Results 5,301-5,320 of 11,754 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: International Protection (7 Jul 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy for his response. I too had the opportunity to travel to that region in November of last year. I visited Jordan and the Al Za'atari refugee camp and I was very impressed by the generosity of the Jordanian Government. It is a country of 10 million people and 2 million people, 20% of that population, are refugees. They are provided with the same Covid-19 vaccinations and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: International Protection (7 Jul 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy for the invitation and I will certainly do my best to take it up. The Deputy has raised the issues in respect of ensuring that where we welcome Ukrainians, or indeed people from any crisis, that there is capacity here. Our response to Ukraine has been an emergency one and is a response to a war that none of us anticipated. My Department has not always got it right in the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Reports (7 Jul 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy for the question and I am very excited that we are bringing forward a new, third, cohort of the Growing Up in Ireland, GUI, survey. GUI represents a significant and valuable State investment in high quality, policy-relevant data on the lives of children, young people and their families. To date, GUI has generated more than 90 reports and a multitude of findings. These...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Reports (7 Jul 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: It is hard to overstate how important GUI is in terms of the scale of research. Interviewing of more than 11,000 people takes place. One group was 12, the other group was 22 and now there is this new group. This has been able to chart major developments. The first group would have been some of the first children to undertake the early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme and was...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Reports (7 Jul 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: The overall cost of GUI for the next three years is just short of €14 million and €4 million of that will be dedicated towards that new cohort. The information will be publicised through a range of methods. There is an annual conference where research that has been undertaken on foot of the data is discussed. Each of the new reports is publicised widely so we have taken and...

Irish Corporate Governance (Gender Balance) Bill 2021: Second Stage [Private Members] (7 Jul 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank Deputy Higgins for bringing before the Dáil this Private Member's Bill to allow us to debate the important issue of gender balance in the leadership of Irish business and its contribution to good governance on the boards and governing councils of corporate bodies. I acknowledge the work undertaken by the Deputy in conjunction with the National Women's Council and the other...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Children in Care (7 Jul 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I wish to advise the Deputy that statutory and operational responsibility for the delivery of child protection and welfare services is a matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. Tusla is not automatically involved in cases before the family courts which may direct interim living arrangements. Where a private family law matter is settled in court, Tusla does not have a mandate to...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (7 Jul 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: The new Core Funding Scheme announced in Budget 2022 amounts to €221 million in full year costs, €173 million of which is new investment. This quantum of funding, in addition to the design of the allocation methodology, will substantially contribute to services’ sustainability. Core Funding will significantly increase income for the overwhelming majority of...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Children in Care (7 Jul 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I would like to thank the Deputy for this question regarding supporting the development of fostering services. There are currently approximately 5,826children and young people in the care of the State, with 90% being cared for by foster carers, enabling them to live in a safe, secure, and stable home environment. The Deputy will be aware that foster carers are paid a weekly allowance, which...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Funding (7 Jul 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department operates the Play and Recreation Capital grant scheme, which provides funding, via Local Authorities, to support the development of new recreation facilities for children and young people. The scheme also funds the refurbishment of existing play and recreation facilities and the incorporation of natural play elements. The criteria for the scheme were developed in partnership...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Official Engagements (7 Jul 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I opened the first day of the Council of Europe Child and Youth Participation for Europe conference in May, in Cork. The conference was the first conference event of the Irish Presidency of the Council of Europe. It was also the mid-term event of the CP4Europe project. This project promotes children’s right to participation at national and pan-European levels, aiming to...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Education Schemes (7 Jul 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: Thank you Deputy Lahart for your question. This year DCEDIY and Tusla secured €750,000 in Dormant Accounts Funding for the continuation of educational supports for care experienced children and young people. This is the second year of a two year programme funded by Dormant Accounts. The purpose of the funding is to support and assist care experienced young people achieve their full...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Proposed Legislation (7 Jul 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 99 and 149 together. Conscious of the risk of poverty those fleeing Domestic Violence face, the Programme for Government contains a commitment to investigate the provision of paid leave and social protection provision to victims of domestic violence. The issue of domestic violence leave has been researched by my officials and has included consideration...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Asylum Seekers (7 Jul 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am committed to developing a new operational policy better to support LGBTI+ international protection applicants living in International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) accommodation centres. The operational policy will be developed in partnership with current and former residents of IPAS accommodation. It will include the development of policies to ensure that the needs of...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (7 Jul 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: In March 2021, following publication of the Independent Review into Illegal Birth Registration, I asked Professor Conor O’Mahony, the Special Rapporteur on Child Protection, to consider the significant complexities and challenges which arise in relation to the issue of illegal birth registrations, and to provide a report proposing an appropriate course of action. On 14 March 2022, I...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Education Policy (7 Jul 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: The purpose of the European Year of Youth, announced by the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last November, is to strengthen efforts to celebrate, support and engage with young people across the EU, in recognition of the particular impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the opportunities of young people. In recognition of its existing role in promoting European...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (7 Jul 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: Significant investment is being made by my Department to support parents with the costs of paying for early learning and childcare and to support providers with the costs of delivering early learning and childcare. The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) is currently supporting thousands of families to offset their costs. A recent review of the NCS showed that: - 38% families had more...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Children in Care (7 Jul 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I would like to thank the deputy for this question regarding the numbers of children in state care. As this data is collated by Tusla, I have sought and received an input from them on this matter. I have been informed by Tusla that at the end of April 2022 there were 5,869 children and young people in the care of the State. Approximately 90% are cared for by foster carers. The detailed...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (7 Jul 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 105, 111, 128, 130 and 137 together. In December 2021, Government adopted the 25 recommendations contained in an Expert Group report, Partnership for the Public Good: A New Funding Model for Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC). The new funding model will support the delivery of ELC and SAC for the public good, for quality and...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Proposed Legislation (7 Jul 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: On 21 April the Government gave its approval for the drafting of a Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill. The General Scheme of the proposed Bill is published on my Department's website. The main purpose of the proposed legislation is to transpose elements of the EU Work Life Balance Directive and provide new rights to parents and carers in order to support a better work life...