Results 3,861-3,880 of 11,893 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Policies (27 Jun 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department is currently in the final stages of completing the scoping exercise. This will identify the key issues and information required to inform the development of a policy specifically to address the needs of children and families in private care arrangements/informal kinship care in Ireland.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Schemes (27 Jun 2023)

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: Childcare Services (27 Jun 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The availability of high-quality early learning and childcare is a key Government priority. The Department monitors early learning and childcare capacity on an ongoing basis, with a particular focus on responding to the unmet early learning and childcare needs of families. The annual data captured by Pobal on behalf of my Department - through the Early Years Sector Profile Survey -...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Direct Provision System (27 Jun 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: My officials will require more time to collate information regarding correspondence or meetings with managers of International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) accommodation centres and the dates these took place. My officials will contact the Deputy with the details as soon as it is possible.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Direct Provision System (27 Jun 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Please see in tabular format, the list of providers who have provided accommodation services to the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS). Figures paid to individual providers is deemed to be commercially sensitive information. COMPANY NAME Alan Hyde + Ted Murphy ALLPRO SECURITY SERVICES ATLANTIC BLUE LTD ...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Direct Provision System (27 Jun 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Department is not aware of any instances alleging that any company contracted by the State to manage or run International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centres is not paying the rent due to the owner of the property.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Direct Provision System (27 Jun 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) policy in relation to Persons in Suicidal Distress outlines that the Critical Incident (CI) policy is to be implemented in the event of a person attempting suicide or dying by suicide. Death statistics are published every 6 months and may record where a person has died by suicide. IPAS published a Critical Incident Policy in November...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Regulations (27 Jun 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 was signed into law by the President on 4th April. Its aim is to employees to achieve a better balance between their home lives and work lives. The Deputy may be aware that yesterday, June 27th, I announced that the first sections of the Act will be commenced on July 3rd 2023, namely Part 1; Part 2, other than sections 7, 8, 12 (a),...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (27 Jun 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: From the beginning of Minister O’Brien’s engagement with the international protection applicants (IPAs) who are residents of Magowna House and some of the local community of Inch, his priority has been the welfare of the IPAs living in Magowna House. After the intervention of Minister O’Brien last month, the local residents of Inch who had organised a blockade agreed to...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Grant Payments (27 Jun 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department was allocated €69m in the National Development Plan (NDP) allocation for the period 2023-2025. This will enable significant capital investment in early learning and childcare across three pillars: Building Blocks - Improvement Grant, Building Blocks - Capacity Grant and a Building Blocks - Innovation Grant. My Department has allocated €9m in 2023 for the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Grant Payments (27 Jun 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department has allocated €9m in 2023 for the Building Blocks - Improvement Grant for Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) facilities. Grants range from €35,000 to €75,000 across two separate strands: Green Energy and Retrofit. Services that signed up for the Core Funding Scheme were eligible for funding under the scheme. Overall, 946...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (27 Jun 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: As this relates to Tusla operational matters, the question has been forwarded to Tusla for direct reply to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (27 Jun 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: As this relates to Tusla operational matters, the question has been forwarded to Tusla for direct reply to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Refugee Resettlement Programme (27 Jun 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Ireland has responded to the largest displacement of people on the European continent since the Second World War. Since February 2022, my Department has worked intensively as part of the cross-government humanitarian response to assist over 85,000 arrivals fleeing the war in Ukraine, of which 62,000 have sought accommodation from this Department. Overseeing provision of accommodation on...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (22 Jun 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme is a universal two year pre-school programme available to all children within the eligible age range of 2 years and 8 months to 5 years and 6 months. A child must have reached 2 years and 8 months of age on or prior to 31 August of the relevant programme year to be eligible. The lower ECCE age threshold of 2 years and 8 months...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (22 Jun 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department was allocated €69m in the National Development Plan (NDP) allocation for the period 2023-2025. This will enable significant capital investment in early learning and childcare across three pillars: Building Blocks - Improvement Grant, Building Blocks - Capacity Grant and a Building Blocks - Innovation Grant. My Department has allocated €9m in 2023 for the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Expenditure (22 Jun 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: There are no commercial bodies under the aegis of this Department and, as such, I can advise that it has no expenditure on consulting services or on ‘business-as-usual’ outsourcing to report.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (22 Jun 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) is a subsidy provided to help parents to meet the cost of childcare and allow children to access Early Learning and School Age Childcare. My Department has made a number of recent enhancements to the NCS to reduce the cost of childcare for parents availing of the NCS, these include: The removal of the practice of deducting hours spent in pre-school or...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Equality Issues (22 Jun 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department has commissioned a study to evaluate the processes for implementation of three equality strategies, namely the Migrant Integration Strategy, the National Strategy for Women and Girls, and the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy. Work on this study has now concluded and it is expected to be published very shortly.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (22 Jun 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I would like to assure the Deputy that the health and wellbeing of all Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) who avail of accommodation provided by my Department is of the highest priority to me and to my officials. As part of our contractual arrangements with providers of accommodation for BOTPs, we set out a number of requirements which providers must meet in terms of service...