Results 581-600 of 19,404 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Disability Services (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: As this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 512 and 513 together. The Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP) is a monthly payment of €800 available to those who are providing accommodation to a person or people who arrived in Ireland under the EU Temporary Protection Directive. Since the start of the scheme in 2022, €239m has been paid to over 22,399 recipients in respect of hosting...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: Thank you, Deputy, for your question. In terms of international protection applicants, we are currently accommodating over 32,000 people, over 9,000 of whom are children with their family. We accommodate people at over 320 different centres nationwide. All residents of IPAS accommodation are provided with a dedicated IPAS Resident Handbook - this handbook contains information about...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Question Nos. 515 and 516 together. In setting regulatory requirements, the primary consideration must be children’s health, safety and well-being. The minimum adult-to-child ratios for pre-school services are set out in Schedule 6 of the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016. School age services' adult-to-child ratios are set out in...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Qualifications (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 517 and 518 together. I acknowledge that many early learning and care (ELC) and school-age childcare (SAC) services report staffing challenges in relation to recruitment and retention. In general, staffing pressures in the sector are caused not by insufficient supply of qualified personnel, but by high levels of staff turnover. Pay is one of a number...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: The Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP) was introduced to recognise the generosity of people who have opened their homes to provide accommodation to Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) who arrived in Ireland after fleeing the war in Ukraine. The ARP scheme is provided in Part 2 of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 and is administered by the Department of...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Disability Services (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: As this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Gender Recognition (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: The Programme for Government contained a commitment, in terms of gender recognition, to examine arrangements for those aged under 16. DCEDIY jointly commissioned this research, with the Department of Social Protection, to identify the mechanisms used in other countries which govern legal gender recognition of children aged under 16 and to provide practical advice in relation to...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Ministerial Responsibilities (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: I confirm that, apart from limited redactions, the brief prepared for me by this Department following the formation of Government will be published in the coming weeks on the Department's website.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: Since the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022, my Department continues to work as part of the whole-of-Government response with a focus on providing access to emergency temporary accommodation to those fleeing the conflict who request it, in line with Government policy. This supports Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) to make longer term independent arrangements if...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: The State is currently accommodating almost 33,000 people in over 320 International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centres around the country, about 9,000 of whom are children with their families. Knockalisheen is a purpose-built state-owned Accommodation Centre located in County Clare. The centre has a capacity for 354 residents, which also includes the provision of 104 beds in...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Contracts (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: The company in question has provided Ukraine Accommodation and Related services and IP Accommodation and/or Related services to the Department. Payments made in the period 2020-2024 are detailed below: Year Payments 2020 €0 2021 €0 2022 €4,842,283.72 2023 ...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Contracts (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 526 to 528, inclusive, together. Ireland has seen a sharp increase in the number of people applying for international protection since 2022 and our Department provides accommodation for almost 33,000 international protection applicants today, about 9,000 of whom are children with their families. Providing reception conditions – accommodation and...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Asylum Seekers (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: Thank you for your question, Deputy. Over the last eleven months this Department has been focused on progressing the Comprehensive Accommodation Strategy (CAS), which was announced in March 2024, with the prioritisation of particular elements of its multi-strand approach. The goal is to develop a sustainable international protection accommodation system and enable the State to meet its...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Asylum Seekers (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy for this question. A response will be provided directly to the Deputy in the coming days.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Mother and Baby Homes (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: The Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme is designed to provide payments and other benefits to people who spent time in specified Mother and Baby or County Home Institutions. The legislation underpinning the Scheme provides, that the Payment Scheme Office staff may access a number of archives containing the institutional records for Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions. When an...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Youth Services (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: I am very pleased to have secured a total ELS increase of 8% across all the Youth Affairs Unit's sub-heads for 2025, bringing my Department's investment in Youth Affairs to a total of €86.2 million. This increased level of funding has enabled the expansion of youth services' capacity to engage more young people across both universal and targeted youth services The table below outlines...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Youth Services (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: In 2025, new development measures funding will support the UBU Your Place Your Space funding scheme, which targets disadvantaged young people with evidence-informed interventions. An additional €1,200,000 was secured to establish 10 new UBU youth services, providing targeted youth worker-led support to up to 1,000 young people in areas where it is most needed. Additionally, as part of...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Youth Services (11 Feb 2025)

Norma Foley: In 2024, an estimated 405,000 young people have benefited from engagement in youth work services. This steady increase in engagement highlights the ongoing commitment of the government to support and enhance youth work services. The Government remains dedicated to investing in and expanding these services to ensure that more young people can benefit in the years to come. Action 11 of...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Legislative Process (11 Feb 2025)

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