Results 621-640 of 20,908 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Thalidomide Victims Compensation (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: Since March of this year, the National Thalidomide Advocacy Office has supported four individuals to apply to Contergan in Germany for recognition that their disabilities are as a result of Thalidomide exposure. The office has continued to liaise between Contergan and those individuals to provide additional information to the foundation as required. These applications are now under...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Child and Family Agency (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: Foster carers play a vital role providing stable and caring homes for our most vulnerable children. Foster care is recognised as the preferred care setting for a child in the care of the State. As of Q4 2024, 87.2% of children in care were being cared for by foster carers, a figure which compares favourably internationally. Children in foster care are a diverse group of individuals with an...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Mental Health Services (8 Sep 2025)

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

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Early Childhood Care and Education (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: The introduction of Core Funding in 2022 brought a significant increase in investment for the sector, with €259m of funding paid directly to services in year 1 of the scheme, of which €210.8m was entirely new funding. The fourth year of the scheme began on 1 September 2025, with an annual allocation of over €390 million. 95% of eligible providers signed up to Core...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Departmental Policies (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: Improving access to quality and affordable Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare is a key priority of Government. The Programme for Government commits to resourcing and transforming the Supply Management Unit into a Forward Planning and Delivery Unit within my Department to identify areas of need, forecast demand and deliver public supply within the childcare sector where...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: The Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare sector comprises a mixture of private for-profit services and community not-for-profit services. Services may enter contracts with my Department to receive public funding and offer access to subsidies to parents. Each year, Pobal compiles data from Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) providers as part of the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: The National Action Plan for Childminding 2021-2028 set out a pathway for the extension of regulation to childminders. As a result of the commencement of the relevant parts of the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2024 and the Childminding Services Regulations, which came into effect on 30 September 2024, childminders are now able to apply to register with Tusla. The regulations set out the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Departmental Policies (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: The Programme for Government commits to publishing ‘a detailed Action Plan to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early childhood education and care system with State-led facilities adding capacity. This plan will enhance parental choice through ongoing support for public, private and community provision, as well as childminders'. It further states that 'Childminding plays...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: In the interest of clarity, transparency and consistent reporting, I have defined a service that left Core Funding as any service that had a gap between contracts for Core Funding of 4 or more weeks. There are a number of reasons that a service might fall into this definition, for example a service could have withdrawn from the scheme, been removed from the scheme for breach or rules, or...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Departmental Schemes (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) provides financial support to help families reduce the cost of their early learning and childcare. The NCS is available to families who use both Partner Services (i.e. those contracted into Core Funding) or Non-Partner Services. For families with an existing and valid NCS award, this can be used with any early learning and childcare provider who has...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Early Childhood Care and Education (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 2015 and 2016 together. 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. However, while Government is the primary funder of the sector, the State is not an employer of staff and neither I, nor my Department, set pay or working...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Early Childhood Care and Education (8 Sep 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”. Work is under way to develop this Action Plan which will be informed by stakeholder consultation. Officials in my...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Health Services Staff (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 2018, 2019 and 2020 together. 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: Health Service Executive (8 Sep 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: Health Services Staff (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: As this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Departmental Administrative Arrangements (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: Internal promotional competitions are held periodically. The timelines for these competitions are agreed with Unions in advance of advertising. Successful applicants are placed on panels and are promoted from the panel as necessary to meet workforce planning and business needs of the Department. My Department also operates an Internal Mobility Policy to assist staff transfers within the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Health Service Executive (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: The HSE and funded Agencies are experiencing ongoing challenges recruiting to maximum capacity in the disability sector, reflecting wider workforce pressures in the health and social care sector. Whilst acknowledging the challenges, it is important to recognise that the disabilities workforce is growing year on year. Between December 2019 and July 2025, the workforce in HSE and Section...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Capital Expenditure Programme (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: The Department is following up with the bodies concerned so that the information requested is provided as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Capital Expenditure Programme (8 Sep 2025)

Norma Foley: I am advised that the Department is contacting the relevant aegis bodies and will provide the information requested as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Disability Services (8 Sep 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.