Results 10,221-10,240 of 11,744 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Adoption Services (17 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: Section 6 of the Adoptive Leave Act 1995 provides for an entitlement to 24 weeks of paid adoptive leave for an employed adopting mother or a sole male adopter, and an additional 16 weeks of unpaid leave. Under the current legislation, adoptive leave is not available to male same-sex couples who are adopting jointly. Addressing the access to adoptive leave and benefit by male same-sex...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (17 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: The public health response to the current pandemic is set by the Department of Health, therefore the question is more appropriate for my colleague the Minister for Health. However I appreciate the widespread use of non-transparent face masks have presented additional difficulties for the deaf and hard of hearing community, and other communities, in being able to interact with others in their...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes: Engagement with the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth (16 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the committee for the invitation to attend today’s meeting to discuss the report of the commission of investigation into mother and baby homes and certain related matters. The committee provided a comprehensive list of topics for discussion during today’s engagement. I will endeavour to address some of these matters in my opening statement, but we have a lengthy...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes: Engagement with the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth (16 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy for his comments. I recognised during the discussion on the database legislation that I had not reached out enough to survivor groups prior to that. Following the passage of the legislation I met approximately 50 survivors via phone calls, which is a substantial number, during November and December and I continue to meet them. In the context of the publication of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes: Engagement with the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth (16 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I have attended two meetings with the collaborative forum. The minutes of the two meetings will be recorded and will be provided.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes: Engagement with the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth (16 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I will do my best to provide as clear an answer as possible. On a point of clarity, the interdepartmental group, IDG, is not related to the right to rectification. That is dealing with restorative recognition, the financial payments. As regards the immediate avenues for the individual who contacted the Deputy, the commission's archive will move over to my Department fully by 28 February,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes: Engagement with the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth (16 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: Yes. Do I have time to answer now?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes: Engagement with the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth (16 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: On the first point, my understanding is that the treatment of sworn evidential testimony is different from the treatment of the personal accounts given before the confidential committee and, I think, Deputy Sherlock said that the lady he was speaking to was in the former category. As regards the second question, which is a vital but much bigger question as regards the cost of the overall...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes: Engagement with the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth (16 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: In terms of answering for the commission, the Deputy has recognised that I am not the commission, which is an independent body. If the Deputy does not mind, the use of the word "evidence" in terms of the personal accounts-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes: Engagement with the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth (16 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: In my mind, I separate evidence in terms of the sworn testimony given before the commission with the confidential accounts given before the confidential committee.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes: Engagement with the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth (16 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: In terms of my engagement with the commission on this point, because I think that might be useful, when the commission stated, when the issue of the-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes: Engagement with the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth (16 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: In all its communications with me the commission have outlined what they believe are its rights and responsibilities. In the context of GDPR and data protection, it has said that it has acted in good faith in terms of what they did. I am aware that there are survivors who have stated that there is an issue around whether they were asked, in particular, for consent.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes: Engagement with the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth (16 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: It is difficult, again in the context of an independent commission, for me to make a judgment without having had the benefit of the sense of what the commission did in each individual situation.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes: Engagement with the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth (16 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I have engaged with the Attorney General on what the commission did with the tapes. We are still going back and forth on that issue and we will continue to engage on it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes: Engagement with the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth (16 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: In considering that point, I and the Government need to take account of a range of factors that would result from any decision to extend the commission's lifespan. The biggest concern for me is the transfer of the archive to my Department. I have set out on a number of occasions how my Department has undertaken a very significant amount of work to prepare for the transfer of the archive, in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes: Engagement with the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth (16 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: Again, in the context of an investigation that might take place, in order for the commission to be able to respond to that investigation it would need access to the entirety of its files to be able to provide the sort of detailed responses needed. If that were the case and it still had access to its files, we would not have provided the archive and the commission would still be holding on to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes: Engagement with the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth (16 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: That is just one part of the archive.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes: Engagement with the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth (16 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Senator for the questions. Like her, I acknowledge the additional hurt and anger that these actions have caused to survivors. In terms of the actions that I, as Minister, and the Government might take now, foremost in my mind is how we can most benefit survivors. I believe we can do that through the provision of a well-resourced unit that can give them the access to the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes: Engagement with the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth (16 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy for the questions. On the second question dealing with the issues covered in the database legislation passed by the Oireachtas last year, my understanding is that the documents that are referred to and protected under that legislation are summaries undertaken by those who were listening to the personal accounts before the confidential committee. They are summaries of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes: Engagement with the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth (16 Feb 2021)

Roderic O'Gorman: I cannot tell the Deputy because all the operational elements of the commission are a matter for the commission. Neither me nor my predecessor could answer because all of those decisions on how the commission would operate were taken some years ago around the time of its establishment, I imagine. They would not have been shared with the Department or with my predecessor. That is the manner...