Results 1,121-1,140 of 19,958 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Disability Services (12 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: As this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (12 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: Core Funding represents a significant increase in investment for the sector, with €259 million of funding paid directly to services in year 1 of the scheme (September 2022-August 2023) rising to €287 million in year 2 (September 2023-August 2024) and €331 million in year 3 (September 2024-August 2025). The table below outlines the Core Funding uptake in Fingal 2024/2025...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (12 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: Each year, Pobal compiles data from Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) providers as part of the Early Years Sector Profile. The most recent published capacity data for the 2022/23 programme year provides estimated data for enrolments by county boundaries. Data from 2022/23 estimated that there were 10,382 children enrolled in ELC and SAC services in County Kildare....

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (12 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: On 30 September 2024 my office commenced relevant sections of the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2024, including the removal of the exemption from registration for childminders, and the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) (Childminding Regulations) 2024. This allowed for the registration of childminders with Tusla. The Act provides for a transition period of three years before...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (12 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: This is a matter for the Local Authority.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Funding (12 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: As this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Emergency Accommodation (12 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: The International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) can't comment on individual cases due to our duty to protect the privacy and anonymity of all people applying for International Protection. My officials are happy however to provide background information on how we approach accommodation for people who have completed their international protection application process, and are...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Disabilities Assessments (12 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: As this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (12 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: Investment in early learning and childcare is now at unprecedented levels with public funding exceeding €1.37 billion in 2025, clearly demonstrating Government commitment to this area. As well as addressing affordability this investment has served to improve accessibility, availability and the quality of provision. The ECCE programme, which provides two years of pre-school without...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Disabilities Assessments (12 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: As this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Legislative Measures (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: The Programme for Government, ‘Securing Ireland’s Future’, contains a commitment to advance legislation to ban conversion practices. Given the complex and sensitive nature of the proposed legislation, my Department is carefully considering the key policy principles that will underpin the legislation to ensure that individuals are protected from harmful conversion...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Disability Services (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: Respite services for people with disabilities are provided through specialist disability services which now come under the remit of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) who provide funding to the HSE who in turn have a number of service agreements with different disability organisations for the provision of some respite services. ...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Asylum Seekers (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: Thank you for your question, Deputy. A response will be provided directly to you in the coming days.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Disabilities Assessments (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: As this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Disability Services (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: As this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 512 and 513 together. The Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP) is a monthly payment of €800 available to those who are providing accommodation to a person or people who arrived in Ireland under the EU Temporary Protection Directive. Since the start of the scheme in 2022, €239m has been paid to over 22,399 recipients in respect of hosting...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: Thank you, Deputy, for your question. In terms of international protection applicants, we are currently accommodating over 32,000 people, over 9,000 of whom are children with their family. We accommodate people at over 320 different centres nationwide. All residents of IPAS accommodation are provided with a dedicated IPAS Resident Handbook - this handbook contains information about...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Question Nos. 515 and 516 together. In setting regulatory requirements, the primary consideration must be children’s health, safety and well-being. The minimum adult-to-child ratios for pre-school services are set out in Schedule 6 of the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016. School age services' adult-to-child ratios are set out in...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Qualifications (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 517 and 518 together. I acknowledge that many early learning and care (ELC) and school-age childcare (SAC) services report staffing challenges in relation to recruitment and retention. In general, staffing pressures in the sector are caused not by insufficient supply of qualified personnel, but by high levels of staff turnover. Pay is one of a number...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: The Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP) was introduced to recognise the generosity of people who have opened their homes to provide accommodation to Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) who arrived in Ireland after fleeing the war in Ukraine. The ARP scheme is provided in Part 2 of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 and is administered by the Department of...