Results 10,821-10,840 of 11,997 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Ukraine War (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP) was introduced in July 2022 to recognise the generosity of people who have opened their homes to provide accommodation to Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) arriving in Ireland from Ukraine. The payment rate under this scheme is €800 per month per property with a unique Eircode, irrespective of whether the property is vacant or...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Ukraine War (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP) was introduced in July 2022 to recognise the generosity of people who have opened their homes to provide accommodation to Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) arriving in Ireland from Ukraine. The payment rate under this scheme is €800 per month per property with a unique Eircode, irrespective of whether the property is vacant or...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: EU Funding (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department has not received a funding allocation under the EU's Recovery and Resilience Programme. The Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform (DPENDR) are the responsible department for this fund. The Deputy may wish to put a separate question to that Department on the matter.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Equality Issues (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department is currently collating the information requested and a reply will issue directly to the Deputy in due course.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department works with Pobal and local City/County Childcare Committee’s (CCC) to offer case management support to services in difficulty. Through this process, services may also access Sustainability Funding following an assessment of need. A strand of emergency capital for fit-out/renovation of premises or necessary maintenance has been developed by my Department under...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Improving access to quality and affordable early learning and childcare is a key priority of Government. I am advised that there are six Tusla-registered early learning and childcare services based in Palmerstown that are in receipt of programme funding from my Department. Data available to my Department demonstrate that, overall, early learning and childcare provision is expanding,...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The National Action Plan for Childminding 2021-2028 commits to extending regulation and supports to all paid, non-relative childminders who work in their own homes. The National Action Plan sets out a phased approach to regulation with a preparatory phase followed by an extended transition period, to allow childminders lead-in time for any requirements. This supportive, phased process aims to...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Family Resource Centres (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 395 and 396 together. I wish to inform the Deputy that Tusla, the Child and Family Agency administers the FRC Programme, which supports 121 FRCs throughout the country. My Department allocates core funding for the FRC Programme through Tusla, which has advised my Department that the current level of funding is to sustain existing services operating in the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Parental Leave (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: In terms of changes to Maternity leave, I received Government approval in July for the drafting of a Bill to allow mothers who require treatment for a very serious illness to postpone their maternity leave for a period of time. The proposed legislation will also introduce, for the first time, a form of maternity leave for members of the Oireachtas. The text of the bill is currently being...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Youth Work Supports (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am cognisant of the campaign referenced by the Deputy, and the submission is being reviewed within my Department. Budget 2025 is currently being considered by Government in the context of the annual estimates process. Therefore, the Deputy will appreciate that it would not be appropriate for me to comment further at this stage. However, from 2020 to Budget 2024, current Exchequer...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (25 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Reform of the early learning and childcare sector has been a major focus of this Government. The Programme for Government committed to reforming the system to create one that brings together the best of community and private provision and the development of a new funding model for affordable, accessible, sustainable and high quality early learning and childcare. Significant progress has...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Youth Services (25 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I have received the submission from the organisation referenced by the Deputy, and it is being reviewed within my Department. Budget 2025 is currently being considered by Government in the context of the annual estimates process. Therefore, the Deputy will appreciate that it would not be appropriate for me to comment further at this stage. However, from 2020 to Budget 2024, current...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (25 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: To be eligible for Core Funding for the 2023/2024 programme year, it is necessary for all Partner Services to agree to the Core Funding Fee Management terms and conditions as laid out in the Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement, and the fee management guidelines. These terms and conditions require services not to increase the fees charged to parents above what was charged on 30...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (25 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Scheme Administrator advises that there are 153 providers in Donegal that are currently in contract to provide NCS. I have arranged to forward these details to the TD directly. A list of these services can also be found on the Childcare Service Search page of the NCS website, where full details, including fees and service types, of all providers currently contracted to the NCS can be...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Projects (26 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The work of the Child Law Project (CLP) over the last number of years has been invaluable to my Department, in its provision of evidence regarding child care proceedings. My Department renews the court reporting project periodically through a competitive procurement process. The most recent iteration of process concluded in late 2021, and the current project will conclude in late 2024,...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Mother and Baby Homes (26 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The legislation that underpins the Scheme provides that a person who spent at least 180 days as a mother or child in a Mother and Baby or County Home Institution, as listed in Schedule 1 of the Act, is eligible for the health supports in the form of an enhanced medical card. This medical card is not means-tested, is not subject to intermittent review and will be available to the recipient...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Mother and Baby Homes (26 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: While I try to be helpful at all times in the parliamentary process, the Deputy will be aware that I cannot be involved in individual cases and cannot comment on same. The legislation underpinning the Payment Scheme - the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Act 2023 - specifically provides for the explicit independence of the Chief Deciding Officer in administering the application...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (26 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The International Protection and Integration Division has overall responsibility for developing and promoting policy on migrant integration. The division is responsible for procuring, developing and providing accommodation and reception conditions for international protection applicants, guided by EU regulations and the Government's Comprehensive Accommodation Strategy (CAS). The...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (26 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: To be eligible for Core Funding it is necessary for all Partner Services to agree to the Core Funding Fee Management terms and conditions as laid out in the Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement. (). Some Providers may choose to withdraw from Core Funding or not participate/sign up for Year 3 of the Core Funding scheme, therefore, as private businesses, are free to set their own...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (26 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I firmly believe the level of pay for early years educators and school-age childcare practitioners should reflect the value of their work for children, families, society and the economy. The State is not the employer and therefore does not set the pay or conditions for employees in either early learning and care (ELC) or school-age childcare (SAC) services. However, there is now, through...