Results 981-1,000 of 2,335 for speaker:Joe O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Health: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (21 Sep 2022)

Joe O'Brien: 120. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on plans to provide the pandemic bonus payment to non-HSE/non-Section 38 organisations covered by the Government decision; when these workers can expect to receive the payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46160/22]

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (20 Sep 2022)

Joe O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 359 and 379 together. Community Employment (CE) is an active labour market programme designed to provide eligible long-term unemployed people and other disadvantaged persons with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a temporary, fixed term basis.It supports projects that provide work experience for long term unemployed persons....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (20 Sep 2022)

Joe O'Brien: The aim of the Community Employment (CE) programme is to enhance the employability of disadvantaged and long-term unemployed people by providing work experience and training opportunities for them within their local communities. The programme aims to improve a person’s opportunities to return to the labour market. Participation on CE is on a voluntary basis, and participants are free...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (20 Sep 2022)

Joe O'Brien: The aim of the Community Employment (CE) programme is to enhance the employability of disadvantaged and long-term unemployed people by providing work experience and training opportunities for them within their local communities. The programme aims to improve a person’s opportunities to return to the labour market. CE placements are intended to be temporary and subject to time limits....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (20 Sep 2022)

Joe O'Brien: Community Employment (CE) is an active labour market programme designed to provide eligible long-term unemployed people and other disadvantaged persons with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a temporary, fixed term basis. The programme is delivered through independent CE sponsoring authorities who are the legal employers of CE supervisors and CE assistant...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Community Development Projects (15 Sep 2022)

Joe O'Brien: I am acutely aware of the increase in the cost of living and rising costs in recent months, especially increasing energy prices. Given this, the supports provided by the Department to assist communities are more important than ever. The Department was allocated €378 million for 2022, which will enable continued delivery of a wide range of measures to support communities and address...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Community Development Projects (15 Sep 2022)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Deputy. That case was made when I was in Galway and Ballinasloe last week. Galway Rural Development made the case very well. I also had a good meeting in the Connacht Hotel with a group of 60-plus community employment supervisors. They certainly made the case around costs and made some good suggestions about what we could do in terms of materials grants as well. That is not a...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Community Development Projects (15 Sep 2022)

Joe O'Brien: I agree with the sentiment. It is a good opportunity for me to mention another avenue in respect of cost issues such as lighting and heating, namely, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI. On energy generation projects, the climate action plan sets a clear goal for renewable energy delivered through local community-based projects. These projects will be delivered through the...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (15 Sep 2022)

Joe O'Brien: My Department continuously engages with the community and voluntary sector including through the Cross Sectoral Group (CSG) and in implementing ‘Sustainable, Inclusive and Empowered Communities’, the five-year strategy to support the C&V sector. My Department also delivers a wide range of supports to eligible community and voluntary organisations throughout the country....

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Substance Misuse (15 Sep 2022)

Joe O'Brien: My officials have regular engagement with the Department of Health regarding the National Drugs Strategy. My Department is represented on the Strategic Implementation Group (4) of Reducing Harm and Supporting Recovery. This group comprises sectoral, agency and Departmental officials. The strategy is relevant to my Department's work in the community and voluntary sectors as it is vital in...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Insurance Coverage (15 Sep 2022)

Joe O'Brien: My Department is currently working to assist in addressing the impact the cost and availability of insurance is having on community organisations. In publishing the National Volunteering Strategy 2021-2025, Government has acknowledged the importance of volunteering to the well-being of the nation, and set out a plan for the delivery of an agreed and ambitious vision. The Strategy,...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Energy Prices (15 Sep 2022)

Joe O'Brien: I am aware of the challenges facing community groups in relation to running costs. In November 2021, I launched the €9m Community Activities Fund to support community and voluntary groups, particularly in disadvantaged areas, with their running costs such as utility (Electricity, Heating charges) or insurance bills. Groups were also be able to use the funding to carry out...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (15 Sep 2022)

Joe O'Brien: The Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP), is our country’s primary social inclusion programme. The current iteration began on 1 January 2018 and will run until the end of 2023. My officials have begun the process of developing a new iteration of SICAP which will begin in 2024. The programme provides funding to tackle poverty and social exclusion at a local...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (15 Sep 2022)

Joe O'Brien: In 2019, my Department published Sustainable, Inclusive and Empowered Communities - A five year strategy to support the community and voluntary sector in Ireland2019-2024. The strategy reaffirms the Government’s commitment to supporting the sector and addressing some of the burdens faced by service providers, whilst also recognising the reality of finite resources and the need to...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (15 Sep 2022)

Joe O'Brien: I am acutely aware of the challenges which community groups and community centres are facing throughout Ireland. All matters in relation to planning are, of course, dealt with by the relevant Local Authority and An Bord Pleanála. However, the Department provides a number of funding streams to assist groups in both rural and urban areas with some of the cost challenges they face. The...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (15 Sep 2022)

Joe O'Brien: My Department’s Community Services Programme (CSP), currently supports over 430 community organisations to provide employment opportunities and the delivery of a diverse range of local services, through a social enterprise model. The CSP contribution is a fixed annual contribution towards the overall cost of the employees with funding of €19,033 currently provided for each...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (15 Sep 2022)

Joe O'Brien: My Department’s Community Services Programme (CSP) currently supports over 430 community organisations to provide employment opportunities and the delivery of a diverse range of local services, through a social enterprise model. The CSP contribution is not aligned to the minimum wage and does not meet the full salary cost of supported posts, rather it is a fixed annual contribution...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (15 Sep 2022)

Joe O'Brien: The Government's five-year strategy to support the community and voluntary sector, Sustainable, Inclusive and Empowered Communities, was published in 2019. This is a whole of government strategy led out by my Department, which is implemented collaboratively with the sector through the Cross Sector Group on Local and Community Development. This Strategy is important in seeking to strengthen...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Charitable and Voluntary Organisations (15 Sep 2022)

Joe O'Brien: My colleague Minister Humphreys published the Charities (Amendment) Bill on 29 April 2022. The Bill proposes to update existing charity law to improve the ability of the Charities Regulator to conduct its statutory functions and ensure greater public trust and confidence in the sector. It is important that we strike the right balance between necessary regulation and proportionate...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Schemes (14 Sep 2022)

Joe O'Brien: Public Participation Networks (PPNs) were established to provide representation for the community sector in Local Authority policymaking structures, giving local volunteers a greater say in local government decisions which affect their own communities. PPNs are not grant-awarding bodies and are not permitted to give direct grants to community groups. They receive funding from the...