Results 3,541-3,560 of 11,744 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Childcare Services (3 Feb 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I firmly believe, like the Deputy, that the rate of pay in the sector should reflect the value of the work that early-years educators and school-age childcare practitioners do for children, for families, for society and the economy. The most recent available data, from the annual early years sector profile survey, indicates that the average hourly wage in the sector in 2021 was...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Childcare Services (3 Feb 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Deputy has my commitment to deliver on a better pay scale. I think I have demonstrated that by the €67 million that we are providing specifically for that in this year's budget. In a full year that will grow to €207 million. That is a firm commitment. The Deputy also has my commitment to develop the profession. That is demonstrated through the workforce development plan...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Childcare Services (3 Feb 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy. The expert group reported in December. We are now implementing its findings. The first part of that is the substantial additional allocation of funding this year of €69 million. That is the first step towards that, but there are other elements in terms of introducing a DEIS-type model for childcare and broadening out the national childcare scheme, NCS. We took a...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Domestic Violence (3 Feb 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am aware that this matter is one of importance to the Deputy and to other Members of the House who have also raised questions about refuge provision in counties Cavan and Monaghan with me and my predecessors. I know there is strong interest locally. I have recently received correspondence from Cavan County Council in this regard. The response to domestic, sexual and gender-based...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Domestic Violence (3 Feb 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: There is absolutely no doubt that we do not have enough refuge spaces in this country. No one disputes that fact. That is why the accommodation review was undertaken to outline where the gaps are and where the lack of coverage and availability of spaces is most acute. It was undertaken to identify the areas where there are communities, families, primarily women, fleeing abusive situations,...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Domestic Violence (3 Feb 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: The significant change that is being made in moving the responsibility for refuges and other services to the Department of Justice is one advocacy groups and the NGOs working in the sector have been calling for for a long time. We ran this audit and it became clear that this was the call from the sector. We are implementing that now. That is important. Even though responsibility in this...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (3 Feb 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: In December of last year, I announced a €10 million grant programme to improve ventilation and reduce the transmission of Covid-19 in early learning and childcare settings. This provided services with grants ranging from €1,500 to €4,500. The rental or purchase of HEPA filters is among the items of eligible expenditure under this grant programme and guidance has been...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (3 Feb 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I do not have the specific figure for the number of HEPA filters. I will speak to my Department and see if we can get that figure to the Deputy as quickly as possible. This grant scheme was designed specifically to deal with the issue of ventilation. We know that providers were very interested and had been in touch with my Department to see how we could facilitate them. We facilitated...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (3 Feb 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: We have taken very extensive measures to protect children, and the grant we provided this December is not the first grant. A €5 million outdoor play grant was provided in June of last year, and just short of €30 million was provided for a reopening grant in August 2020, around the time I entered this role, to support the reopening of services following the initial large-scale...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: EU Programmes (3 Feb 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I believe that significant advancements can be made through my Department's co-ordination of the EU child guarantee. It is an important initiative which aims to combat social exclusion by guaranteeing access for children who are in need of a range of key services. I will publish our national action plan for the child guarantee by March of this year. The commitments under the guarantee...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: EU Programmes (3 Feb 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: Yes, very much so. The child guarantee will be one piece and will sit within the Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures, BOBF, successor strategy. The child guarantee is focused on children in need. That is the term used in the EU provision, which refers to the delivery of free childcare, free education and free healthcare to children in need. Obviously, that very much encompasses the groups...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: EU Programmes (3 Feb 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: The issue of children and young people who are homeless is identified in the programme for Government. There is a commitment to bring forward a strategy in this regard. That will be led by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage but my Department will also be feeding into it. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and I have met on that issue once already and we will seek...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Policies (3 Feb 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: The national participation framework for children and young people's participation in decision making was published in April last year. It plays a vital role in ensuring that all children and young people are respected and listened to and that their views are taken on board routinely in the public services offered to them. The framework's implementation is actively supported by my...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Policies (3 Feb 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy for her advocacy on these issues. There are very tangible examples of the youth participation framework acting to influence Government policy. When the climate action plan was being drafted, there was a youth participation strand to get the views of young people on that issue. Similarly, the youth justice policy launched in 2020 is absolutely essential with regard to its...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Policies (3 Feb 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: The key practical step we are taking is the provision of the €150,000 grant that is available to a whole range of youth organisations to allow them to upskill and train their members, increasing their ability to undertake youth participation. The Deputy has referenced a number of vulnerable groups. That is particularly important. That is the next step. Hub na nÓg is really...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (3 Feb 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: As I said in response to an earlier question, I am very conscious of the need for a significant improvement in pay and working conditions in the early learning and childcare sector. The level of pay, which averaged €12.60 per hour in 2021, does not in any way reflect the importance of the work or the skill and expertise required. The consequence of low pay, the high turnover of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (3 Feb 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: We have outlined our commitments to fund childcare facilities under the EWSS until the end of April. Providers are aware of the level of funding being provided in that context. From May, June, July and August, we have brought forward a contingency Covid-19 bridging fund, for which €37 million has been provided. It will kick in during those months, and then from September the new...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (3 Feb 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Deputy made several points. By the end of March, childcare services will have a strong understanding of the amount they will be receiving under core funding provision. I cannot tell the Deputy when the JLC process will end; it is independent of me. I hope that it will complete and bring forward the employment regulation order in the spring or early summer so we can continue to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (3 Feb 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: The expert group was established in September 2019 to develop a new funding model for early learning and care and school age childcare. The group was tasked with examining the current model of funding and with considering how additional resourcing could best be structured to achieve a high quality, affordable, accessible and sustainable sector. The expert group was independently chaired and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (3 Feb 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Deputy has quickly summarised the huge range of complexities in this sector. These are complexities that we are seeking to address, and we are taking a step-by-step approach to doing that. On the issue of affordability, in this year’s budget we have been able to take a significant step in respect of the extension of the NCS. The 50 cent per hour subvention, which is a part of...