Results 5,121-5,140 of 11,700 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Adoption Services (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Officials from my Department have been engaging with both the Adoption Authority of Ireland (AAI) and the Child and Family Agency, Tusla in respect of the ongoing implementation of services under the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022. Information and Tracing services, as provided for under the Act, opened to applications on 03 October 2022. As of 12 December, a total of 5,956...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The structure of Core Funding is based on the recommendations of the Expert Group outlined in Partnership for the Public Good. The primary sources of data that informed the allocation of Core Funding include: - Survey data, which is collected from providers on an annual basis - My Department’s own administrative data on funding to providers - The Tusla register of...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Refugee Resettlement Programme (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department is focused on providing immediate, temporary accommodation to people fleeing the conflict in Ukraine. This has involved entering into arrangements with over 650 providers including hotels, guest houses and B&Bs, religious properties, with additional capacity operated by voluntary bodies and local authority emergency facilities. The offer of accommodation has been noted...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Seirbhísí Cúram Leanaí (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 947 and 949 together. Tá luach mór ag baint le tacú le seirbhísí a chur ar fáil do pháistí sa Ghaeilge agus iad an-óg. Tá ról tábhachtach ag seirbhísí luathfhoghlama agus cúraim leanaí (ELC) anseo, go háirithe maidir leis an nGaeilge a chur chun cinn mar theanga bheo. ...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Legislative Measures (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I have detailed below the Acts passed since the establishment of this Department in June 2020, set out the numbers of sections outstanding in these Acts and outlined where reviews have taken place: - The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity)(Amendment) Act 2022 was signed into law on 17 December 2022, but has yet to be commenced, with all 104 sections outstanding. It is an amending Act...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Child and Family Agency (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I wish to inform the Deputy that my officials have asked Tusla to respond directly to you on this matter.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 953 and 954 together. On 29th March 2022 Government accepted the findings of the independent Review of the Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC) Operating Model in Ireland that a dedicated state agency is the optimal operating model for the early learning and childcare sector for the years ahead. This Review undertook a...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department does not share details of funding applications received from individual services or those under consideration. Early learning and childcare providers can access funding though my Department’s funding model, Together for Better, which brings together three major programmes: the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme, including the Access and Inclusion Model...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department’s role is focused on the immediate, short-term accommodation needs of those who have fled here from Ukraine. To date, more than 70,000 people have arrived in Ireland and in excess of 51,000 of those have been referred to this Department seeking accommodation from the State.  The wider situation regarding accommodation remains extremely challenging. Ireland...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Direct Provision System (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 963 and 975 together. Under the Recast Reception Conditions Directive (SI 230 of 2018), the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) is legally required to provide accommodation to international protection applicants who seek it while their claim for international protection is being determined by the International...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Significant investment is being made by my Department to address affordability for parents through the National Childcare Scheme (NCS). As the Deputy is aware, I announced additional funding of €121m as part of Budget 2023 for the NCS, which has been allocated to reduce average parental co-payments for early learning and childcare. From 2 January 2023, all families accessing...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The wider situation regarding accommodation for Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection remains extremely challenging. My Department is now accommodating approximately 70,000 people, including both those fleeing war in Ukraine and International Protection applicants, compared to 7,500 in 2021. Managing available beds occasionally necessitates moves, in order to ensure accommodation is...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Commissions of Inquiry (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Recommendation 17 of the report by the Special Rapporteur on Child Protection was that a State inqu iry into illegal adoptions (broadly defined) should be established on a non-statutory basis. The question of creating an effective non-statutory inquiry is a sensitive, complex and challenging one. The Special Rapporteur acknowledges this and, in particular, notes the challenges associated...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Policies (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Recommendation 16 of the report by the Special Rapporteur on Child Protection is that provision should be made to cover legal costs associated with a declaration of parentage of persons affected by illegal birth registrations. Through the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022, the Government has introduced new mechanisms to formally recognise the lived identity of those affected by illegal...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Capital Expenditure Programme (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department was allocated €70m in the National Development Plan allocation. 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 for The Building Blocks - Improvement Grant for Early...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Mother and Baby Homes (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I recognise the importance of delivering the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme for survivors. The legislation for the Scheme was published in October 2022 and passed Committee Stage in Dáil on 15th November 2022. I hope to bring the Bill to Report Stage in the Dáil in the coming weeks. The operational elements, which includes the establishment of an Executive Office to...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The accommodation of international protection applicants (IPAs) is a demand-led process with applicants arriving in the country and seeking accommodation spontaneously. In 2022, over 15,000 IPAs arrived in Ireland, making it by far the highest yearly arrival figure to date. For context, the average arrival figure for IP applicants for the 3 year period from (2017 to 2019) was 3,500. As at...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am advised by my officials that the invoice referred to is being given priority for processing with a view to making payment as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Supporting parents in bringing the cost of Early Learning & Care and School-Aged Childcare is a core ambition of the Government and of mine as Minister. To that end, the Deputy will be aware that, owing to the significant investment made available by the Government for providers over two successive Budgets, from this month the cost of childcare has fallen for thousands of parents...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Legislative Reviews (18 Jan 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: As part of the review of the Equality Acts (Equal Status Acts 2000-2018 and the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015), a public consultation process was launched in July 2021, to examine the functioning of the Acts and their effectiveness in combatting discrimination and promoting equality. The review includes Programme for Government commitments to consider the introduction of a socio-economic...