Results 10,821-10,840 of 11,951 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Adoptive Leave (8 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The extension of adoptive leave is an important commitment in the Programme for Government. On 22 October 2019 Government approved the general scheme of the Adoptive Leave (Amendment) Bill to amend the Adoptive Leave Act 1995. The scheme provides for married male same-sex adopting couples to be eligible for adoptive leave and benefit. It also provides for all adopting couples –...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Force Majeure Leave (8 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Government takes the needs of working parents very seriously, particularly the difficulties they are facing in the current pandemic. There have been a number of advances in respect of the leave available to working parents in recent years. The Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019 introduced paid parent’s leave of two weeks for each parent to be taken in the first year of a...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Assisted Decision-Making (8 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 434, 435, 436, 437, 438, 441, 442 and 457 together. My Department has recently expanded following the formation of the Government in June and now includes Disability under its remit. The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill and the Disability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill are two pieces of legislation which will be progressed in 2021 and...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Domestic Violence Services (8 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. The Deputy will be aware that...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Funding (8 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department funds a broad range of organisations and projects. Organisations that meet the criteria and terms of their grant agreement will continue to be funded. 

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Costs (8 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The introduction of the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) in late 2019 was a landmark moment for making high quality childcare more affordable and accessible to families in Ireland. The NCS is designed to be highly inclusive and to meet the needs of those families who need it the most. The NCS is based on the principle of progressive universalism and has regard to the best interests of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Direct Provision System (8 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 444 to 447, inclusive, together. An accommodation centre for families in the International Protection process will open on Port Road in Letterkenny in early 2021. It is expected that residents will move into the centre on a phased basis over a period of 8 to 10 weeks thereafter.    While their application is being examined, all applicants for...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Services (8 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Tusla ABC Programme within Tusla's Partnership Participation and Family Support is an area based Prevention and Early Intervention initiative currently being delivered across 12 sites of urban disadvantage, including one in Clondalkin where the Blue Skies programme is situated. Discussions continue to take place across the ABC programme to explore the potential scaling of the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (8 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am committed to ongoing engagement with former residents of Mother and Baby Institutions and their advocates. As an important first step in meeting this commitment, I have personally spoken to a number of former residents and advocates in this area over recent weeks, including a majority of the Collaborative Forum. In addition, I have read and responded to the views of many...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Proposed Legislation (8 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: As the Deputy may be aware, on 10 December 2019, the then Government approved the drafting of a Bill along the lines of the General Scheme of the Certain Institutional Burials (Authorised Interventions) Bill 2019. The General Scheme provides for: - creation of a statutory basis for exhumation of remains, located at former institutional sites which reach a defined set of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Proposed Legislation (8 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: In December 2019, the then Government approved the drafting of a Bill along the lines of the General Scheme of the Certain Institutional Burials (Authorised Interventions) Bill 2019. It was then referred to the Joint Oireachtas Committee (JOC) on Children and Youth Affairs for pre-legislative scrutiny and, in parallel, to the Office of Parliamentary Counsel (OPC) to be drafted as a Bill...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Family Resource Centres (8 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Family Resource Centre (FRC) Programme, was established by the then Department of Social and Family Affairs in 1994. It later transferred to the Family Support Agency, which became part of Tusla on its establishment in 2014. Tusla administers the Family Resource Centre (FRC) Programme, and Tusla funding supports 121 FRCs across the country. Core funding allocations for the FRC Programme,...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education (8 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) is a programme of supports designed to ensure that children with disabilities can access the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme in mainstream pre-school settings. Its goal is to empower pre-school providers to deliver an inclusive pre-school experience, ensuring that every child, including those with additional needs,  can...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Direct Provision System (8 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: Premises are sourced either through a full tender process which is administered through the Government’s Procurement Portal www.etenders.gov.ie or through responses to calls for expressions of interest, which are advertised in the national media. My Department is assisted with these tender projects by the Office of Government Procurement. The tender process which commenced in late...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Direct Provision System (8 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department currently has contracts in place for 48 accommodation centres, including management contracts for 6 State owned centres.  The 48 centres comprise 45  accommodation centres for International Protection applicants, the National Reception Centre for International Protection applicants in Balseskin, Co. Dublin and 3 Emergency Reception and Orientation...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Covid-19 Pandemic (8 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: My officials are compiling copies of the correspondence referred to by the Deputy to be forwarded to the Deputy directly.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education (8 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) is a programme of supports designed to ensure that children with disabilities can access the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme in mainstream pre-school settings. Its goal is to empower pre-school providers to deliver an inclusive pre-school experience, ensuring that every child, including those with language delays,  can meaningfully...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education (8 Dec 2020)

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 is provided for three hours per day, five days per week over 38 weeks per year.  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...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Staff (8 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005 sets out the legal obligations of public service bodies to meet a target of 3% of employees with disabilities. Under the Act, the National Disability Authority (NDA) has the statutory role to report, on an annual basis, on compliance with the 3% target.  The Disability Act 2005 defines disability as follows: “Disability, in relation to a person,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Costs (3 Dec 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: We are currently providing a €638 million investment in childcare. With that money, we have three core aims, which are affordability for parents; quality for the children in these services, which means ensuring that childcare professionals are well paid so that they continue to enhance and grow the care they are providing; and keeping services sustainable. When we see the amount of...