Results 10,661-10,680 of 11,744 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: As I stated in response to the previous question, the commission of investigation delivered its final report to me on 30 October. I had said that there would be a short time interval between its receipt by my Department and its publication. I have now outlined the plans for publication. One of the matters undertaken was to refer the report of almost 3,000 pages to the Attorney General...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Childcare Scheme (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I appreciate the Deputy's recognition of what we have been doing to increase knowledge about the sponsorship, both for parents and for some of the major organisations. We have to do more with Tusla to ensure that it understands, from the top of the organisation down. Tusla is a huge organisation. I will talk about the matter with the chief executive when I meet him and the chairperson for...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Early Years Sector (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I share the Deputy's commitment to ensuring that we have a well-paid workforce of childcare professionals. Improving access to high-quality and affordable early learning and childcare is a priority for me as Minister. I have spoken to both the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform about this on a number of occasions and our officials are engaging...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Early Years Sector (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: There is sustained engagement between officials in my Department and representatives of SIPTU and of the new body, Childhood Services Ireland, which has been set up under the auspices of IBEC. I cannot give the Deputy a specific date today, although I would love to be in the position to do so. Nevertheless, there is sustained engagement and I hope that in a short number of months, we will...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Early Years Sector (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I fully agree with the Deputy and am very aware of the pressures that childcare professionals are under, from the raw data we get from work such as the report the Deputy mentioned and from my engagement at a constituency level. I have talked to childcare professionals and heard how they feel that having gone through significant training and education to take up the role, they are not...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Childcare Scheme (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: Initially, it is important to state that stay-at-home parents are not excluded from the national childcare scheme. More than 44,000 children have benefited from that scheme to date and included in that are many children of stay-at-home parents. The NCS universal subsidy is up to €1,170 per year and is available to all families, including stay-at-home parents. An income-related...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Childcare Scheme (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I take seriously the points raised by the Deputy on this issue. That is one of the reasons we are taking this new initiative to make parents aware of the wide range of courses they can take. If they take courses, many of which are level 1, for two hours per week, they get the full 45 hours of childcare, which will resolve that particular issue. That was probably not well known. That is...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: First 5the ten-year Strategy on Babies and Young Children, was published in November 2018 and pledged to double investment in early learning and care and school-age childcare over the period 2019-2028. In order to double investment from the 2018 baseline, we will need to invest an additional €485 million over the lifetime of the Strategy. I recently published the First 5 Annual...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Domestic Violence Refuges Provision (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The response to Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (DSGBV) is a cross Departmental and multi-agency issue. Policy is coordinated by the Department of Justice. Under the Child and Family Agency Act, 2013, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency has statutory responsibility for the care and protection of victims of DSGBV. Tusla is currently undertaking a review of emergency...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Domestic Violence Refuges Provision (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The response to Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (DSGBV) is a cross Departmental and multi-agency issue. Policy is coordinated by the Department of Justice. Under the Child and Family Agency Act, 2013, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency has statutory responsibility for the care and protection of victims of DSGBV. The provision of capital funding for domestic violence refuges is...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The archives of the Commission of Investigation will be transferred to my Department by 28 February 2021, when the Commission of Investigation is dissolved. My Department is working intensively to ensure that it is properly resourced to handle subject access requests from possibly very large numbers of people who were resident in mother and baby homes. In that regard, they are also...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Domestic Violence Services (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The response to Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (DSGBV) is a cross Departmental and multi-agency issue. Policy is coordinated by the Department of Justice and Equality (DJE). Under the Child and Family Agency Act, 2013, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency has statutory responsibility for the care and protection of victims of DSGBV. Tusla currently allocates funding to two...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Services (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department has, since 2015, administered an annual capital funding programme, under which early learning and care and school-age childcare services providers are invited to apply for capital funding to increase capacity and to maintain and improve their services. The 2020 Capital programme was launched on 26 February with a budget of €7.2million allocated across three strands: the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: As part of ongoing work to produce a Workforce Development Plan for the early learning and care and school age childcare sector, my Department carried out an online public consultation process between August and October this year. This was done in conjunction with a public consultation process on the development of a new funding model for the sector. The consultation process included an...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: First 5 was published in November 2018. This Strategy, a constituent strategy under Better Outcomes Brighter Futures (BOBF), focuses on the period of early childhood and takes a joined-up, cross-government approach to supporting babies, young children and their families during these early years. It identifies approximately 150 actions to be progressed in the initial implementation phase. ...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Direct Provision System (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Programme for Government contains a commitment to ending the Direct Provision system and replacing it with a new International Protection accommodation policy, centred on a not-for-profit approach. The Government has also committed to the development of a White Paper which will set out how this new system will be structured and the steps to achieving it. My Department is currently...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Services (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The importance of listening to children and young people is fundamental to the work of my Department and, to that end, Ireland is unique in Europe in having a National Strategy on Children and Young People’s Participation in Decision-making. My Department is responsible for policy leadership in the participation of children and young people in decision-making and for oversight of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Equality Issues (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 109, 119 and 134 together. The Government is committed to examining the introduction of a new ground of discrimination, based on socio-economic disadvantaged status, to the Employment Equality and Equal Status Acts. A research report on socio-economic disadvantage as a new grounds of discrimination has been commissioned andis currently being carried out by...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Direct Provision System (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Programme for Government contains a commitment to end the Direct Provision system and replace it with a new International Protection accommodation policy, centred on a not-for-profit approach. The Government has also committed to the development of a White Paper which will set out how this new system will be structured and the steps to achieving it. My Department is currently...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Direct Provision System (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Programme for Government contains a commitment to ending the Direct Provision system and replacing it with a new International Protection accommodation policy, centred on a not-for-profit approach. The Government has also committed to the development of a White Paper which will set out how this new system will be structured and the steps to achieving it. My Department is currently...