Results 2,541-2,560 of 11,864 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Education Welfare Service (31 Jan 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Statutory and operational responsibility for the delivery of child protection and welfare services is a matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. The Deputy is seeking information in relation to an operational matter for Tusla. Consequently, I have referred the matter to Tusla, and requested that a direct response be provided to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Education Welfare Service (31 Jan 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Statutory and operational responsibility for the delivery of child protection and welfare services is a matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. The Deputy is seeking information in relation to an operational matter for Tusla. Consequently, I have referred the matter to Tusla, and requested that a direct response be provided to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Education Welfare Service (31 Jan 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Statutory and operational responsibility for the delivery of child protection and welfare services is a matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. The Deputy is seeking information in relation to an operational matter for Tusla. Consequently, I have referred the matter to Tusla, and requested that a direct response be provided to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Education Welfare Service (31 Jan 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Statutory and operational responsibility for the delivery of child protection and welfare services is a matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. The Deputy is seeking information in relation to an operational matter for Tusla. Consequently, I have referred the matter to Tusla, and requested that a direct response be provided to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Strategies (31 Jan 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: My department is responsible for co-ordinating the implementation of the different actions under the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy (NTRIS) by a range of Departments, including my own. Action 4 of the NTRIS concerns the support of schools, in collaboration with Traveller and Roma organisations, to develop education resources on Traveller and Roma culture and history. The...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (31 Jan 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Since the outset of the war in Ukraine in early 2022, Ireland has provided accommodation to over 100,000 people between those fleeing Ukraine and International Protection applicants. This includes approximately 75,000 Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) from Ukraine who required State supported accommodation and over 26,000 International Protection applicants (IPs) currently in IPAS...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (31 Jan 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy for her question. A response will be provided directly to the Deputy in the coming days. The Deputy may wish to be aware that the Community Engagement Team has been established within my Department which stands ready to respond to queries of this nature, and they may be contacted directly at community@equality.gov.ie.

Services for those Seeking Protection in Ireland: Statements (30 Jan 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: It was 600.

Services for those Seeking Protection in Ireland: Statements (30 Jan 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: It is a significant number.

Services for those Seeking Protection in Ireland: Statements (30 Jan 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I appreciate having a further opportunity to speak in the House on migration, specifically this evening on the issue of international protection. Before speaking to the specifics of the debate, it is important to set out the context. As we are living it, and have lived it over the past three years, it is easy to lose sight of how unprecedented these circumstances have been. Since the...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Jan 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy for raising this point. He raised it with me beforehand. I am aware of the article the Deputy spoke about. Whenever a childcare, early learning or after-school care service closes, it is a deeply traumatic time for children and parents. That being said, a significant number of early learning and after-school care services have opened in Cork in the past year. I will...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Revised)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I welcome the opportunity to discuss the Revised Estimates for my Department for 2024, including that of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, IHREC. As members will have seen in the briefing provided for them last week, my Department is projected to spend €7.293 billion in current expenditure and €135 million in capital expenditure during 2024. This represents an...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Revised)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Thank you. As regards the use of private providers by Tusla, this happens in the context of foster care, residential care and special emergency arrangements. The question was posed in terms of cost controls in the private sector. Our objective is to support the public element of provision, whether that is directly through Tusla's social workers, Tusla residential placements or the...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Revised)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Yes. We expect it to be up and running by the end of quarter 1 of this year. I do not have a specific date but that gives us a clear idea. We have done a significant amount of work to put in place the major IT system that will be needed to deal with a scheme to which 34,000 people will apply. We have put in place staff to oversee it. We have also put in place the training, and we spoke...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Revised)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: There will be 2,000 children who will use childminders, so there will be a smaller number of childminders.

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Revised)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: It will be a smaller proportion, but we will still be looking at a couple of hundred childminders. As the Cathaoirleach knows, we have the childminding action plan we have been working on. It has been published and we have been implementing it in recent years. A key element to getting these childminders registered is the element in the child care (amendment) Bill, on which the committee...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Revised)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: They are very different circumstances. There will, therefore, be a public consultation on these regulations. Those will be written in regulation-speak, but there will be a plain English version as well. We will be seeking submissions on the draft of the regulations. This is a consultation and we will listen. I imagine changes will take place as a result of that consultation, because I...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Revised)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: In terms of closures, there were 115 early learning and childcare, ELC, closures in 2023 and then 52 stand-alone school-age childcare facilities in 2015. Therefore, the total number closures in 2023 was 167. That was the lowest number of closures in the previous five years. Importantly, however, between early learning and childcare and stand-alone school-age childcare, 296 services opened...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Revised)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: What we have is 265, so it is very similar. That is the 6%. A figure of 97% of all community services and 93% of private services have taken up core funding. In certain areas, we have 100% take-up. In County Kilkenny, for example, we have 100% take-up in core funding and we are at 98% in County Carlow. A number of other counties have very high take-up rates as well. The lowest we have...

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Revised)
Vote 25 - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Revised) (30 Jan 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Agreed.