Results 6,661-6,680 of 11,754 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Emergency Accommodation (25 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Deputy, as of 15 January 2023, there are 19,698 people accommodated in the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) system as a whole. This includes the National Reception Centre (466) and IPAS accommodation centres (6,887), temporary tented (81) and emergency (12,264) accommodation including those in City West. Of this total, 4,086 are children. My Department has accommodated...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Emergency Accommodation (25 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department continues to review suitable accommodation where individual properties can provide a minimum of 15 bed spaces in line with standard space requirements. These properties cannot be amalgamated in order to reach the 15 spaces because we do not enter into commercial arrangements for individual private houses or apartments.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Birth Certificates (26 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am deeply aware of the disappointment and frustration caused to applicants receiving a notification indicating that there will be a delay in the compilation and release of their information. Information and Tracing services, as provided for under the Act, opened to applications on 03 October 2022. As of Monday 23 January, a total of 6,474 applications for information have been...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Emergency Accommodation (26 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Deputy, as of 15 January 2023, there are 19,698 people accommodated in the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) system as a whole. Of this total, 4,086 are children. The Department has accommodated over 15,000 International Protection Applicants (IPAs) in 2022. Currently, the number of new arrivals each day remains very high. In the first two weeks of 2023 alone, more than...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Ukraine War (26 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, the 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: Departmental Inquiries (26 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 274 and 276 together. I can advise that on 12th December 2022, I wrote to St John Ambulance to seek information about the publication of the report. St John Ambulance replied on 23rd December and confirmed that they had received a completed report from Dr Shannon. The Commissioner of St John Ambulance stated that the organisation was committed to publishing...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (26 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department is now accommodating over 74,000 refugees and applicants for International Protection in State-funded accommodation. The accommodation provided to people fleeing the war in Ukraine by my Department is temporary in its nature and given the number of people that are being accommodated it is not possible to develop tailored solutions for individuals or families. We understand and...

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am happy to be able to introduce this Bill. It is one of Ireland's most ambitious Bills dedicated solely to improving work–life balance. I look forward to the detailed discussion we are going to have. Not only will the Bill transpose EU law on work–life balance for parents and carers but it will also implement some important programme for Government commitments. It...

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: My reading of the legislation is similar to that of Senator Seery Kearney in that the proposed amendment would appear to reduce the 26-week period to one week. As drafted, it would mean that only previous employment in the past week would qualify as continuous service for the purpose of calculation. I do not believe that is the intention of the Senator in the circumstances but it is the...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Child Abuse (31 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I join her in welcoming Mick to the Gallery. I am glad of the opportunity to speak on the record of the House on this issue. Reports of historical sexual abuse in St. John Ambulance in the 1990s have been highlighted in recent years by a number of Deputies and Senators. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, highlighted it when she...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Child Abuse (31 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Like the Deputy, I see the strong support across both Houses for swift publication of this report. I spoke in the Seanad just before Christmas during statements there on the importance of rapid publication. This review of practices within St. John Ambulance has been asked for by survivors for a long time. It is extremely important to them in their ability to seek - I do not want to use the...

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Section 6 inserts a new section 13A into the Parental Leave Act 1998 to provide for an entitlement to leave for medical care purposes for parents and carers. This amendment would extend the cohort of parents and carers who are entitled to avail of leave for medical care purposes. I appreciate that there is a wide range of potential caring relationships but the Bill very much follows the...

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: If the grandchild needs a parent or grandparent, that parent or grandparent can-----

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: If the grandchild needs-----

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: In line with Article 6 of the work-life balance directive, the Bill provides for five days leave for medical care purposes. The amendment would extend this entitlement to ten days. The Bill is introducing a range of new entitlements, and that is positive. These entitlements have been discussed at length with social partners, unions and representatives of employers. I have engaged in some...

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: This amendment intends to remove from the Bill the provisions related to the ability of an employer to seek relative evidence of the circumstances in which an employee is taking leave for medical care purposes. The touchstone of policy development from a data protection perspective is that the design of the system should seek to achieve the minimum invasion of privacy rights, be they third...

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: As I said before, we are reasonably confident we have achieved the right balance in the standards set. It is clear that what has been looked for here is whether the relationship between the employee seeking the leave and the individual is meeting the criteria of the directive in terms of the named relationships that are set out. I will chat to officials and confirm that we are happy that...

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: These amendments are to correct drafting errors in the Bill as passed by Dáil Éireann. They ensure that the provisions of the Bill are technically correct and make no amendments to what is provided for. These amendments correct spelling errors where they occur, revise punctuation and insert accurate references, such as replacing “section 13F” with “section...

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: This amendment proposes to amend section 13AA(1), which provides for the circumstances in which an employee is entitled to domestic violence leave. The amendment does not make any policy changes, but merely rewords the section for drafting clarity, including ensuring that the list of purposes for which an employee can avail of the leave is not exhaustive.

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: It is important to state that the issue is not about whether to provide domestic leave but about the issue of the rate. That was misstated earlier. The introduction of new leave is negotiated with the social partners with whom the Government engages. As part of that engagement, some small employer groups raised real and genuine concerns, considering their circumstances, about the...