Results 6,561-6,580 of 11,754 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (19 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department was allocated €70m in the National Development Plan allocation. This will enable significant capital investment in early learning and childcare across three pillars: Building Blocks - Improvement Grant, Building Blocks - Capacity Grant and a Building Blocks - Innovation Grant. My Department has allocated €9m in 2023 for The Building Blocks - Improvement Grant for...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (19 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am advised by my officials that payment for the provider as detailed by the Deputy is in hand, with payments expected to issue shortly, once they have passed final checks.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (19 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department has engaged over 700 properties to provide accommodation for Ukrainian Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection. In line with my Department’s commitment to substantially clear the backlog at the end of 2022, my Department temporarily re-assigned staff from other parts of the Department to the payments team in December, doubling the size of the payments unit. The enlarged...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Qualifications (19 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: First 5, the whole-of-Government strategy for babies, young children and their families, recognises that the workforce is at the heart of high-quality early learning and care. The evidence suggests children achieve better outcomes when staff are well qualified. This is undisputed internationally. First 5 seeks to continue to build an appropriately skilled and sustainable professional...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Maternity Leave (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022 is currently awaiting Committee Stage in the Seanad where I intend to bring some technical amendments. The Bill will introduce important entitlements for workers, in particular for workers who are parents or carers, such a leave for medical care purposes and the right to request remote working. As the provisions in this Bill are...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Victim Support Services (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: There are no plans to establish a redress scheme in relation to the organisation referred to by the Deputy. It is important to note that this organisation is a voluntary body, governed by its own Board. It receives some of its funding from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and raises other funding through member subscriptions and fund...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Contracts (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Murray Consultants Ltd. were contracted by the Department to support the Department’s communication function and complement ongoing proactive communication activities in connection with the Department’s role in Ireland's response to the humanitarian needs of displaced persons from Ukraine. The contract has now ended.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: While efforts are made to notify public representatives and State agencies in advance of occupying a building, the emergency nature of the response required means that advance communications are not as comprehensive or as early as the Department would like. Due to the scale of the present crisis this inevitably means that emergency accommodation of those seeking refuge must be occupied...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Staff (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 942 and 943 together. There are a total of 136 staff assigned to units in the Ukraine Division. This includes staff recruited from the Public Appointments Service, staff internally reassigned from within my Department, Ukrainian Temporary Clerical Officers and staff on secondment or temporary assignment from other departments/bodies. 

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Adoption Services (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Officials from my Department have been engaging with both the Adoption Authority of Ireland (AAI) and the Child and Family Agency, Tusla in respect of the ongoing implementation of services under the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022. Information and Tracing services, as provided for under the Act, opened to applications on 03 October 2022. As of 12 December, a total of 5,956...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The structure of Core Funding is based on the recommendations of the Expert Group outlined in Partnership for the Public Good. The primary sources of data that informed the allocation of Core Funding include: - Survey data, which is collected from providers on an annual basis - My Department’s own administrative data on funding to providers - The Tusla register of...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Refugee Resettlement Programme (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department is focused on providing immediate, temporary accommodation to people fleeing the conflict in Ukraine. This has involved entering into arrangements with over 650 providers including hotels, guest houses and B&Bs, religious properties, with additional capacity operated by voluntary bodies and local authority emergency facilities. The offer of accommodation has been noted...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Seirbhísí Cúram Leanaí (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 947 and 949 together. Tá luach mór ag baint le tacú le seirbhísí a chur ar fáil do pháistí sa Ghaeilge agus iad an-óg. Tá ról tábhachtach ag seirbhísí luathfhoghlama agus cúraim leanaí (ELC) anseo, go háirithe maidir leis an nGaeilge a chur chun cinn mar theanga bheo. ...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Legislative Measures (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I have detailed below the Acts passed since the establishment of this Department in June 2020, set out the numbers of sections outstanding in these Acts and outlined where reviews have taken place: - The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity)(Amendment) Act 2022 was signed into law on 17 December 2022, but has yet to be commenced, with all 104 sections outstanding. It is an amending Act...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Child and Family Agency (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I wish to inform the Deputy that my officials have asked Tusla to respond directly to you on this matter.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 953 and 954 together. On 29th March 2022 Government accepted the findings of the independent Review of the Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC) Operating Model in Ireland that a dedicated state agency is the optimal operating model for the early learning and childcare sector for the years ahead. This Review undertook a...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department does not share details of funding applications received from individual services or those under consideration. Early learning and childcare providers can access funding though my Department’s funding model, Together for Better, which brings together three major programmes: the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme, including the Access and Inclusion Model...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department’s role is focused on the immediate, short-term accommodation needs of those who have fled here from Ukraine. To date, more than 70,000 people have arrived in Ireland and in excess of 51,000 of those have been referred to this Department seeking accommodation from the State.  The wider situation regarding accommodation remains extremely challenging. Ireland...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Direct Provision System (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 963 and 975 together. Under the Recast Reception Conditions Directive (SI 230 of 2018), the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) is legally required to provide accommodation to international protection applicants who seek it while their claim for international protection is being determined by the International...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Significant investment is being made by my Department to address affordability for parents through the National Childcare Scheme (NCS). As the Deputy is aware, I announced additional funding of €121m as part of Budget 2023 for the NCS, which has been allocated to reduce average parental co-payments for early learning and childcare. From 2 January 2023, all families accessing...