Results 561-580 of 19,925 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (29 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: Core Funding, which was introduced in 2022, is designed to improve affordability for parents through the introduction of fee management. It also supports the ability of providers to meet the additional costs resulting from the Employment Regulation Orders for Early Years Services, which came into effect in September 2022, as it provides increases in funding to early learning and...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (29 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: The Programme for Government outlines the commitment to ‘undertake a broad consultation and publish a detailed Action Plan to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early childhood education and care system with State-led facilities adding capacity’. It goes on to state, ‘This plan will enhance parental choice through ongoing support for public, private and...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (29 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: As mentioned by the Deputy, the Programme for Government commits to reducing the cost of childcare to €200 per month per child and exploring options to cap childcare costs including costs for larger families. A number of existing Schemes would need to play a role to achieve these aims. The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme, which provides two years of pre-school...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Child and Family Agency (29 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: In the timeframe available, it has not been possible to compile the information requested by the Deputy, My Department and I continue to assist Tusla in its work and I will forward the information to the Deputy as soon as it has been compiled.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (29 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: The level of pay for staff in the sector does not reflect the value of their work for children, families, society and the economy. As the State is not the employer of staff in the sector, neither I nor my Department can set their pay or determine working conditions. The Joint Labour Committee is the formal mechanism established by which employer and employee representatives can negotiate...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (29 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: As the State is not the employer of staff in early learning and childcare services, neither I nor my Department can set wage levels or determine working conditions. There is now a formal mechanism established in the independent Early Years Services Joint Labour Committee, where employer and employee representatives can negotiate terms and conditions of employment, including minimum pay...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Offices (10 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: I am very conscious of the pain caused by the deaths of children who were resident in the former Mother and Baby institution in Bessborough. One of the most tragic aspects of what happened is the uncertainty regarding the burial place of many children who were resident there. The investigation of burial arrangements in Mother and Baby institutions, including Bessborough, was an important...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Youth Work Supports (10 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: Youth funding is administered on behalf of my Department by the 16 Education and Training Boards. Youth funding is allocated on an annual basis to each Education and Training Board for youth services within each ETB functional area rather than on a county-by-county basis. The youth funding provided to Waterford Wexford Education and Training Board for the period 2020 to 2025 for both...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (10 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: Thank you for your question, Deputy. A response will be provided directly to you in the coming days.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Schemes (10 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: I would like to offer my sincere condolences to any parents who have been bereaved and to acknowledge that there are many people who will have experienced this loss. There is currently no form of statutory bereavement leave of any kind in Ireland. This type of leave is normally dealt with through employment contracts. The Government fully appreciates that parents who have...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Reports (10 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 343 and 344 together. I can confirm to the Deputy that research is being undertaken for the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage on the impact of the Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP) scheme, if any, on the private rental market. My Department has facilitated the transfer of anonymised ARP data to assist in that research I can further...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (10 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: Improving access to quality and affordable Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare is a key priority of Government. Early learning and childcare capacity is increasing. An annual sector profile demonstrates an 8% increase in enrolments between 2021/22 and 2022/23. Core Funding application data shows that between Year 1 and Year 2 of the scheme, annual place hours increased by...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (10 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: 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. The most recent published capacity data for the 2023/24 programme year estimated that there were 2,729 children enrolled in ELC and SAC services in County Carlow and 4,617 children enrolled in ELC and SAC services in County Kilkenny. This data...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Community Welfare Services (10 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: Thank you for your question, Deputy. A response will be provided directly to you in the coming days.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Community Welfare Services (10 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: Thank you for your question, Deputy. A response will be provided directly to you in the coming days.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Child and Family Agency (10 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: I wish to inform the Deputy that my officials have asked Tusla to respond to you directly on this matter.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Child and Family Agency (10 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: Tusla has a duty, under Section 45 of the Child Care Act 1991 to make a decision whether each person leaving care has a need for assistance, and to provide services in accordance with the legislation and subject to available resources. Upon reaching the age of 18, a young person is deemed to have left State care. Young people who have had a care history with Tusla are entitled to an aftercare...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Artificial Intelligence (10 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: I wish to inform the Deputy that department's ICT Business unit is looking at several actions to improve data collection and database construction. These actions are outlined in the Departments “Digital Strategy 2024-2028: Our digital Future” under objective five “Data Agility”. With data protection by design as a guiding principle, the unit seeks to engage with...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Artificial Intelligence (10 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: I wish to inform the Deputy that no projects are currently underway with CeADAR, Ireland’s national centre for AI.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Artificial Intelligence (10 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: My Department is currently collating the information requested and a reply will issue directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.