Results 5,321-5,340 of 11,754 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

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

Roderic O'Gorman: I acknowledge that many early learning and care and school-age childcare services are reporting staffing difficulties in relation to recruitment and retention. My Department continues to monitor the issue. In general, staffing pressures in the sector are caused not by insufficient supply of qualified personnel, but by high levels of staff turnover, and recruitment and staff retention...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Direct Provision System (7 Jul 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 109 and 121 together. As the deputies will be aware the Government made a commitment in the Programme for Government to end the current system of accommodation for International Protection applicants and replace it with a new model that is based on a not for profit approach. As part of this process I published A White Paper to end Direct Provision and to...

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

Roderic O'Gorman: Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, is the statutory body with responsibility for child protection and welfare services. The Children First Act 2015 provides for a number of key child protection measures, including raising awareness of child abuse and neglect, providing for mandated reporting of child protection concerns and improving child protection arrangements in organisations...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Child and Family Agency (7 Jul 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 112 and 138 together. Inspections of Tusla's child protection and welfare services, foster care services and children's residential centres are carried out by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) and inspections of non statutory Children's Residential Centres and foster care agencies are undertaken by Tusla's Alternative Care Inspection and...

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

Roderic O'Gorman: Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine on 24 February, and the invoking of the temporary protection Directive by the European Union shortly afterwards, my Department has worked intensively as part of the cross-governmental response to the Ukraine crisis. The operational challenges brought about by responding to the conflict are significant. Our country has never experienced an influx of...

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

Roderic O'Gorman: Improving early learning and childcare affordability for parents is a key priority. 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 major programmes funded by my Department that contribute to affordability for parents...

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

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 117 and 146 together. This is a matter for my cabinet colleague, the Minister for Health.

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

Roderic O'Gorman: As the Deputy may be aware the Government Decision on the 22nd of December 2020 confirmed the transfer of policy, functions and funding responsibility relating to specialist community-based disability services (SCBDS) from the Department of Health to my Department. This is a very significant transfer of functions, both from the point of view of improving services for persons with a...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Direct Provision System (7 Jul 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: The referred to company currently provides management and catering services in three state-owned International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) accommodation centres. I am not in a position to provide any details in relation to the contract details as this is commercially sensitive information.

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

Roderic O'Gorman: Government has provided significant investment in early learning and childcare in recent years and I intend to continue this towards reaching the First 5 commitment of investing of at least €1 billion in the sector by 2028. From August 2020, early learning and childcare services had been able to access the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) without having to demonstrate a...

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

Roderic O'Gorman: Under the First 5 My Little Library Initiative – a collaboration between the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Local Government Management Agency – every child starting primary school this September is invited to collect a free book bag from their local library full of storybooks and...

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

Roderic O'Gorman: Thank you for your question Deputy Tóibín. I was delighted to launch the commencement of this research and data project in January, which will examine the lives of children in care and adults who were in care as children. The project is comprised of a suite of research and data activities that will strengthen our understanding of the lives of children in care, and adults...

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

Roderic O'Gorman: I would like to assure you, Deputy, that providing accommodation to all people who avail of the International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) of this Department is of the highest priority for me and for my Department. My officials have been working tirelessly to source accommodation in the context of the increasing accommodation pressures. Since the lifting of international...

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

Roderic O'Gorman: Every year it is normal for some Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) services to close while other new services open. Services close for a wide variety of reasons including retirement of owners or other personal circumstances. Tusla is the independent statutory regulator for the sector. Services intending to close must notify Tusla within 28 days of closure. The...

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

Roderic O'Gorman: The Government is committed to achieving its vision of a safe, fair and inclusive Ireland where people are supported to flourish and to live inclusive, healthy and fulfilling lives, whatever their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or sex characteristics. Ireland’s first National LGBTI+ Inclusion Strategy 2019-2022, published in November 2019, is the primary policy...

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

Roderic O'Gorman: Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures – The National Policy Framework for Children and Young People, 2014-2020 concluded at the end of 2020. A final Annual Report for 2020 was published on 20 January 2022, along with updates to the policy framework indicator set. Recently, my Department concluded a public consultation on the policy framework which invited children and young people,...

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

Roderic O'Gorman: Officials in my Department have recently engaged with the City and County Childcare Committee and they have identified the vacant rates and places in their catchment area. The profile nationally of capacity shows the majority of enrolled and vacant places in Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare services is for pre-schoolers followed by school-age children and toddlers and...

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

Roderic O'Gorman: I am happy to report that Ireland's National Action Plan for the EU Child Guarantee was approved by Government on 31 May 2022. The Plan was subsequently submitted to the European Commission and published on both www.gov.ie and ec.europa.eu. The National Action Plan sets out the responses to barriers identified by Departments, and informed by consultations with stakeholders, in the...

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. The Deputy may be aware that the Child Care (Placement of Children in Foster Care) Regulations 1995, and the Child Care (Placement of Children in Relative Foster Care) Regulations 1995, stipulate that the allowance payable to foster carers should not be less than an amount specified by the Minister. The current rates were set in 2009. The...

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

Roderic O'Gorman: Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine on 24 February, and the invoking of the Temporary Protection Directive by the European Union shortly afterwards, my Department has worked intensively as part of the cross-government response to the Ukraine crisis. The operational challenges brought about by responding to the conflict are significant. Our country has never experienced an influx of...