Results 341-360 of 2,335 for speaker:Joe O'Brien

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Post Office Network (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I appreciate the Deputy's passionate advocacy for the retention of the situation with the post office in Roscommon town. I reiterate that An Post has outlined that its change in business model of the six offices I have mentioned, including Roscommon, will not in any way change the range or extent of the services offered by An Post in those selected locations. The company remains committed...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Dental Services (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to address the issue of participation of dentists in the dental treatment services scheme in County Galway. The dental treatment services scheme, DTSS, provides dental care free of charge to medical card holders aged 16 and over. Services available annually and on demand include an examination, including preventative advice, two fillings, emergency...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Dental Services (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: The Minister has made substantial additional investments in oral healthcare services in recent years, but I take the Deputy's point about the lived reality he outlined, especially regarding people with intellectual disabilities trying to negotiate complex administrative systems which are not always very user friendly. I will certainly take that point back to the Minister. I will also ask...

Seanad: Gnó an tSeanaid - Business of Seanad: International Protection (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I first want to apologise to the House for my delay this morning. There was an unexpected event that I did not plan for, so I apologise to everyone for the delay that has caused. I thank Senator Crowe for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee. As the Senator will be aware, the international protection system is currently undergoing a...

Seanad: Gnó an tSeanaid - Business of Seanad: International Protection (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: The Department has made significant investment in staff, technology and re-engineering processes at the IPO and that investment is delivering. Over the course of the past year, we tripled the number of monthly decisions for processing times for applicants from safe countries, reduced under ten weeks, with numbers arriving from them dropping considerably, too. To my own knowledge, when...

Seanad: Gnó an tSeanaid - Business of Seanad: Health Promotion (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Senator for raising this genuinely very important issue. The Government is committed to supporting positive ageing across the life course, as well as ensuring that older people can continue to live independently in their homes and communities for as long as possible. This commitment is enshrined in the national positive ageing strategy, which provides a blueprint for promoting...

Seanad: Gnó an tSeanaid - Business of Seanad: Health Promotion (1 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I acknowledge that tremendous work is being done across the country to ensure communities are fully inclusive of our older citizens. The older people’s councils that have been established in every local authority by Age Friendly Ireland to ensure that older people have a voice in local decision-making, the Senior Citizens Parliament and the national network of Active Retirement...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Community Development Projects (30 Jan 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for his question. My Department’s mission is to promote rural and community development and support vibrant, inclusive and sustainable communities throughout Ireland. The underlying basis for all funding delivered through my Department's community development programmes is to enable communities to identify and address their own needs in this context. In effect,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Community Development Projects (30 Jan 2024)

Joe O'Brien: Decisions on particular allocations for the community animation aspect of SICAP are rolled out to the local development companies. Based on the need presenting to them, they will decide what level of worker should be involved. It is the individual community worker who is engaged under SICAP. The programme is responsive in that sense. There is no set, defined allocation by central...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Community Development Projects (30 Jan 2024)

Joe O'Brien: It is important to mention the PPNs in this regard. In many respects, they are the most comprehensive network of community and voluntary organisations around the country. We fund their support workers as well to build their own capacity. I do not want to leave the PPNs out of this discussion because they are playing a key role. I also do not want to leave out the empowering communities...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Funding (30 Jan 2024)

Joe O'Brien: This issue has come up before. I am not passing the buck, but when a local authority approves a housing development, it needs to, and it is now within the guidelines and part of good practice that it should, facilitate space and infrastructure for a community hall and playing facilities and pitches. That is not always easy to do, but that is where it starts and that is where the line of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Funding (30 Jan 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I will again mention the local authorities. If good proposals are brought to the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, and me for the development of projects that will help communities, we will certainly look at them. They will be rigorously analysed, assessed and evaluated. Big projects on substantial areas of land, as mentioned by the Deputy, need the backing of the local authority as well. We...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Offshore Islands (30 Jan 2024)

Joe O'Brien: To give the Deputy some figures, the cost of heavy and light cargo contracts for 2022 was €2.2 million. It is important to remember that cargo services are procured on the open market through e-tenders and competition is open, fair and transparent. The contracts are generally of a three-year duration, sometimes a little more, but there is a clause to review on an annual basis. What...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Offshore Islands (30 Jan 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I want to confirm that what the Department will do with the action plan is part of a bigger policy and desire to reinvigorate and keep life in the islands. The action plan has a particular focus on improving housing, water, infrastructure, health services, education services, high-speed broadband, outdoor amenities, sustainable tourism and reviewing transport costs. From speaking to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Schemes (30 Jan 2024)

Joe O'Brien: My Department's community services programme, CSP, supports more than 430 community-based organisations to provide local services through a social enterprise model. The CSP contribution per full-time equivalent position is not aligned with the minimum wage and does not meet the full salary cost of supported posts. It is an annual contribution that must be co-funded by the organisations...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Schemes (30 Jan 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Deputy. Some CSP projects do pay the living wage and beyond. It is now clearly a social enterprise model. That is the policy. To assist that we have a coaching and mentoring programme that will be put in place under the European Social Fund, ESF, plus social innovation measure to assist organisations to improve their overall performance including financial sustainability. ...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Funding (30 Jan 2024)

Joe O'Brien: During 2023 more than €16.5 million was allocated to Cork city and county through the schemes administered by my Department, such as the rural regeneration and development fund; the LEADER Programme; the town and village renewal scheme; the community centre investment fund; the community services programme; and the social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, programme....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Offshore Islands (30 Jan 2024)

Joe O'Brien: Reliable, affordable, year-round cargo services are essential for the sustainability of our island communities. They provide support to indigenous island manufacturers and businesses sectors and contribute to the quality of life for island communities. My Department currently subsidises nine heavy cargo contracts for 17 separate offshore islands. In 2022, over 45,000 tonnes of heavy cargo...

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

Joe O'Brien: To be fair, he is in a committee and will close the debate.

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

Joe O'Brien: We are working on it.