Results 9,881-9,900 of 11,819 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Contracts (16 Apr 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Contractual arrangements for the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) accommodation centres are deemed confidential and commercially sensitive. In relation to service providers contracted by IPAS to provide accommodation services to International Protection (IP) applicants, the Department publishes reports on all payments over €20,000. These are published, once per...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (16 Apr 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme currently operates over 5 days per week, 38 weeks per year, similar to the primary school year. A comprehensive review of the ECCE programme has been recently completed by Stranmillis University. The review examined in detail the current operation of the programme and sought to identify possible enhancements, informed by extensive...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Community Development Projects (16 Apr 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Substantial investment 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; and Building Blocks - Innovation Grant. Significant...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (16 Apr 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I acknowledge that many early learning and care (ELC) and school-age childcare (SAC) services report staffing challenges in relation to recruitment and retention. In general, staffing pressures in the sector are caused not by insufficient supply of qualified personnel, but by high levels of staff turnover. Providers of ELC and SAC are private businesses. As the State does not employ staff...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Schemes (16 Apr 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) was introduced in 2016 to ensure children with a disability could access and meaningfully participate in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme. In line with a commitment in First 5, an independent evaluation of AIM was undertaken by the University of Derby to inform an extension of AIM beyond the ECCE programme as well as any...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (16 Apr 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Monitoring and evaluation of early learning and childcare services in Ireland is currently conducted by the Tusla Early Years Inspectorate (EYI), which is the independent statutory regulator for the sector, and by the Department of Education Inspectorate, which conducts education-focused inspections of early learning and care (ELC) services. (The Department of Education Inspectorate does not...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (16 Apr 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Investment in early learning and childcare is at unprecedented levels with public funding reaching more than €1.1 billion in 2024 – a clear demonstration from Government of the value of the sector. The majority of this funding is allocated through Together for Better - the funding model for early learning and childcare, which brings together four strands, the Early Childhood...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (16 Apr 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Substantial investment 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 Building Blocks - Innovation Grant. On 7 December last, I...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (16 Apr 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) does not currently collect contributions from International Protection Applicants.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Regulatory and Poverty Impact Assessments (16 Apr 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Firstly, may I apologise for the delay in responding to PQ 499 dated September 2023. I am advised that, since the commencement of the 33rd Dáil and the date of your Parliamentary Question, my Department has prepared nine Bills. Seven of these involved a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA). I have outlined these below: Number Bill Regulatory Impact ...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (16 Apr 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I sincerely regret to hear of the difficulties faced by the applicant during this period. Officials in my Department have liaised with the Scheme Administrator, Pobal, on the applicant’s behalf and I understand that the applicant has since created an active claim which was confirmed on the 9th of April. The rules of the NCS stipulate that subsidies can only be paid once an...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Mother and Baby Homes (17 Apr 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme provides financial payments and health supports to eligible people who spent time in a Mother and Baby or County Home Institution. It is recognised that there are people who suffered stigma, trauma and abuse in other institutions, and outside of institutions also. However, the institutions covered by the Scheme are those identified by the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (17 Apr 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy for this question. A response will be provided directly to the Deputy in the coming days.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Expenditure (17 Apr 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 120 to 122, inclusive, together. Since the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022, my Department continues to work as part of the whole-of-Government response with a focus on providing access to emergency temporary accommodation to those fleeing the conflict who request it, in line with Government policy. In the initial stages of the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (17 Apr 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department works with Pobal and local City/County Childcare Committees to offer case management support to services in difficulty. This support can take the form of assisting services with interpreting analysis of staff ratios and cash flow, as well as more specialised advice and support including financial supports as appropriate to the individual circumstances of services. Through this...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (17 Apr 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The D Hotel has been offered to the International Protection Procurement Service (IPPS) and contracted to provide accommodation to International Protection (IP) applicants under the emergency appraisal process, with a capacity of 500 beds. It is functioning as a dispersal centre for the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) with families in residence for a short period of time...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Expenditure (18 Apr 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: At present nearly 29,000 people are accommodated in the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) system as a whole, of whom nearly 7,000 are children. This compares approximately 8,700 people at the end of February 2022. Together with Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection displaced by the war in Ukraine, this means that Ireland is now accommodating over 100,000 people in...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Contracts (18 Apr 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Since the outset of the war in Ukraine in early 2022, Ireland has provided accommodation to over 112,000 people between those fleeing Ukraine and International Protection applicants. IPAS The International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) is working tirelessly to bring more bed spaces into use, and since January 2023 have brought 125 properties into use to accommodate those who...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (18 Apr 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy for this question. A response will be provided directly to the Deputy in the coming days.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Children in Care (18 Apr 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: As this relates to Tusla operational matters, the question has been forwarded to Tusla for direct reply to the Deputy.