Results 761-780 of 11,687 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Childcare Services (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The data available to my Department demonstrates that, overall, early learning and childcare provision is expanding. The early years sector profile survey shows that between the 2021-22 year and the 2022-23 year, the estimated number of enrolments in services rose by 8% and the estimated number of staff in the early learning and childcare workforce also rose by 8%. Data from Tusla on...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Special Educational Needs (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The issues raised by the Deputy do not fall under the remit of my Department or the HSE provided service under its remit, which is the Children’s Disability Network Teams (CDNTs). The question pertains to a range of services beyond HSE provisioned therapy services. These include including music, literacy and numeracy, and counselling supports. The question also relates to support...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: State investment in early learning and childcare has increased by 72% since the Programme for Government was published. The First 5 investment target set in 2018 was achieved in 2023 - five years early. In 2025, State investment will be €1.37 billion. The State is not the employer and therefore does not set the pay or conditions for employees in the sector However, there is ,...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department has not undertaken a detailed analysis of the proposal outlined. However, I can provide some information on relevant issues for consideration. My Department estimates that the annual wage bill for the sector is €1.041 billion. This includes employers' costs - such as PRSI & holiday pay - and wages for ancillary staff. The Independent Review of Costs...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Disability Services (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The government are aware of the difficulties faced by the families of children with complex needs and is continuing to implement positive changes to help children access therapy and services. Children’s disability services are provided based on the presenting needs of the child rather than by their diagnosis. These services are provided by 93 Children’s Disability Network...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Core Funding scheme administrator collects data in regions, which are connected to local City or County Childcare Committees. The two regions in Cork used are Cork City and Cork County. For the current programme year, no services in either Cork City or Cork County have withdrawn from Core Funding and, as of 30 September, 95% of services in Cork City and 92% of services in Cork County...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Disability Services (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I wish to thank the Deputy for raising this matter. Budgetary Measures: The HSE advises that Community Healthcare Organisation, CHO4, Cork Kerry Disability Services, received an increase of €61 million to the budget in the period 2020 to May 2024. This figure was allocated to both adult and children services. Cork Kerry Disability Services provide services for over 13,000 people...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Disabilities Assessments (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Both the Government and the HSE remain committed to the delivery of appropriate services for children with disabilities and will work with families and staff to develop services that meet their needs. I acknowledge the delays in accessing Assessments of Need (AONs) and therapy interventions, directly related to vacancies across the Children’s Disability Network Teams (CDNTs). Work...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: All Early Years services are required by law to register with Tusla. Registered providers are required to notify Tusla in writing of the closure of a service not later than 28 days after the closure. The register is updated monthly, in arrears, by Tusla. In total, at the end of August 2024 there was a combined number of 5,043 preschool and stand-alone school-age childcare (SAC) services...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Projects (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: In March 2022 Government approved high level proposals for the National Centre for Research and Remembrance, to be located on the site of the former Magdalen Laundry in Sean McDermott Street, Dublin 1. The National Centre will comprise: a museum and exhibition space, to be led by the National Museum of Ireland; a research centre and repository of records related to institutional trauma in...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Ireland has a legal obligation to meet the temporary accommodation needs of people newly arrived in Ireland seeking international protection and International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centres are established for this specific purpose. I support and I will always defend that process because it is important that people who are fleeing war and conflict have the ability to find...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Some €89 million has been allocated to the sector over the period 2023-2026 under the revised National Development Plan. This will enable significant capital investment in early learning and childcare. My Department’s Building Blocks Capacity Grant scheme, which is operating over 2024 and 2025, will support services to increase capacity through two strands, the Expansion Scheme,...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department has not conducted a socioeconomic impact assessment in relation to the Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP) scheme. However, before considering extending the scheme, which ends in March 2025, my Department consulted its key pledge stakeholders; the Irish Red Cross, the International Organisation for Migration and the Local Government Management Agency, via survey and...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I launched Together For Better, the new funding model for early learning and childcare in September 2022. A key objective of this model is to make early learning and childcare more affordable. Through Together for Better, my Department provides a number of schemes which offset the cost of early learning and childcare to families. The ECCE programme, which provides two years of preschool...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Equal Start is a major new model of Government-funded supports to ensure children experiencing disadvantage can access and meaningfully participate in early learning and childcare. Equal Start was launched in May and the first phase of implementation commenced in September. Around 750 services have been targeted for supports under Equal Start as they have been objectively found to have the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: A key objective of my Department to reduce the cost of childcare for parents to an affordable level. Investment in early learning and childcare is at unprecedented levels with public funding exceeding €1.1 billion, clearly demonstrating Government commitment to this objective. The ECCE programme, which provides two years of preschool without charge, enjoys participation rates of...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department is progressing a range of actions to improve the accessibility and affordability of early learning and childcare. The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) is the primary measure aimed at reducing childcare costs. Through the provision of both universal and targeted subsidies, the NCS ensures the highest levels of subsidies go to families that need them most. Since January 2023...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Schemes (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Childcare Support Act 2018, which provides the statutory basis for the National Childcare Scheme, specifies that the Scheme is only open to Tusla-registered providers. This ensures that public funding is provided where there is assurance of the quality of provision. Therefore, only childminders who are registered with Tusla can offer the National Childcare Scheme to the families that...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The 2001 Planning Guidelines for Local Authorities on Early Learning and Childcare Settings, issued under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, provide the current framework to guide both local authorities, and developers and ELC and SAC providers in formulating and considering development proposals. The Guidelines are intended to ensure a consistency of approach...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Youth Services (2 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department has made a significant investment in youth services in 2024, building on the increases in recent years and securing the achievements into the future. The current funding for youth services and programmes in my Department this year is €78 million, an increase of €5 million, or 6.8%, on the 2023 budget. From 2020 to Budget 2024, current Exchequer funding for youth...