Results 4,501-4,520 of 11,700 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Broadcasting Sector (21 Mar 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: This is a matter for my cabinet colleague, the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media as the accessibility of audio-visual media services is the responsibility of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Child Abuse (21 Mar 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Review of the Handling of Past Complaints of Abuse in St John Ambulance Ireland carried out by Dr Geoffrey Shannon, was published on 16th of March 2023. I welcome the publication of this report while being cognisant of the distress its contents may cause to victims/survivors. I would like to thank the people who participated in the review and acknowledge how difficult it can be to...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Emergency Accommodation (21 Mar 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 to accommodate an unprecedented volume of persons seeking refuge following the invasion of Ukraine with over 77,000 people arriving in Ireland, of which over 57,000, have sought accommodation from this Department. Overseeing provision...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (21 Mar 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: There are currently 96 international protection applicants (IPAs) residing in St. Anne's Roscrea as of week ending 12 March 2023. The Office of Public Works (OPW) are currently developing a programme of rapid build homes on behalf of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth who are the Approving Authority for the programme. St. Anne's in Roscrea is not...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (21 Mar 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Decisions on who is eligible to engage with homeless services are matters for the Minister for Housing. As the Deputy will be aware, the response to the ongoing migration crisis has entered an extremely difficult phase, with no apparent accommodation for international protection applicants (IPAs) at scale available into the short term to medium term. The overflow facility at the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Maternity Leave (21 Mar 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Maternity Protection Act 1994 and the Maternity Protection (Amendment) Act 2004 provide a pregnant employee with six months of paid maternity leave and an additional 16 weeks of unpaid leave, alongside other entitlements such as breastfeeding breaks which will be extended to two years following the birth of the child through the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill. The...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Sustainable Development Goals (21 Mar 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a significant and ambitious framework. A whole-of-Government approach to its implementation has been taken in Ireland. My Department continues to engage with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC), who lead on SDG implementation, and sit on the Interdepartmental SDG...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Care Services (21 Mar 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: A number of Government Departments are engaged in supporting young carers. The Department of Social Protection provides funding to support Family Carers, which includes the following schemes to support young carers: - resources that include practical information designed to help in particular teachers and staff in educational settings to identify and support young carers, - creation of...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Care Services (21 Mar 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department provides funding to Tulsa for family support services which includes community-based counselling services. These services support children and families by providing access to marriage/relationship counselling, bereavement counselling services for adults, and counselling and support for children in relation to bereavement and parental separation. Some services funded under the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Residential Institutions (21 Mar 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 provides guaranteed access to birth and early life information where it exists. Where a relevant body holds relevant records, those records will be released to the applicant. Unfortunately, due to the historic nature of the records, and the nature of activities involved, the records held in respect of a particular applicant may not be consistent...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Residential Institutions (21 Mar 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 928 and 929 together. The Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 provides a clear and guaranteed right of access to birth, early life, care, and medical information to all persons who were adopted, boarded out or nursed out, subject to an illegal birth registration, or resided as a child in a mother and baby or county home institution. Where this information...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (21 Mar 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Little Library is an initiative under the First 5 Strategy. It is led by my Department, with the Department of Rural and Community Development (DRCD) and the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) and is funded under Dormant Accounts Funding. Under the Little Library Initiative 2021, 4,500 early learning and childcare services, including childminders, were offered an opportunity to...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Policies (21 Mar 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The term “early learning and care” was first used in First 5, the Whole-of-Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families, 2019-2028. First 5 adopted the term early learning and care, or ELC, to define: “any regulated arrangement that provides education and care from birth to compulsory primary school age – regardless of the setting, funding,...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: State Bodies (21 Mar 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022provides guaranteed access to birth and early life information where it exists, thereby addressing a decades-long historic injustice. In this context, there is an initial surge of demand for services under the Act and everyone is committed to responding to this demand as quickly as possible. As of Monday 13th March, a total of 2,992 applications for...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (21 Mar 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am very conscious of staffing pressures in the early learning and childcare (ELC) sector, and of the need for improvement in pay and working conditions for early years educators and school-age childcare practitioners. As the State does not employ staff in ELC and school-age childcare (SAC) services, I cannot set wage levels or determine working conditions for staff in the sector....

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (21 Mar 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) is a suite of universal and targeted supports designed to ensure that children with a disability can access the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme. The key objective of AIM is to support early learning and care providers to deliver an inclusive pre-school experience, ensuring that children with a disability can meaningfully...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (21 Mar 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: A wide range of training programmes and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) resources are provided and made available free of charge to early years educators, school-age childcare practitioners and childminders by my Department and by the agencies and support organisations that it funds, including Better Start, the City / County Childcare Committees, and a number of National Voluntary...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Direct Provision System (21 Mar 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Deputy, My Department has not been offered the property in question as a potential location for the accommodation of international protection applicants (IPAs) or Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) and, therefore, it has not been considered as such. A detailed assessment must take place before any property can be deemed suitable as accommodation for IPAs/BOTPs.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Direct Provision System (21 Mar 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Deputy, My Department has not been offered the property in question as a potential location for the accommodation of international protection applicants (IPAs) or Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) and, therefore, it has not been considered as such. A detailed assessment must take place before any property can be deemed suitable as accommodation for IPAs/BOTPs.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Direct Provision System (21 Mar 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Deputy, My Department has not been offered the building in question in County Kerry as a potential location for the accommodation of international protection applicants (IPAs) or Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) and, therefore, it has not been considered as such. A detailed assessment must take place before any property can be deemed suitable as accommodation for IPAs/BOTPs.