Results 2,781-2,800 of 11,744 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (22 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: The National Childcare Scheme provides financial support to help parents to meet the cost of childcare and to support better outcomes for children. The schemes objectives are to promote (i) a reduction in child poverty, (ii) positive child development outcomes, (iii) labour market activation and (iv) improved quality. The NCS is designed to be highly inclusive and to meet the needs of...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (22 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Department of Justice has the remit for immigration and international protection processes and it makes the final decision as to whether someone will be considered as a minor during their application for international protection. Where referrals are made to Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, by International Protection Office (formerly ORAC) and by the Garda National Immigration Bureau...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Grant Payments (22 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme is a universal free two-year pre-school programme available to all children within the eligible age range. As the child to which the Deputy refers has not availed of any ECCE time in 2019 or 2020, and the child will not have reached 6 years before starting primary school in September 2022 I will grant an exemption in this case. The...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Disability Services (22 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I wish to advise the Deputy that I am not in a position to comment on these matters which are more appropriate for the attention of my Cabinet colleagues, the Minister for Health and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Assisted Decision-Making (22 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 (Ireland)...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Legislative Programme (22 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Disability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2016 lapsed with the dissolution of the last Dáil. The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill is being used to advance a number of legislative provisions required by the UNCRPD that were previously included in the Disability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2016. This include measures such as the role to be played by...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Disability Services (22 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. Our approach to meeting the obligations of the UNCRPD is one of progressive...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Agreements (22 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: Significant work was carried out prior to my appointment as Minister to ensure the ratification of the Second Optional Protocol. Assessment carried out previously concluded that the enactment of Sexual Offences Act 2017 and Criminal Justice (Victims of Crimes Act 2017) removed the main hurdles for ratification. As outlined in my previous reply on this matter, my Department subsequently...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Funding (22 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department has allocated funding under the What Works initiative, funded through Dormant Accounts, for children’s services under three funding initiatives in 2021: the What Works Training Fund, the Learning Together Fund, and the Children and Youth Digital Solutions Fund. The What Works Training Fund is now open for applications and will support community and voluntary...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (22 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: Currently, under Data Protection Regulations, a data controller who is not a health practitioner is required to consult with an appropriate health practitioner before supplying any health data to the data subject concerned. My Department, as a data controller, must apply the Regulations when records contain health data. The Regulations do not enable the exercise of any discretion by the data...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Asylum Seekers (22 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am aware of the particular case referred to by the Deputy. It is my policy to move families out of emergency accommodation into dedicated International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centres as soon as possible. In this particular case, I am advised by IPAS officials that they were in contact with the mother and her representatives to assure her that ongoing supports would be...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (22 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: The National Childcare Scheme provides financial support to help parents to meet the cost of childcare and to support better outcomes for children. The schemes objectives are to promote (i) a reduction in child poverty, (ii) positive child development outcomes, (iii) labour market activation and (iv) improved quality. The NCS is designed to be highly inclusive and to meet the needs of...

Ombudsman for Children's Initiative on Eliminating Child Poverty and Child Homelessness: Statements (23 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am delighted to speak to the initiative that Niall Muldoon, the Ombudsman for Children, has been progressing over recent weeks. It is a timely debate as we see the impact of our vaccination programme on the levels of Covid-19 in the community and the return of children, young people and young adults to schools and further education campuses. The well-being of children should be a...

Ombudsman for Children's Initiative on Eliminating Child Poverty and Child Homelessness: Statements (23 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputies for their contributions to the statements this afternoon. I look forward to my engagement with Dr. Muldoon when we meet in the coming weeks to discuss his proposals in the A Better Normal document in greater detail. The child guarantee I spoke about earlier will help Ireland to sharpen its response and frameworks towards the goal of all children growing up with the same...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Legislative Measures (23 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Heads of the Birth Information and Tracing Bill were published in May of this year and the pre-legislative scrutiny process is currently taking place. I have been invited to appear before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth on 28thSeptember 2021. The detailed drafting of the Bill is continuing at pace and that includes a determination...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: General Scheme of the Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: Yes.

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: General Scheme of the Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: Head 40 is in draft format at the moment. When the Bill is finalised, head 40 will be very clear in terms of which aspects of GDPR the Bill proposes to restrict. The reason we would be suggesting any restrictions to GDPR rights is that GDPR protects the rights of all data subjects. It protects the rights of an adopted person but it would also protect the rights of a parent, including...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: General Scheme of the Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I will do my best to address those questions. The Deputy stated it was confusing who gets unrestricted access to information under GDPR when we then talk about restrictions. We have taken the decision, and it is one I think everyone agrees with, that we have to provide adopted people with unrestricted access to the various categories of information. In certain circumstances, that requires...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: General Scheme of the Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: Deputy Cairns asked about next of kin. I am happy to come back on that because it is an important point. I thank Deputy Cathal Crowe. Fathers will be able to use the contact preference register and the statutory tracing service to indicate if they want to provide information, receive information, or if they want contact. There is a provision for them to use the system. I was able to...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: General Scheme of the Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: The timescale for the legislation is a matter for the committee right now. It is giving the legislation the detailed scrutiny that it needs. As soon as the committee has completed that and sent its report to me, it has my absolute commitment that I will work with the Attorney General and the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to make amendments and get it to the Oireachtas as quickly as...