Results 421-440 of 20,818 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Early Childhood Care and Education (8 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: Rights of the Child (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: The Government is firmly committed to ratifying the Second Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Ireland signed the Second Optional Protocol in 2000, and the Government is committed to taking the further step of ratifying it as soon as possible. In Irish treaty practice, the State must be in a position to meet the obligations it assumes under the terms of an...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Disability Services (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1872 and 1997 together. The European Commission published a proposal for a Directive establishing the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities on 6th September 2023. The proposal is one of the flagship initiatives of the EU Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-30, and aims to facilitate the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Disabilities Assessments (8 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: Parental Leave (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1874, 1882 and 1884 together. There have been significant developments in the entitlements to family leaves for working families in recent years. The Government committed in the Programme for Government to supporting parents, including by extending paid leave for parents to allow them to spend more time with their baby during the first year. Under the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Employment Rights (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: Thank you for your enquiry about the Technical Adjustment Payments applied to public service employees transferring from the National Educational Welfare Board’s (NEWB) payroll systems to the Tusla - Child and Family Agency payroll. I am advised that when Tusla was established on 1 January 2014 it brought together over 4,000 staff who were previously employed within Children and...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Departmental Reviews (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: My Department commissioned the PLACES: Pregnancy Loss (under 24 weeks) in the Workplace report, a qualitative research study aimed at examining the workplace experiences of parents coping with pregnancy loss and at determining whether policy interventions are required at a national level to better to support bereaved parents in the workplace. The study focuses on people who experience...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Departmental Strategies (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: My Department leads on cross-government policy to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. The Programme for Government 'Securing Ireland's Future' commits my Department to publish and implement an updated National Strategy for Women and Girls. My Department is currently working to fulfil that commitment. A stakeholder consultation was completed at the end of...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Mother and Baby Homes (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: All men, women and children infected with Hepatitis C via contaminated blood and blood products are entitled to a Health Amendment Act 1996 (HAA) card which gives them access on a statutory basis to a wide range of primary care and hospital-based services. The provisions under the HAA card were put in place because the Government at that time deemed the circumstances to be exceptional; the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Disabilities Assessments (8 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 (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: I want to thank you for bringing this correspondence and request to my attention. As you may be aware, while this Department provides funding to the HSE to deliver specialist disability services either directly or via Section 38 and Section 39 Voluntary Organisations, it does not have any funding or governance relationship with individual organisations. While the strategy, policy...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Mother and Baby Homes (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: In October 2022 the Government made an Order under the Institutional Burials Act 2022 to direct an intervention at the site of the former Mother and Baby institution in Tuam, Co. Galway. In March 2023 the Office of Director of Authorised Intervention, Tuam (ODAIT) was formally established and, in May 2023 the Director was appointed to oversee the excavation, recovery, analysis, identification...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: The Core Funding Scheme is designed to maximise the participation rates of services in the Scheme. The substantial level of investment offered through the Scheme includes a range of measures to:reduce costs for families,deliver improved wages for staff,improve service quality; andprotect the investment of taxpayers’ money so that the State can be assured it is being used for its...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Residential Institutions (8 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.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Employment Rights (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: I recognise the essential work carried out by staff in community and voluntary health and social care organisations, and the reliance of the State on these organisations to deliver supports and services. The agreement reached in March between Government Departments and unions, acknowledges that staff in section 39 funded organisations should be fairly paid for the vital work they do. ...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Maternity Leave (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1888 and 1900 together. I wish to acknowledge the challenges faced by couples pursuing surrogacy arrangements and reaffirm Government's commitment to recognising and supporting Irish families in all their diversity. The Programme for Government 2025 - Securing Ireland's Future commits to introducing paid surrogacy leave and my officials are examining...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Mental Health Services (8 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: Mental Health Services (8 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: Mental Health Services (8 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 Data (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: Monthly Childcare Costs Each year Pobal compiles data from Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) providers as part of the Early Years Sector Profile. Early Learning and Care The most recently published fee data for the 2023/24 programme year indicates that the average (median) weekly fee per child before any government subsidies was €190.00 for full day...