Results 601-620 of 20,818 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (29 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 2306 and 2442 together. The Programme for Government commits to “progressively reduce the cost of childcare to €200 per month per child.” This commitment will be achieved over the lifetime of the Government. Initial steps have already been taken. Recently, I announced the introduction of maximum fee caps for all Partner Services...

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

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 2307 and 2309 together. In a very competitive labour market and with low levels of unemployment, recruitment and retention is a challenge for all employers. Data from the 2024 Annual Early Years Sector Profile survey shows the national turnover rate for the sector was approximately 25.8% and the turnover rate for County Kerry is slightly lower at...

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

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 2308, 2310, 2311 and 2323 together. Pay is one of a number of issues impacting the early learning and care and school-age childcare workforce. The level of pay for early years educators and school-age childcare practitioners does not reflect the value of their work for children, families, society and the economy. As the State is not the employer of...

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

Norma Foley: Budget 2026 is currently being considered by Government in the context of the annual estimates process, which officials in my Department are actively engaging in. Therefore, the Deputy will appreciate that it would not be appropriate for me to comment further at this stage. Pay is one of a number of issues impacting the early learning and care and school-age childcare workforce. The...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Rural Schemes (29 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: Understanding the early learning and childcare needs of rural families is an important action under the Department’s First 5 Strategy 2019-2028 and the Department of Rural and Community Development’s (DRCD) Our Rural Future: Rural Development Policy, 2021-2025. Informing this action, research published by my Department in 2024 found that parents in rural areas reported a...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Disability Services (29 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: This is a matter for the Health Service Executive (HSE) and they have been asked to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Disability Diagnoses (29 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: This is a matter for my cabinet colleague, the Minister for Education.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Disability Services (29 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: The department provides for the upgrading and maintenance of playground facilities for children and young people is through the annual Capital Grant Scheme for Play and Recreation. Established in 2013, this grant scheme operates through and with Local Authorities. The scheme also funds the development of new playgrounds and recreation facilities and the incorporation of natural play elements....

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Disability Services (29 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: Budget 2025 saw an additional €333m for specialist community-based disability services across the country. This represents an 11.5% increase in funding on 2024, and brings to €3.2 billion the total allocation to HSE Disability Services. This additional investment is the single largest year-on-year increase in funding in real terms in the disability sector. Since 2020 the HSE...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (29 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: The National Action Plan for Childminding 2021-2028, launched in 2021, set out a pathway for the extension of registration to childminders. A key objective of the National Action Plan for Childminding is to enable parents who use childminders to benefit from State subsidies through the National Childcare Scheme. As a result of the commencement of the relevant parts of the Child Care...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (29 Jul 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. Data from the Annual Early Years Sector Profile 2023/24 shows that the estimated number of enrolments increased by approximately 19% from the 2021/22 programme year. Core Funding application data shows that between...

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

Norma Foley: The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) is a programme of supports designed to ensure that children with additional needs can access the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme. Its goal is to empower early learning and care providers to deliver an inclusive pre-school experience, ensuring that every eligible child can meaningfully participate in the ECCE programme and reap the...

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

Norma Foley: The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme provides universal, free preschool to children in the eligible age range of 2 years and 8 months to 5 years and 6 months. The upper age limit of 5 years and 6 months for ECCE was set in consultation with the Department of Education and ensures that children transition into primary school with their peers. In certain exceptional...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Departmental Legal Cases (29 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 2329 to 2331, inclusive, and 2333 to 2335, inclusive, together. Litigation is dealt with on behalf of the Department by the Attorney General’s Office, the Chief State Solicitor’s Office or the State Claims Agency who engage lawyers to act for my Department where necessary. The costs of any external solicitors or counsel in such litigation are...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Departmental Legal Cases (29 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: The Department of Children, Disability and Equality have not conducted any audits or reviews of legal fee spending in the past five years.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Disability Services (29 Jul 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, Disability and Equality: Children in Care (29 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, is required under the Child and Family Agency Act (2013) to support and promote the welfare and protection of children; to support and encourage the effective functioning of families; and to provide services relating to the psychological welfare of children and their families (excluding the provision of specialist mental health services for children). ...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Children in Care (29 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: I am aware that eligibility for the State Pension (Contributory) is an area of genuine concern for foster carers. The Programme for Government 2025 contains a commitment to develop a pension solution for foster carers in recognition of the enormous contribution they make to vulnerable children in our society, and to acknowledge their long-term commitment and to ensure that they are...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Children in Care (29 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: I welcome the recent announcement of the extension of eligibility for the Back to School Allowance to encompass foster carers. This measure is an important step in the Government’s commitment to providing further support to children in foster care. Payment of the Allowance falls wholly under the remit of the Department of Social Protection, and is aimed at helping families with the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Children in Care (29 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: My Department has overseen a significant increase in investment in foster care supports, including in relation to the foster care allowance, which was increased to €400 per week for children aged under 12, and €425 per week for those over 12 in 2024. These increases mean that foster carers received over €1,700 additional funding per child over the course of 2024. In 2025,...