Results 7,701-7,720 of 11,754 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

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

Roderic O'Gorman: Ireland has responded to the largest displacement of people on the European continent since the Second World War. Since February 2022, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has worked extensively to accommodate over 82,000 arrivals fleeing the war in Ukraine, of which 60,000 have sought accommodation from this Department. Overseeing provision of...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Planning Issues (18 May 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: My officials have had limited engagement with Kildare County Council on the matter in question. The planning matters at hand are being addressed between the Council and the accommodation provider directly and the Department will await the outcome of those proceedings.

Seanad: Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 May 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Chair. I wish Senators a good afternoon. I thank Senator Black for her amendments. As a starting point, I absolutely agree on the urgency, and the urgency for many of the survivors and former residents. Without labouring the point, we also have an urgency to pass this legislation. If we do not get it passed by the end of this term, and if we do not get it completed in this...

Seanad: Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 May 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I signal to the Seanad that I may bring forward amendments to this section on Report Stage to ensure that where it would assist the administration of the scheme, the chief deciding officer will have a lawful basis to enter into data-sharing arrangements with information sources. My officials are examining all the data protection provisions in the Bill in the context of ongoing work in...

Seanad: Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 May 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I appreciate the Senator's clarification regarding who makes the call on whether amendments are in or out of order. As the amendments in this grouping have been ruled out of order, I do not want to get into a debate on their provisions, but I draw the Senator's attention to the existing definition under section 2(2), which provides that a person who "was born in, or admitted as a resident...

Seanad: Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 May 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am not in a position to accept the amendment as presented but that is not to say that I do not understand the intention behind it. That intention of acknowledgement lies behind the wider Government approach to mother and baby and county home institutions, as outlined in the steps we set out in the action plan. Central to that was the apology the Taoiseach made on behalf of the State. It...

Seanad: Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 May 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I hear Senator Black’s frustration about the ruling of these amendments out of order. That decision was not made by me. The issue of the waiver has been raised by the Senator, her colleague and colleagues from Sinn Féin and across the House. I am to come back to the House in writing on it. I had a meeting with officials in the Office of the Attorney General today to discuss...

Seanad: Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 May 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Shameless vote-buying by the Cathaoirleach there. I will make a point on what we are providing payments for. The Long Title of the legislation refers to “An Act to provide, in recognition of the circumstances experienced by certain persons while resident in certain institutions in the State ...” I respectfully disagree with Senator Higgins, who said the scheme was solely...

Seanad: Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 May 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: It is to enable me to provide as comprehensive an answer as I can to the points Senator Higgins raised on the waiver and what it covers. I wanted to explore that with the Office of the Attorney General.

Seanad: Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 May 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Senator. Speaking to section 32, again the approach that is being adopted with the payment scheme is one of a single payment recognising the circumstances experienced by former residents of these institutions.The decision - it is one we went through in some detail during our hearings last week - was based on the fact that to start to individualise the experiences of applicants...

Seanad: Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 May 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: This is reflective of the fact the Government has this year abolished statutory inpatient charges in hospitals. These were one of the categories covered by the enhanced medical card. As those charges do not exist anymore, there is no point in listing them as one of the benefits of the enhanced medical card.

Seanad: Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 May 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Senators for their contributions. I have put it on the record previously, but it is worth reiterating, that when the Taoiseach made his State apology, he recognised how the suffering of people in mother and baby homes and county home institutions was often compounded by racial discrimination. That is recognised. I turn to the specific amendments brought forward by Senator...

Seanad: Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 May 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: If a negative decision is made by an Irish court in the context of a judicial review about this scheme, the Government has to respond. I am talking entirely hypothetically, but if something was found to be ultra viresor unconstitutional, of course the Government has to respond. We do not have a choice in that situation. If an international treaty body makes a finding about something that...

Seanad: Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 May 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I have spoken at some length about the purpose of the Act and, in particular, the purpose of the reporting, both in the initial report and the final report. In light of that, I am not in a position to accept these amendments. While it is not explicitly stated in the Bill, the information that is referred to in amendment No. 110 will be gathered by the scheme as a matter of course as...

Seanad: Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 May 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Senator knows at this stage that I am always happy to engage. I cannot make any commitment in terms of outcome but I am certainly happy to engage. It is an important matter. As the Senator recognised, it is something on which I have engaged already. He is right that this was not with any great success. However, I am happy to engage further with him and others.

Seanad: Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 May 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am not in a position to support this amendment. As the Senator will be aware, the purpose of the Bill is to provide for the establishment of the payment scheme, the making of payments, and the provision of health benefits under the scheme. As stated in response to previous amendments, the Bill provides for reports to be made, but these are appropriately related to performance of the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Childcare Services (30 May 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: More than 4,200 partner services currently participate in core funding, which represents 95% of all services in the State. These services must operate in line with the core funding partner service funding agreement. With regard to fees, partner services must uphold their contractual obligations with regard to fee management, as laid out in this agreement. In the first year - we are still...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Childcare Services (30 May 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: If the Deputy does not mind, I will not get too involved in the specific instance she has raised, because I do not know if it is in a fee-review process through Pobal. It may well be and may be one of the cases. I do not know. However, there are processes whereby parents can flag issues and there are significant consequences for the service, such as the withdrawal of the funding agreement,...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Childcare Services (30 May 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Deputy is absolutely right to praise childcare professionals. I was delighted to secure, for the first time, a pay agreement for them in September 2022 where 73% of childcare professionals saw a salary increase. The issue here is that our State has historically not invested in this sector. When I entered office, investment in childcare was €638 million per year. This year, it...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (30 May 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Ensuring high-quality early learning and childcare is accessible and affordable is a key priority for me and there are a number of funding programmes available through my Department that seek to improve capacity. The new core funding scheme, which we were just discussing, has a range of objectives, including capacity growth. Although this scheme has only been in place since last September,...