in 2018. This system has improved the quality, safety, responsiveness and delivery of child protection services by supporting social workers in their practice, and capturing critical data on children who are the subject of a child protection or welfare referral....

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Protection (20 Oct 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: Thank you Deputy for your question. Proper coordination of service provision to children at risk is a core component of the response to risk mitigation and care for these children. The Child and Family Agency Tusla plays a significant role in the coordination of services. In 2017 Tusla adopted the national approach to practice, Signs of Safety, which applies to intra-familial child...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Care Services (20 Oct 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: Information provided to my Department by Pobal confirms that on the week ending 12 March 2020, when childcare services closed due to Covid-19 emergency measures, there were 490 Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) services with active child registrations in County Cork. As of Friday 16 October, 483 services in County Cork have signed a funding agreement for at...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Services (20 Oct 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I fully appreciate the essential role which those working in the early learning and care sector have played in recent months since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. On 10 June 2020, a major funding package was announced to facilitate the reopening of early learning and care (ELC) and school-age childcare (SAC) services during the summer, including supporting services to retain their...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Offices (20 Oct 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: As set out in Circular 31/06 - Implementation of the Regulations of the Maternity Protection (Amendment) Act 2004), breastfeeding mothers are entitled to paid breaks from work (one hour per day), or reduced daily working time (one hour per day) to facilitate breastfeeding or lactation (At present, breastfeeding or lactation breaks may continue until the child is two years of age). My...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Direct Provision System (20 Oct 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: Currently the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) provides accommodation to suspected victims of trafficking who are in the International Protection process. Where requested by the HSE or An Garda Síochána, IPAS also provides accommodation to suspected victims of trafficking who are not in the protection process for a period of reflection and rest. My...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Budget 2021 (20 Oct 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I have secured a total of €638million for Early Learning and Childcare programmes and initiatives next year, despite the particularly challenging circumstances surrounding Budget 2021. In addition, I have secured access for the sector to the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme with a critical exemption to the turnover rule. This is worth €60m to the sector for the first 3 months of...

Seanad: Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Oct 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Senators for their contributions and their continued engagement on this legislation over the last weeks. When we last spoke in the House, earlier in the week, I noted that this is technical legislation. As was said by speakers earlier, I acknowledge that while the legislation we are looking at is technical, it reflects a long, grim period in our country's history. This...

Seanad: Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Oct 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Senators for their engagement. As regards the treatment of these records by Tusla, when my Department has engaged with Tusla on this we have engaged with them on a technical level, and given them an indication how the database could be used, and how it will facilitate their existing functions under the existing, as we all accept, insufficient type of information and tracing that...