Results 6,761-6,780 of 11,754 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: School Staff (2 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department funds a national network of County Childcare Committees (CCC) who can provide support to services, both private and community, where they are at risk of losing their premises and can provide assistance to identify alternative premises. In the event that no alternative premises are found, then the CCC can work with the provider and parents to secure alternative placements...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Expenditure (2 Feb 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...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Child and Family Agency (2 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation or other routes is governed by the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, which operates under the aegis of the Department of Justice. I am informed that applications for citizenship are made and processed in line with the criteria as set out under that Act.  Consequently, any queries in relation...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Child and Family Agency (2 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Statutory and operational responsibility for the delivery of child protection and welfare services is a matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. The Deputy is seeking information in relation to an operational matter for Tusla. Consequently, I have referred the matter to Tusla, and requested that a direct response be provided to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: School Transport (2 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Deputy, my officials will require more time to receive information from the referred service provider in order to answer this school bus transport related query. My officials will contact the Deputy with the details as soon as it is possible. Deputy, I trust this information clarifies the matter.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Housing Provision (2 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: On the 28 June 2022, the Government approved the construction of 500 rapid build accommodation units with the potential to house up to 2,000 individuals in four person family units to address the need to develop capacity for accommodating Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTP) displaced by the war in Ukraine. A further government decision on the 28 October 2022 expanded the programme...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Child and Family Agency (2 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Statutory and operational responsibility for the delivery of child protection and welfare services is a matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. The Deputy is seeking information in relation to an operational matter for Tusla. Consequently, I have referred the matter to Tusla, and requested that a direct response be provided to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Domestic Violence (2 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department conducted a scoping exercise in 2019 following the publication of the Barnardos/ One Family Pilot Child Contact Centre Report.  As the Deputy is aware the Covid-19 pandemic significantly affected the manner and type of services provided by many public bodies. Due to this disruption information in the scoping review is now significantly out of date.  My Department...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Special Educational Needs (2 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: This is a matter for my cabinet colleague, the Minister for Education.

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Revised)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Revised) (8 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I welcome the opportunity to discuss the Revised Estimates for my Department for 2023, including that of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. As members will have seen from the briefing material provided last week, my Department is projected to spend €3.173 billion on current expenditure and €103 million on capital expenditure during 2023. This represents an...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Revised)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Revised) (8 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy. I agree and share, as I am sure all Deputies do, his concern regarding the rhetoric we have seen in recent weeks and months. It comes from a small group in society but one that is vocal and uses online techniques to organise and perhaps amplify its voice more than may be representative. It is, however, a voice that is also dangerous and makes threats to elected...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Revised)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Revised) (8 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: There are two key areas where we are providing in this year's Estimates for the response and action plan the Government is bringing forward, namely, subhead C9, which I will speak about in a moment, and subhead C8. Subhead C8 makes provision for €9.1 million. The key element of that is meeting the costs of the Tuam agency that is currently being established. The process for...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Revised)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Revised) (8 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The design of the scheme was based on the idea of a generalised payment to avoid survivors having to prove individualised experiences such as forced participation in a vaccine trial. It is explicitly to avoid the need to go towards a testimony-based approach that the generalised payment based on the length of time spent in one of these institutions was adopted.

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Revised)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Revised) (8 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I do not think it did. The DSS was established a number of years ago and so it is an organisation that exists. Obviously, it has not been undertaking the very significant range of tasks set out for it within the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act. It will now be undertaking the appointment of decision supporters. Where complaints are made, it will be looking at those complaints. Its...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Revised)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Revised) (8 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Deputy asked about recruitment, specifically on the disability side of things. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and I are looking forward to the final transfer of responsibility for the HSE's community-based disability services on 1 March. I met the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and officials to discuss that just prior to this meeting. Obviously, there are many issues...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Revised)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Revised) (8 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: That is very good. I am glad it has been seen to deliver in Carlow. In terms of the targeted stream for the disadvantaged, that is something my Department is very clear it wants to advance. That is not provided for in this year's Estimate so it is something we will look to bring forward in budget 2024. There is a piece of work being undertaken by my Department to ascertain how exactly...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Revised)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Revised) (8 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: My understanding from the interdepartmental group report, which came out in mid-2021, and my recollection, is that the cost of making provision for payments at a similar rate to people who were in institutions for less than six months as a child would have been an additional €300 million. That would have brought the overall cost of the scheme to €1.1 billion. If an enhanced...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Revised)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Revised) (8 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: As the Deputy knows, the legislation on which the institutional payment scheme will be based is working its way through the Dáil at the moment and subsequently will have to go through the Seanad. When my Department engaged with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform during our work on budget 2023, it indicated that the costings it would...