Results 2,721-2,740 of 11,744 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Reviews (9 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I have asked officials in my Department to undertake a review of the Equality Acts (Equal Status Acts 2000-2018 and the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015) which will examine the functioning of the Acts and their effectiveness in combatting discrimination and promoting equality. The review will include the existing Programme for Government commitments on the introduction of a...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Government Communications (9 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: ICT services are provided to the Department by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO). The provision of ICT security is part of that service.  The Department engages closely with the OGCIO on the issue of cyber security, who in turn engage with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to ensure best practice is followed as it relates to all aspects of cyber...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Government Communications (9 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I can confirm that I am not aware of any instance of 'hacking' or any unauthorised access to or unauthorised retrieval of information from my personal phone. I have on occasion used my personal phone to communicate with other Government Ministers via call and text message.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Children in Care (9 Sep 2021)

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 a direct response be provided to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Children in Care (9 Sep 2021)

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 a direct response be provided to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Government Communications (9 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I can confirm that neither myself, my special advisers nor my senior officials use the services described on Departmental devices to communicate. I have used one of the named services to communicate with other Green Party TDs on party matters on my personal phone. 

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Domestic Violence (9 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: Since its formation, this Government has made clear that tackling domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is a priority. The Programme for Government contains a commitment to investigate the provision of paid leave and social protection provision to victims of domestic violence with a view to establishing a statutory entitlement to paid domestic violence leave. My Department is currently...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Carer's Leave (9 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: Section 6 of the Carer's Leave Act 2001 provides that employees with at least one year's continuous service are entitled to take up to 104 weeks of carer's leave to enable them to provide full-time care and attention to a person who is in need of such care.   The 2001 Act provides, as part of its definition of employee, 'a person of any age, who has entered into or works under (or,...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Funding (9 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: Funding for the provision of youth services is administered on behalf of my Department by the Education and Training Boards, which allocate funding for local youth clubs and services via applications to the UBU Your Place Your Space the Local Youth Club Grant schemes. Funding of almost €42 million will be made available under UBU Your Place This Space in 2021 while over...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (9 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department administers an annual capital funding programme, under which early learning and care and school aged childcare services which are registered with Tulsa can access capital funding.  The purpose or target of the funding is determined on an annual basis having regard to the needs of children, families and service providers and Departmental priorities. There is...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Early Childhood Care and Education (15 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputies for their contributions. It is a key priority for me as the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to improve the affordability, accessibility and quality of early learning and care, ELC, and school age childcare, SAC. Historically, there have been low levels of investment in ELC and SAC in this country, although in the past five years we...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Early Childhood Care and Education (15 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputies. This sector, like many sectors of the economy, is coming out of an incredibly difficult time following Covid. It is a sector that certainly stepped up during the crisis, which both Deputies recognised, particularly last January when it did not shut but continued to provide early learning and care for the most vulnerable children and the children of essential workers....

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Expenditure (15 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: In relation to my Department, I can confirm to the Deputy that it has utilised the services of Common Purpose Ireland details of which are listed in the table below. Year No of Staff Purpose of Engagement Cost 2021 1 Common Purpose Programme for Senior Leaders €3,000 2020 0 N/A ...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Rights of People with Disabilities (15 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: Ireland ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in 2018. This marked an important milestone in a process to strengthen the rights of people with disabilities in Ireland that has gathered momentum since Ireland became a signatory to the Convention in 2007. The approach being taken to meeting the obligations of the UNCRPD is one...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (15 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: School-age childcare services are permitted to operate in line with the latest public health guidance for the Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC) sector. Before the onset of Covid-19, data from the Annual Early Years Sector Profile Survey showed that the supply of SAC places was broadly meeting demand, with evidence of pockets of undersupply in certain areas....

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (15 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: A single intake for the ECCE programme was introduced in September 2018, replacing the previous policy of two intakes per year the ECCE. When there were two intakes per year for the two year ECCE programme children would get between 61 and 88 weeks of ECCE, depending on their birthday, which was not equitable. The single entry point ensures that all children, regardless of their birthday,...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (15 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department recruited a National Childminding Coordinator in 2019, who put in place a team of 6 Childminding Development Officers within City and County Childcare Committees around the country, with a regional remit. The Officers work with all 30 City and County Childcare Committees to prepare the childminding sector for the move towards wider regulation and support, and...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (15 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age childcare (SAC) services are permitted to operate in line with the public health guidance for the sector. Sector-specific public health guidance for ELC and SAC services operating during the pandemic was published in May 2020 by the HSE’s Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) and has been updated on a number of occasions since, with...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Assisted Decision-Making (15 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 (the 2015 Act) is a very important piece of legislation that changes the existing law on capacity from the status approach of the wardship system to a flexible functional approach, whereby capacity is assessed on an issue and time-specific basis.  It will abolish the wards of court system for adults by repealing the Lunacy Regulation...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Legislative Process (15 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: The following three Bills have been prepared by my Department since 27 June 2020. The Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Act 2020 (Act No. 20 of 2020) (Bill No. 38 of 2020) was published on 25 October 2020. The Regulatory Impact Assessment entitled General Scheme of a Preservation and Transfer of Specified Records of...