Results 4,901-4,920 of 11,893 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: In answer to the question Deputy Sherlock asked about the amendments, access to the institutional payments scheme is based on evidence of a person's residence in one of the named institutions. That is primarily proved by the database that was created by the commission of investigation. This House voted to keep that database in 2020, to maintain it and to transfer it to Tusla. The database...

Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I move amendment No. 34: In page 22, line 36, to delete “section 13,” and substitute “section 18*, and”. Amendments Nos. 34 to 38, inclusive, relate to the effect of an appeal lodged by the chief deciding officer in the High Court to section 24 of the Bill which relates to appeals. Amendment No. 34 also deals with a cross-referencing amendment arising from...

Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I have already addressed this group of amendments.

Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022: Report Stage (Resumed) (22 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy. I reassure Deputies by reiterating it is the full intention that applications to this payment scheme will be addressed as quickly as possible. While I understand that concern was expressed regarding the absence of specified timelines in the legislation and that this could be interpreted as opening the door to long delays in processing applications, this is absolutely not...

Seanad: Accommodation for International Protection Applicants: Statements (22 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I also welcome the visitors from Coláiste Mhuire. I was glad they were here for a while because I would have been entirely on my own otherwise. We are here this afternoon on the eve of the first anniversary of Russia's brutal war on Ukraine. More than 70,000 people have fled here and more than 7,000 civilians have been killed. This represents the biggest displacement of people on the...

Seanad: Accommodation for International Protection Applicants: Statements (22 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am sorry to interrupt the Senator but I am being called for a vote in the Dáil that I did not anticipate. Can we have a suspension?

Seanad: Accommodation for International Protection Applicants: Statements (22 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am sorry. I know that is rude of me but I have been given my orders.

Seanad: Accommodation for International Protection Applicants: Statements (22 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank all Senators for their contributions. It was a useful opportunity to discuss some of these issues, and to raise and address some of the misconceptions or disagreements that permeate through the Government and State response to the unprecedented crisis we face. I will take it from the start with the numbers and our State's ability to meet the needs of a significant number of...

Seanad: Accommodation for International Protection Applicants: Statements (22 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I think that strengthens the case, though.

Seanad: Accommodation for International Protection Applicants: Statements (22 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: For some people who cannot be provided with that, they will use that and it will not be a correct one. That is the reality. It is fair to put what people do to protect themselves in this context.

Seanad: Accommodation for International Protection Applicants: Statements (22 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: It is something that is hard for us to understand here in this country. On the issue of racism and hatred, Senator Flynn spoke very vividly about the very real hatred her community and indeed she has experienced in her lifetime. There is within the dialogue and discourse over recent weeks a strand of genuine hatred against people because of their race, because of their ethnicity, because of...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Legislative Measures (22 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I welcome the opportunity to address the House today on this issue. The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity)(Amendment) Act 2022 was signed into law on 17 December 2022. It paves the way for the commencement of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015. This legislation will bring about major reform in Irish society. It will have a significant impact on those who lose or have lost...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Legislative Measures (22 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: We have had a discussion before about the Deputy's assertion that the Act was rushed. We took longer because of issues Deputy Pringle and other Deputies raised.

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Legislative Measures (22 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Deputy wanted more time and we gave more time. We tabled amendments and changed the Act. The Deputy said it was not a perfect solution but it was a significant change. That must be recognised. The reason this is behind is that I listened to what Deputies said and took additional time. The Government could have decided to rush it through before the summer recess - it had the numbers -...

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

Roderic O'Gorman: Deputy, as the requested information is quite voluminous, my officials will require more time to answer this parliamentary question comprehensively. Significant resources in my Department are focused on the delivery and management of emergency accommodation for international protection applicants. My officials will provide the Deputy with the details as soon as is possible.

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

Roderic O'Gorman: Deputy, the International Protection Procurement Services (IPPS) can confirm that there are two buildings being used by IPAS to provide accommodation for people in the international protection system that do not presently have fire safety certificates in place. Breaffy Woods Arena currently has a regularisation certificate in place. The provider has applied for a valid Fire Safety...

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

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department has engaged over 700 properties to provide accommodation for Ukrainian Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection. In line with the Department’s commitment to substantially clear the backlog at the end of 2022, I temporarily re-assigned staff from other parts of the Department in December, doubling the size of the payments unit. The enlarged team approved more than 100...

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

Roderic O'Gorman: The Equal Status Acts 2000-2018 prohibit discrimination in the provision of goods and services, accommodation and education. The Acts cover nine grounds of equality, including that of disability. In addition, the Acts prohibit discrimination in the provision of accommodation services against people who are in receipt of rent supplement, housing assistance, or social welfare payments. ...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Parental Leave (22 Feb 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Parental Leave Act 1998 (as amended) provides parents with an entitlement of 26 weeks unpaid parental leave for each eligible child. The leave is available to a 'relevant parent' of a child, which is defined in the 1998 Act as a parent, an adoptive parent, or a person acting in ‘loco parentis’. There have been significant developments in the entitlements to family leaves...

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

Roderic O'Gorman: Deputy, further to your question on the need for a public information campaign in respect of the national response to the arrival of refugees and asylum seekers in Ireland, the Department of the Taoiseach has convened a Senior Officials Group (SOG) which is looking at the issue of community engagement and communications. My Department, and several others are engaged in that process. That is...