Results 441-460 of 11,687 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Child and Family Agency (5 Nov 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 948 and 949 together. Thank you Deputy for your questions in relation to the loss of files and the consequences of the criminal cyberattack on the HSE. As you are aware, on 14 May 2021, the Health Service Executive (HSE) was the victim of a major ransomware cyber-attack which affected its IT systems. At that time, the HSE provided several IT...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Home Schooling (5 Nov 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: This is a matter for my cabinet colleague, the Minister for Education.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: EU Directives (5 Nov 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: EU Directive 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on work-life balance for parents and carers has been transposed in full through the provisions of the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023. Enacted on 4 April 2023, the Act introduces important entitlements for workers, including leave for medical care purposes for parents of children under...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Equipment (5 Nov 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I wish to inform the Deputy that the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) has issued the following number of mobile handsets over the period covered... 133 devices in 2022 125 devices in 2023 121 devices in 2024 For a total cost, excluding VAT, of handsets and phone bills of €198,797.94. - 2022 2023 2024 ...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (5 Nov 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I firmly believe the level of pay for early years educators and school-age childcare practitioners should reflect the value of their work for children, families, society and the economy. The State is not the employer and therefore does not set the pay or conditions for employees in either early learning and care (ELC) or school-age childcare (SAC) services. However, there is now, through...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Child and Family Agency (5 Nov 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Young people who have had a care history with Tusla are entitled to an aftercare service based on their eligibility and assessed needs. This assessment considers a number of factors including the young person’s educational and accommodation needs. Upon reaching the age of 18, a young person is deemed to have left State care. All eligible care leavers are supported through...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Health Strategies (5 Nov 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: As my Department has not received clarification on the terms "P2 and P3 services", I am unable to provide an answer on that part of the question. However I am happy to provide an update on First 5, Ireland’s whole-of-government strategy to improve the lives of babies, young children and their families. In June of this year my Department published the First 5 Annual Implementation...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Public Inquiries (5 Nov 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 970 and 971 together. The youth organisation in question is a voluntary organisation governed by an independent Board. It receives some of its funding from DCEDIY and raises other funding through member subscriptions and fundraising. My Department's governance role in respect of the funding which it provides to the organisation is focused on ensuring...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (5 Nov 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) is a model of supports designed to ensure that children with disabilities can access the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme. Its goal is to empower pre-school providers to deliver an inclusive pre-school experience, ensuring that every eligible child can meaningfully participate in the ECCE Programme and reap the benefits of high quality...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Staff (5 Nov 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am advised by HR Unit that there is one WTE solicitor employed by my Department to act as a temporary solicitor for The Farrelly Commission of Investigation. Year Number of solicitors employed 2023 1 To date in 2024 1

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (5 Nov 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: As mentioned by the Deputy, an independent review of the ECCE Programme has recently been completed. Among other issues, it examined the issues of ratios for children participating in the ECCE Programme and possible flexibility with ECCE age eligibility. The findings from the review are being considered by my Department and will inform any potential changes to the Programme in the future. ...

Ceisteanna Eile (Atógáil) - Other Questions (Resumed): Library Services (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I cannot speak our national language with the Deputy's sense of competence, to my shame. When we designed the little book bag programme, which is part of the little libraries initiative, whereby a bag of books was given to each child, in the English-language bag there was at least one Irish-language book. There were also bags with solely Irish-language books. They supported domestic Irish...

Ceisteanna Eile (Atógáil) - Other Questions (Resumed): Departmental Budgets (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I have increased funding for youth services every year because I see its absolute centrality in allowing for meaningful interventions with some of the most vulnerable young people in society. I fully believe that every young person, irrespective of his or her background or where he or she comes from in our country, should have the option to engage in youth work if he or she so wishes. We...

Ceisteanna Eile (Atógáil) - Other Questions (Resumed): Departmental Budgets (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The need is absolutely growing in every part of my Department, whether it is youth services, early years, disability or integration and the needs of people fleeing to Ireland. The needs across all parts of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth are growing. I have, however, always prioritised increasing the budget for youth services because it is so...

Ceisteanna Eile (Atógáil) - Other Questions (Resumed): Library Services (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Little Library universal initiative funded by my Department focuses on strengthening the links between families and their local libraries, as well as encouraging a love of storybooks and reading among young children. The initiative has shown great success with over 70,000 young children having joined their local library because of the Little Library programme. The programme’s...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Child Care Law Reporting Project (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: It is not. The Child Law Project is very important in shining a light on where the State has failed. We learn from that. One of the responses I have made to the work the project has done and my engagement with other NGOs working in this area has been to convene a new committee of statutory agencies. We are bringing together the HSE, Tusla, An Garda Síochána, my Department and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Child Care Law Reporting Project (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank Deputy Durkan. I will need to come back to him if I am to give him a comprehensive answer. If it is all right, I will come back to him in writing on that question. The tendering process will begin in November. I met with the Child Law Project in March and set out our position. We have brought in legislation on assisted decision-making, which also involves a reporting element....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh (Atógáil) - Priority Questions (Resumed): Child and Family Agency (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Following issues with this service provider, Tusla's director of services issued a direction to all regional chief officers on 15 January of this year to stop using the services of this company. Tusla informed my Department on 10 September that one Tusla local area inadvertently re-engaged this particular service. The service was wrongly engaged for supervised access where another funded...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh (Atógáil) - Priority Questions (Resumed): Child and Family Agency (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Yes, it was this year. Tusla has advised that this arrangement ceased on 8 October this year. Two children in a sibling group availed of this service for supervised access in one local area. It was one family. This company supervised four visits. I want to make it clear that this is not acceptable and should not have happened. We have raised the issue directly with Tusla. The spend...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh (Atógáil) - Priority Questions (Resumed): Child and Family Agency (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I always have a preference for the public over the private, particularly in the area of child law and child protection. It is a real concern to me that, because of Tusla's past deficits in recruitment, it is too reliant on private sector providers, whether for supervised access, residential services or fostering services. That is why I have put a lot of investment into Tusla. More than...