Results 1,061-1,080 of 11,864 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Youth Services (25 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I have received the submission from the organisation referenced by the Deputy, and it is being reviewed within my Department. Budget 2025 is currently being considered by Government in the context of the annual estimates process. Therefore, the Deputy will appreciate that it would not be appropriate for me to comment further at this stage. However, from 2020 to Budget 2024, current...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (25 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: To be eligible for Core Funding for the 2023/2024 programme year, it is necessary for all Partner Services to agree to the Core Funding Fee Management terms and conditions as laid out in the Core Funding Partner Service Funding Agreement, and the fee management guidelines. These terms and conditions require services not to increase the fees charged to parents above what was charged on 30...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (25 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Scheme Administrator advises that there are 153 providers in Donegal that are currently in contract to provide NCS. I have arranged to forward these details to the TD directly. A list of these services can also be found on the Childcare Service Search page of the NCS website, where full details, including fees and service types, of all providers currently contracted to the NCS can be...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: General Scheme of the Maternity Protection (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2024: Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I congratulate the Cathaoirleach on her appointment. I look forward to working with her on the matters that are within the remit of this committee. I also thank her for her kind remarks in respect of Niall Kieran. I offer the sympathies of my Department, myself and my officials to his family and his colleagues in the Oireachtas. I appreciate the opportunity come here to discuss the...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: General Scheme of the Maternity Protection (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2024: Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Yes, Chair, that is the primary issue. When we made a decision to bring forward legislation to deal with the Leave Our Leave issue, I made a request that we would also deal with the NDA issue, as part of that legislation. I see this as something important. There is a much larger reform of the Equality Acts due and work is ongoing on that but we looked to bring the NDA piece forward....

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: General Scheme of the Maternity Protection (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2024: Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Senator. Regarding the issue of pre-legislative scrutiny waivers on legislation having been sought numerous times, my recollection is that I have done so three times over the past four years. I am open to correction, but I am thinking through the various Bills we have discussed at this committee. We have had detailed pre-legislative scrutiny sessions, some of which predate the...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: General Scheme of the Maternity Protection (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2024: Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The advice we got from the office of the parliamentary drafters was in terms of this Bill on which drafting started in late July.

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: General Scheme of the Maternity Protection (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2024: Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: In the drafting of any legislation, internal legal advisers within the Department will provide legal advice on various pieces of proposed legislation. In terms of this legislation, when we referred it to the office of the parliamentary drafters, we indicated we wanted priority to be given to the maternity protection section because that is the piece we had identified as needing to be acted...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: General Scheme of the Maternity Protection (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2024: Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: To try to give the Senator clarity, legal advisers in every Department are seconded from the Office of the Attorney General. That is how the system works within every Department. The legal advisers who provided us with internal legal advice on this Bill, as they do on every piece of legislation, are seconded from the Office of the Attorney General.

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: General Scheme of the Maternity Protection (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2024: Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I just said the advice came from legal advisers within our Department.

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: General Scheme of the Maternity Protection (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2024: Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: With respect, I am setting out the process that works in our Department and every single Department.

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: General Scheme of the Maternity Protection (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2024: Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: We received advice from the legal advisers within our own Department.

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: General Scheme of the Maternity Protection (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2024: Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: We did not make a specific request to the Office of the Attorney General for advice from that office. We received legal advice from the legal advisers within our own Department.

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: General Scheme of the Maternity Protection (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2024: Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: We did not make a specific request to the Office of the Attorney General-----

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: General Scheme of the Maternity Protection (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2024: Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: -----for legal advice nor did we receive specific------

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: General Scheme of the Maternity Protection (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2024: Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: We did not seek specific legal advice from the Office of the Attorney General on this piece of legislation. We received legal advice from the advisers within our own Department.

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: General Scheme of the Maternity Protection (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2024: Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am setting out the process that was under way.

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: General Scheme of the Maternity Protection (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2024: Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: As I say, when the drafting of this piece of legislation was requested by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel, the priority was placed on the drafting of the maternity protection section. The section dealing with NDAs, in particular, was not regarded as ready for inclusion in the stamped draft and that is why it did not come through to the committee. That is also why we informed the...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: General Scheme of the Maternity Protection (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2024: Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Again, all of this was taking place in a tight timeframe. As I said, we put in the request for the drafting of this legislation in late July. We are talking about a meeting that was taking place in early September. We had indicated priority for the maternity protection section. We initiated this piece of legislation in order to advance that because of the importance that I place on the...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: General Scheme of the Maternity Protection (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2024: Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy. Yes, it is a drafting issue. That is the fairest way to characterise it. We are seeking to legislate against the inappropriate use of NDAs in the way set out in head 8, which builds on the Private Members' Bill that Senator Ruane and other Senators put forward. I recognise that head 8 is not identical to Senator Ruane's Bill but it covers most of the elements contained...