Results 8,861-8,880 of 11,729 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Programme for Government (5 Oct 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department is currently compiling the information requested by the Deputy and a response will be issued directly as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Revenue Commissioners (5 Oct 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I wish to provide the following information to the Deputy regarding settlements between State agencies (under the remit of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth) and the Revenue Commissioners in the past five years. The National Disability Authority, Adoption Authority of Ireland, Oberstown Children Detention Campus and Gaisce have all responded stating that...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Unaccompanied Minors and Separated Children (5 Oct 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Deputy is referring to an operational matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. I have therefore referred the matter to Tusla, and asked that a direct response be provided to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Assisted Decision-Making (5 Oct 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 (the 2015 Act) is a very important piece of legislation that changes the existing law on capacity from the status approach of the wardship system to a flexible functional approach, whereby capacity is assessed on an issue and time-specific basis. It will abolish the wards of court system for adults by repealing the Lunacy Regulation (Ireland)...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Agreements (5 Oct 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international treaty that establishes two procedures aimed at strengthening the implementation and monitoring of the Convention. The first is an individual communications procedure allowing individuals to bring petitions to the Committee claiming breaches of their rights; the second is an...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Disability Services (5 Oct 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: Under Strategic Priority 6 (Engage Employers) of the Comprehensive Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities (2014-2024), the Government committed to increasing the statutory target for employment of people with disabilities in the public sector from 3%, which is the present target, towards 6% by 2024. The legislative proposals to make this change were contained in the Disability...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (5 Oct 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme is a universal two-year pre-school programme available to all children within the eligible age range. The programme runs from September to June each year, aligned with the primary school calendar. A child must have reached 2 years and 8 months of age on or prior to 31 August of the relevant programme year to be eligible for the September...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Adoption Services (5 Oct 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: As the subject matter of the Deputy's question relates to an operational matter for the Adoption Authority of Ireland, I have referred the matter to them for a direct reply.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Disability Services (5 Oct 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I share the Deputy's view that ableism, as with other forms of discrimination, must be challenged. The Equal Status Acts 2000 - 2018 prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities in accessing goods and services. In addition, the Employment Equality Acts 1998 - 2015, prohibit discrimination on the grounds of disability in employment, including vocational training and work...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Youth Work Supports (5 Oct 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: It is now more critical than ever that our young people are supported as they experience the social, economic, physical and mental health impacts of the pandemic. In recognition of the vital role played by youth work in providing such support to young people, funding levels have been maintained throughout the current challenging period. This has enabled the youth sector to continue to...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (30 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy. An extensive amount of work has been done on this issue by my Department with the Departments of Health and Justice. The line Ministers have met on three occasions in regard to this specific legislation and how to advance the issue. The special rapporteur for child protection, Professor Conor O'Mahony, provided a detailed report on options in regard to providing full...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (30 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I can confirm to the Deputy that, in response to the current crisis in Afghanistan, approximately 400 places have been made available by my Department for humanitarian cases from Afghanistan with priority being given to those working on human rights issues, including the rights of women, girls, and minorities, members of LGBT+ community,  as well as those working with NGOs and European...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (30 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I can confirm to the Deputy that, in response to the current crisis in Afghanistan, approximately 400 places have been made available by my Department for humanitarian cases from Afghanistan with priority being given to those working on human rights issues, including the rights of women, girls, and minorities, members of LGBT+ community,  as well as those working with NGOs and European...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (30 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: From the outset of Covid-19, my Department has engaged closely with the HSE Health Protection Surveillance Centre in keeping the sector informed of how to comply with public health guidance. This guidance includes advice for services on how to manage a confirmed case in their service. As is always the case, the terms and conditions of employment are a matter for the employer and the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (30 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I acknowledge that many early learning and care (ELC) and school-age childcare (SAC) services are reporting staffing and recruitment difficulties, with increased pressures as a result of Covid-19. My Department is actively monitoring the issue and has sought data and evidence-based proposals from sectoral representatives. The primary data-source for the ELC and SAC sector is the Pobal...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (30 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department closely monitors developments in relation to early learning and childcare capacity. Data is routinely collected from a variety of sources for this purpose. Local Authority level data is captured annually through the Early Years Sector Profile, administered by Pobal on behalf of the Department.  Owing to COVID, capacity data is not available for 2020. Before the onset of...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (30 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: The National Childcare Scheme (NCS), which was launched in 2019, is my Department's key funding scheme to support parents with the costs of early learning and childcare. The NCS has been designed to be flexible, recognising that childcare needs are different for each family. In creating a single, national scheme, it was important to recognise these differences and create a...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (30 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I can confirm to the Deputy that earlier this month 50 people (11 families) arrived from Greece. Four families entered the Community Sponsorship Programme and the remaining families have been allocated places in the Ballaghaderreen and Clonea accommodation centres. With regard to unaccompanied minors relocated from Greece, the first 8 children arrived in 2020. A further 26 children...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (30 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I can confirm this budget submission was among a number of budget submissions received by my Department in the context of this upcoming Estimates Process. In the context of Budget 2022, I have stated publicly that early learning and childcare will be a key priority for me. In particular, I will be seeking additional investment to address affordability for parents, improve accessibility...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Assisted Decision-Making (30 Sep 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 (the 2015 Act) is a very important piece of legislation that changes the existing law on capacity from the status approach of the wardship system to a flexible functional approach, whereby capacity is assessed on an issue and time-specific basis.  It will abolish the wards of court system for adults by repealing the Lunacy Regulation...