Results 10,961-10,980 of 11,997 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Family Resource Centres (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that I secured an additional €800,000 in Budget 2025 for the Family Resource Centre (FRC) Programme. I expect this additional funding will allow for expansion of the FRC Programme membership from 121 members to 126 members, an increase in 5 FRCs across the country. This is in addition to the funding equalisation scheme for existing FRCs that I...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Childcare Support Act 2018, which provides a statutory basis for the National Childcare Scheme, specifies that only Tusla-registered providers are eligible to participate in the Scheme. The limitation of public funding schemes to Tusla-registered childcare providers helps to ensure that public funding is provided where there is assurance of the quality of provision. The National...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Youth Services (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: From 2020 to 2024, current Exchequer funding provided by my Department for youth services and programmes increased from €61.79 million to €77.95 million, a 26% increase overall. In respect of Budget 2025, I have secured a further significant increase to existing youth schemes to .€84.79 million This increased allocation will support the expansion of both targeted and...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Budgets (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy for his question. At the end of September, gross expenditure is running €278.6 million ahead of REV profile. The main expenditure pressures for the Department in 2024 are in International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS), Specialist Community Based Disability Services (SCBDS), Tusla, the Child and Family Agency and Early Learning and Care, and...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Improving access to quality and affordable early learning and childcare is a key priority of Government. Data available to my Department demonstrates that, overall, early learning and childcare provision is expanding in terms of number of services opening, the number of places and hours of provision that services are offering, the numbers of staff employed and the numbers of parents supported...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Improving access to quality and affordable early learning and childcare is a key priority of Government. Data available to shows that the level of capacity in the sector has risen substantially in recent years. Sector profile data shows an increase in enrolments nationally of 8% between 2022 and 2023 with a similar increase in enrolments in Kildare for the same period. However, I am aware...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Youth Services (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department officials and I regularly meet with representatives of the youth sector, including young people, youth service providers and the Education and Training Boards (ETBs) who administer a number of the key funding schemes on behalf of my Department. My officials are in regular contact with Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI), the representative body for all of the ETBs....

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The term after-school can cover a range of activities from regulated school aged childcare to after-school homework clubs or youth activity projects such as cooking lessons. Depending on the activity, funding may be available from different Departments and agencies. For the purposes of this answer, it is assumed that the matter being raised is school aged childcare. A ‘school age...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Equality Issues (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: All public bodies have responsibility under Section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 to promote equality, prevent discrimination and protect the human rights of their employees, customers, service users and everyone affected by their policies and plans. The public sector duty assessment and implementation plan for the Department of Children, Equality, Disability,...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Children in Care (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The question of total number of children currently in various forms of care has been interpreted to refer to children in alternative care. Tusla’s latest available Monthly Service Performance and Activity Report informs that there were 5,803 children in care at the end of July 2024. 87.2% (5,062) of all children in care are in foster care (3,588 general foster care, and 1,474 relative...

Appointment of Chief Commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission: Motion (8 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I move: That Dáil Éireann, noting that the Government, on 19th September, 2024, agreed to nominate Liam Herrick for appointment by the President as Chief Commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, recommends, pursuant to section 13(1)(b) of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 (No. 25 of 2014), that Liam Herrick be appointed by the President...

Proposed Approval by Dáil Éireann of the Trade Marks (Madrid Protocol) (Amendment) Regulations 2024: Referral to Joint Committee (8 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I move: That the proposal that Dáil Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft: Trade Marks (Madrid Protocol) (Amendment) Regulations 2024, a copy of which has been laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 16th September, 2024, be referred to the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, in accordance with Standing Order 95(5), which, not later...

Ministerial Rota for Parliamentary Questions: Motion (8 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I move: That, notwithstanding anything in the Order of the Dáil of 29th March, 2023, setting out the rota in which Questions to members of the Government are to be asked, or in the Order of the Dáil of 24th September, 2024, Questions for oral answer, following those next set down to the Minister for Transport, shall be set down to Ministers in the following temporary sequence: ...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Budget 2025 (8 Oct 2024)

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

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Qualifications (8 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Under the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016, all staff working directly with children in a pre-school service must hold at least a Level 5 major award in early childhood care and education on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ), or a qualification that has been deemed to be equivalent. My Department has published a list of qualifications that meet the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Undefined (8 Oct 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: Mother and Baby Homes (8 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The National Centre for Research and Remembrance, to be located on the site of the former Magdalen Laundry on Sean McDermott Street in Dublin 1, will stand as part of our national institutions. One element of the National Centre will be a research centre and repository of records related to institutional trauma in the 20th century, which will form part of the National Archives (NAI). ...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (8 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: It is noted that the question refers to the age at which qualifying children cease to be eligible for the National Childcare Scheme (NCS). For this reason, it should be noted that while both the Universal and Income-Assessed subsidies are available for children aged up to 15 years (meaning their eligibility ceases on the day of their 15th birthday), the upper age eligibility can extend beyond...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Child and Family Agency (8 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: As this is an operational matter, I wish to inform the Deputy that my officials have asked Tusla to respond directly to you on this matter.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Child and Family Agency (8 Oct 2024)

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