Results 1,381-1,400 of 11,729 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Funding (3 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department has no role in relation to the funding of the European Youth Parliament. However, the Deputy may be interested to know that my Department provides funding to support the participation by young people in Ireland in the EU Youth Dialogue.  The EU Youth Dialogue facilitates and empowers young people to influence decision making on a local, national and European level and...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (3 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 504, 507 and 509 together. I thank the Deputies for raising the concerns of former residents of these institutions. In addition to the information provided in this reply, my Office will arrange for responses to issue to the individuals concerned. In responding to the Final Report of the Commission of Investigation, the Government has approved the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (3 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: There are 30 City/County Childcare Committees (CCC) located nationwide who are funded by my Department. The role of CCC includes: - Assisting services in respect of compliance responsibilities - Assisting services in respect of the Case Management process/sustainability issues - Delivering training/workshops to services - Assisting services in respect of Regulatory requirements...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Parental Leave (3 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019 introduced two weeks of paid Parents' Leave for each parent to be taken in the first year after the birth or adoptive placement of a child. Under proposals approved by Government in December 2020, each parent will be given an additional three weeks of paid Parents' Leave, and the period in which it can be taken will be extended to the first two...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Parental Leave (3 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 508 and 510 together. The Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019 introduced two weeks of paid Parents' Leave for each parent to be taken in the first year after the birth or adoptive placement of a child. Under proposals approved by Government in December 2020, each parent will be given an additional three weeks of paid Parents' Leave, and the period in...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (3 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: There are no capital funding schemes available at present from my Department for the construction of new  early learning and childcare services. Existing or prospective early learning and childcare providers can receive expert advice on establishing, or expanding, an early learning and childcare service from the national network of City / County Childcare Committees (CCCs), who can...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (3 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: A copy of the Final Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes is being made available at no cost to any survivor who requests one. My Department can be contacted at 01-6473200 from Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 6pm, or by emailing motherandbabyhomes@equality.gov.ie. Relevant details have been published on my Department's website and circulated through...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Qualifications (3 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am aware of the publication of the results of the SIPTU Big Start Campaign's Early Years Professionals Survey 2020. Many of the issues highlighted in the survey, in particular the level of pay among those working in early learning and care (ELC) and school-age childcare (SLC), are issues on which I have been actively engaging since becoming Minister for Children, Equality,...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (3 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: First 5: A Whole of Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families, published in November 2018, sets out an ambitious programme of work across Government Departments to improve the experiences and outcomes of children in Ireland from birth to age 5 across all aspects of their lives in the coming ten years. Included in First 5 is a commitment to designing a new Funding...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (3 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: In December 2020, working in partnership with SIPTU and Childhood Services Ireland (within IBEC), I began a short process in which interested parties were invited to discuss how best to address issues of pay and conditions in the sector and how a Joint Labour Committee (JLC) might support this. I appointed Dr Kevin Duffy, former Chair of the Labour Court, to be an independent chair for this...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (3 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, provides funding to over 700 external organisations, mainly in the non-profit sector, to commission services to fulfil Tusla's statutory responsibilities, and to deliver on Tusla's strategic objectives and key actions. Non-profit organisations operate independently of Tusla and are responsible for the recruitment of employees and the terms and...

Covid-19 (Childcare): Statements (4 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I welcome the opportunity to make a statement and take questions relating to the early learning and childcare. Before I begin, it is appropriate to recognise that tomorrow is the anniversary of the huge march that took place on 5 February 2020, when a coalition of groups across the early learning and childcare sector took to the streets, seeking better pay, conditions and supports for the...

Covid-19 (Childcare): Statements (4 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy for her questions and her recognition of the sector. As she knows, the employee wage subsidy scheme is an all-of-economy support. We were successful in having it applied to the entire childcare sector and in having an exemption from the turnover requirements. It has been essential in supporting the sustainability of services. It is due to end at the end of March, at...

Covid-19 (Childcare): Statements (4 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: We have put a very substantial amount of money into the sector to keep it sustainable, keep services open and match the considerable determination of providers and childcare professionals in this regard, both in the context of the continuation of the existing payment schemes and the additional money invested through the employment wage subsidy scheme We are examining what will happen in...

Covid-19 (Childcare): Statements (4 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I acknowledge there is some confusion about that. I regret it if there was any confusion in the ether. Responsibility for the programme rests with the Department of Health and the HSE. Currently, early learning childcare staff and school-age childcare staff are in vaccination category 11. I have advocated with the HSE and the Department of Health that that prioritisation continues to be...

Covid-19 (Childcare): Statements (4 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: Both I, in my Department, and the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, who is still with the Department of Health, continue to advocate for all children in the context of the vaccine programme, but particularly for those who are most vulnerable. If there are particular constituents or others with conditions that the Deputy wishes to highlight, he might correspond with us and we will endeavour...

Covid-19 (Childcare): Statements (4 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: Like the Deputy, I recognise the online day of action taking place tomorrow marking last year's march and I also recognise the crucial issue of pay and resolving this in the sector. In every session of questions and answers, we have engaged on this matter and we are seeing progression, in that last time we were talking about a JLC preprocess. Now that is done and I am expecting the report....

Covid-19 (Childcare): Statements (4 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am aware of that case. As the Deputy noted, the AIM funding does not apply to those children, although it is a very beneficial and useful scheme. There is a gap in the provision at the moment, but we recognise it and the Minister of State and I, at the higher level, will be conscious of addressing it. When the Minister of State's disability brief moves to my Department, we will have the...

Covid-19 (Childcare): Statements (4 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: The maintenance of staff and of childcare professionals in employment is an absolute key priority for me. I was aware in January that creeping numbers of staff were claiming the PUP. Therefore, one of the conditions we have put in place with the enhanced funding measures, which will come in from 5 February, is the maintenance of staff on the payroll. That was certainly a key demand of...

Covid-19 (Childcare): Statements (4 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I apologise if I do not have a more detailed response for the Deputy. I thought the focus today was on Covid-19 and childcare. With regard to that issue, however, I am conscious of the responsibilities of my Department as regards general data protection regulation, GDPR, and the transfer of the archive to us. In the context of the deletion of these tapes, at the moment we are in the...