Results 1,101-1,120 of 11,907 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Education Welfare Service (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Tusla Education Support Service (TESS) has statutory responsibility under the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 for ensuring all children attend school regularly. Educational Welfare Officers (EWO's) work with families and children to overcome barriers to their school attendance, participation and retention. TESS has been working in collaboration with my Department and the Department of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Proposed Legislation (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2019 is an important piece of legislation which seeks to provide for much-needed reform of guardian ad litem (GAL) arrangements. Its objective is to regulate the existing system of GAL appointments and to extend the system so that GALs can be made available to a larger number of children on a more equitable basis. It provides a statutory basis for a nationally...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: National Childcare Scheme (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The basis for the design of the National Childcare Scheme is provided in the 2016 Policy Paper on the Development of a new Single Affordable Childcare Scheme, previously published and made available to the Deputy. This informed the Childcare Support Act which was debated and progressed through both Houses of the Oireachtas in 2018. The Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs also...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Services (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: For this question, ‘school aged children’ has been defined as any child aged 4 years or more on 1stSeptember 2020. It should be noted a a proportion of these may opt to continue in ECCE for a second year or move junior infants. Since 1stSeptember 2020, 1,913 school aged children have received a standard hours award under the NCS. Standard hours subsidies are awarded where one of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: National Childcare Scheme (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The National Childcare Scheme commenced in November 2019. There is no comparable data as yet for the NCS to September 2019, and as such it is not possible yet to compare the NCS year on year. It should also be noted that the NCS was suspended from April to June while the Department established emergency schemes to support and sustain the Early Learning Care and School Aged Childcare sector in...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Community Childcare Subvention Programme (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The number of children registered on the Community Childcare Subvention Plus (CCSP) programme for the 2020-21 programme year up to 02 December 2020 is 15,248. This compares to 38,558 for the same period last year and represents a reduction of 60%. A reduction in the numbers availing of CCSP was expected following the closure of the programme to new entrants on 15 November 2019, on the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Early Childhood Care and Education Programme (ECCE) programme is a universal free two-year pre-school programme available to all children within the eligible age range of 2 years 8 months to 5 years 6 months. The number of children registered on ECCE as of 2 December 2020 was 100, 800. This is a 2% reduction on the same period in 2019. This reduction in demand for ECCE places was...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Services (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: As the subject matter of the Deputy's question relates to an operational matter for Tusla, I have referred the matter to them for a direct reply.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Services (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department does not record data on the number of childcare services that have ceased offering school age childcare places. Providers of early learning and care and school aged childcare series are not required to inform my Department of the number of children in their services, with the exception of those children who receive subsidies under the various funding programmes operated by my...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Services (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department does not have information on the number of children attending school aged childcare as childcare providers are not required to provide data on the number of children who attend early learning and care or school aged childcare on a private fee paying basis. My Department does have data on the number of school aged children attending after school services who are receiving...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Domestic Violence Refuges Provision (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: Under the Child and Family Agency Act, 2013, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency has statutory responsibility for the care and protection of victims of DSGBV. In 2020, I provided €25.3m to Tusla in core funding for DSGBV services. This supports some 60 organisations around the country. I am also providing additional resources to Tusla to support these services to cope with the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Domestic Violence Services (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The specific pay and conditions of staff in domestic violence and abuse services has not been raised with me. Tusla supports some 60 domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV) organisations in the provision of front line services throughout the country. Funded service providers operate independently of Tusla and are responsible for the recruitment of employees and the terms and...

Organisation of Working Time (Domestic Violence Leave) Bill 2020: Second Stage [Private Members] (8 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank Deputy O'Reilly and Sinn Féin for bringing forward their proposals for additional support for victims of domestic violence, which allows us an opportunity to debate and discuss this important issue. In the programme for Government agreed in June, the three Government parties called out the fact that in Ireland, we are experiencing an epidemic of domestic, sexual and gender-based...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Adoptive Leave (8 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The extension of adoptive leave is an important commitment in the Programme for Government. On 22 October 2019 Government approved the general scheme of the Adoptive Leave (Amendment) Bill to amend the Adoptive Leave Act 1995. The scheme provides for married male same-sex adopting couples to be eligible for adoptive leave and benefit. It also provides for all adopting couples –...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Force Majeure Leave (8 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Government takes the needs of working parents very seriously, particularly the difficulties they are facing in the current pandemic. There have been a number of advances in respect of the leave available to working parents in recent years. The Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019 introduced paid parent’s leave of two weeks for each parent to be taken in the first year of a...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Assisted Decision-Making (8 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 434, 435, 436, 437, 438, 441, 442 and 457 together. My Department has recently expanded following the formation of the Government in June and now includes Disability under its remit. The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill and the Disability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill are two pieces of legislation which will be progressed in 2021 and...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Domestic Violence Services (8 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The response to Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (DSGBV) is a cross Departmental and multi-agency issue. Policy is coordinated by the Department of Justice and Equality (DJE). Under the Child and Family Agency Act, 2013, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency has statutory responsibility for the care and protection of victims of DSGBV. The Deputy will be aware that...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Funding (8 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department funds a broad range of organisations and projects. Organisations that meet the criteria and terms of their grant agreement will continue to be funded. 

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Costs (8 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The introduction of the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) in late 2019 was a landmark moment for making high quality childcare more affordable and accessible to families in Ireland. The NCS is designed to be highly inclusive and to meet the needs of those families who need it the most. The NCS is based on the principle of progressive universalism and has regard to the best interests of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Direct Provision System (8 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 444 to 447, inclusive, together. An accommodation centre for families in the International Protection process will open on Port Road in Letterkenny in early 2021. It is expected that residents will move into the centre on a phased basis over a period of 8 to 10 weeks thereafter.    While their application is being examined, all applicants for...