Results 281-300 of 20,818 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Departmental Funding (23 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: This question is a matter for my cabinet colleague, the Minister for Health.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Education and Training Provision (23 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: Improving access to quality and affordable Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare is a key priority of Government. Early learning and childcare capacity is increasing. Data from the Annual Early Years Sector Profile 2023/24 shows that the estimated number of enrolments increased by approximately 19% from the 2021/22 programme year. Core Funding application data shows that...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (23 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme is a universal, free programme available to all children within the eligible age range. It provides children with their first formal experience of early learning prior to commencing primary school. The table below shows the total number of ECCE-only services, compiled by county and programme year from 2020/2021 to 2024/2025. An...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Disability Services (23 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: 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, Disability and Equality: Departmental Data (23 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: 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, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (23 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) provides financial supports to parents to help reduce the cost of early learning and childcare. The Scheme has undergone a number of enhancements in recent years to further improve affordability for parents. These include the extension of the universal subsidy to all children under 15 and two increases to the minimum hourly subsidy, which is now worth...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (23 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) provides financial supports to parents to help reduce the cost of early learning and childcare. The Scheme has undergone a number of enhancements in recent years to further improve affordability for parents. These include the extension of the Universal subsidy to all children under 15 and two increases to the minimum hourly subsidy, which is now worth...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (23 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) provides financial supports to parents to help reduce the cost of early learning and childcare. The NCS is based on the principle of progressive universalism and has regard to the best interests of children - meaning that those on the lowest incomes will receive the highest rates. Rates awarded will vary from €2.14 per hour, up to a maximum of...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (23 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) provides financial supports to parents to help reduce the cost of early learning and childcare. The NCS is based on the principle of progressive universalism and has regard to the best interests of children - meaning that those on the lowest incomes will receive the highest rates. Rates awarded will vary from €2.14 per hour, up to a maximum of...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (23 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: In 2025, €25m in voted expenditure was made available for the Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme. The Building Blocks Extension Grant scheme allows for Core Funding Partner Services to extend their existing premises or, in the case of community services, to construct or purchase new premises. 50 projects were shortlisted to be funded and will deliver up to 1,500 additional new...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (23 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: The Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme was launched on 4th November 2024. The closing date for applications was 30th January 2025 and a total of 78 applications were received from across the country. 50 of these applicants were successful in progression to the next stage of the process and a currently finalising the legal formalities associated with the scheme. Applicants were scored...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Qualifications (23 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: 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, Disability and Equality: Departmental Funding (23 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: A key priority of my Department is to support improved accessibility to childcare places, including capacity for babies and toddlers. Core Funding has served as a key vehicle in addressing this insufficiency of supply and making the provision of these places more attractive. Since its introduction in 2022, Core Funding has provided increased levels of funding to services delivering care...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Departmental Policies (23 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: A key priority of this Department is to support improved accessibility to childcare places, including capacity for babies and toddlers. Core Funding has served as a key vehicle in addressing this insufficiency of supply and making the provision of these places more attractive. Since its introduction in 2022, Core Funding has provided increased levels of funding to services delivering care...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (23 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: Improving access to quality and affordable Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare is a key priority of Government. A Forward Planning and Delivery Unit has been allocated additional staff and is pursuing an ambitious programme of work to identify areas of need, forecast demand, and deliver public supply within the childcare sector where required. A forward planning model is...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (23 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: Work is well advanced on the Programme for Government commitment to develop an Action Plan for Administrative and Regulatory Simplification for the Early Learning and Childcare Sector, supported by a Working Group comprising representatives from the Department, Pobal and the City / County Childcare Committee and an Advisory Group comprising providers, educators/practitioners and parent...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (23 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: Improving access to quality and affordable Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare is a key priority of Government. The structure of this Department's funding schemes offer a high degree of flexibility to early learning and childcare providers in structuring their service offering. In particular Core Funding, which provides funding directly to services to support operating...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Departmental Data (23 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 546 and 547 together. As this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Disability Services (23 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: As this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Departmental Funding (23 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: This Government recognises that waiting times for Assessment of Need (AON) are too long and have a significant impact on delivering on the needs of children and their families. Both this Department and the HSE are committed to reducing the timeframes for assessment and have been working intensively to progress measures to achieve this. It is important to emphasise that, while children...