Results 8,781-8,800 of 11,816 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Nov 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy. Those sorts of actions do not have any place in our society. The Government has been clear throughout our response to the needs of people newly arriving in this country. The Government engages with communities and provides information but it is not a question of consultation and it is not a question of a veto. No community or individual has a veto over who lives in...

Policing, Protests and Public Order: Statements (28 Nov 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I start by joining Deputies across the House in paying tribute to those affected by the brutal assault last Thursday afternoon, and, in particular, those who remain in hospital. Our thoughts are with them and with their families at this very difficult time. As Minister for children, I think in particular of the childcare worker wounded while defending the children in her care. It is...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Nov 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Disgraceful.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (29 Nov 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and I are acutely aware of the huge pressures that are faced by our community disability network teams around the country and the impact this has on parents and, ultimately, children as well. That is why the issue has been prioritised by the Minister of State and I since responsibility for disability moved to my Department in March of this year. We...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (29 Nov 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: We are all acutely aware of the trauma of pregnancy loss. It is something that probably was not talked about enough in Irish society. Maybe that is why it has not gotten the degree of focus it needed. We wanted to change that. We felt that we needed to take a first step in undertaking that. As the Deputy said, we brought forward a detailed piece of research, which I think Deputies will...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (29 Nov 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: That is correct.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (29 Nov 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Deputy Brendan Smith raised this earlier. The road map sets out short- and medium-term solutions. On the shorter term solutions, it is the international recruitment that we are undertaking right now to look to bring in those therapists, the OTs and speech and language therapists, to relocate them here to Ireland to staff-up teams like that. We are doing that along with the introduction of...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Supplementary)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Supplementary) (28 Nov 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the committee for making time available today to consider the second Supplementary Estimate for the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. In October last, I sought and received €1.090 billion of additional funding by way of an initial Supplementary Estimate. The funding utilised the remaining balance available for non-core, or contingency,...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Supplementary)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Supplementary) (28 Nov 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: When the transfer of functions took place, €2.4 billion of the HSE's budget, which it would formerly have received from the Department of Health, transferred to our Department thus creating very large additional responsibilities across our Department that covers all areas of specialised community-based disability services. When the final tally was done for the pay element required for...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Supplementary)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Supplementary) (28 Nov 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The pay agreement was extremely necessary to address a very legitimate grievance of the differential between HSE workers and people who work in agencies, both section 56s and section 39s. The pay agreement has a big impact in Tusla as well. It has a cost of €20 million this year and a cost of €56 million in 2024. So our overall budget in disability in 2024 will be increasing...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Supplementary)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Supplementary) (28 Nov 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: To put this in context, while we are looking for this financial reporting it is to understand exactly how the current money and the additional money that core represents-----

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Supplementary)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Supplementary) (28 Nov 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: There have been three meetings between representatives of the sector and representatives of my Department through the early years forum over the last week. I spoke to some of the sector representatives and the provider representatives leaving it yesterday. I spoke to my officials. There was a sense that there had been a really good meeting yesterday. My officials notified me last night...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Supplementary)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Supplementary) (28 Nov 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I will begin the response to this and the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, will come in after. That family does approach me in my own constituency and no doubt approaches the Minister of State also. On a daily basis, canvassing, I meet that family. I say to them that we recognise the huge challenges in the area of disability and that we are looking to make change. This is why we moved...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Supplementary)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Supplementary) (28 Nov 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I meant CAO, as in CAO courses.

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Supplementary)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Supplementary) (28 Nov 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Yes. I did not answer your questions on the underspend on early years education.

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Supplementary)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Supplementary) (28 Nov 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Just to say that in this Estimate, there is a small underspend on the early years side. It is primarily because unfortunately, we do not have a new employment regulation order, ERO, agreed for year two of core funding. Some of the money that was put aside to remove the three-year waiting requirement before staff got their graduate premium had to be given back because we have not got that...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Supplementary)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Supplementary) (28 Nov 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Tuam agency has now been established and we have appointed Mr. Daniel MacSweeney as the director. Significant work is under way to prepare the agency to be in a position to begin excavations but the excavations themselves have not yet begun. That will probably be the most costly element. It is important to say that Mr. MacSweeney has been very clear that he wants all of the scientific,...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Supplementary)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Supplementary) (28 Nov 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Deputy made a number of points there. Of course we want to protect foster care and foster carers and recognise the vital work they do. A full 90% of children in care in Ireland are in foster care and it still compares very favourably internationally. The first step we are taking is a double payment of the foster care payment. That will be paid on 8 December in recognition of the...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Supplementary)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Supplementary) (28 Nov 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy for his question and for his comments on the progress that the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and I have made in significantly increasing the budget across wide parts of this Department. It is my policy and that of this Department to welcome a variety of providers in the early years area from the large full-day services to part-time services and smaller ECCE-only...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (28 Nov 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Some €69 million has been allocated over the period 2023-2025 to the early learning and childcare sector under the revised National Development Plan (NDP). This will enable significant capital investment in early learning and childcare across three pillars:Building Blocks - Improvement Grant;Building Blocks - Capacity Grant; andBuilding Blocks - Innovation Grant.Under the Building...