Results 1,081-1,100 of 11,855 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

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: -----on a daily basis in order to ensure that this legislation and all its elements are ready.

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 take the Senator’s point but there are issues that have to be considered to do with legitimate expectation in respect of both parties to NDAs if we declare now that all NDAs in the past are void. It is very seldom that we, as an Oireachtas, legislate and apply something on a retrospective basis.

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 take the Senator's point. Ultimately, retrospectivity is something that is always treated with caution. The real issues with NDAs have been outlined and which touch on these particular issues. We need to be cautious with what we are trying to achieve here, which is to stamp these out, does not contain a provision that might make what we are doing legally questionable. We drawing a very...

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, there is a commitment to deliver the NDA piece, the maternity protection piece and the piece giving Members of the Oireachtas the right to maternity leave.

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, it is my commitment, with the small proviso of making sure that we get the drafting of that right. However, the policy objective set out in head 8 is my policy objective and what we have instructed the drafters to achieve.

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: It is my determination not to see this important legislation lost and to instead see it passed within the lifetime of this Dáil with all three elements included, reflecting the policy we have discussed at this and previous meetings. All of the work I have undertaken over the past number of weeks has been done to achieve that. We referred this legislation for drafting 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: It is the agreed strategy. I am not sure if the office is necessarily okay with it. I believe there would be a preference not to go ahead with the NDA section, but I have said I will not accept that and have insisted on this strategy because I have made a commitment to get the NDA piece over the line.

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. All three central elements of this Bill are welcome. They will be welcome for women who have a serious illness during maternity leave-----

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: -----and it will be welcome for Members of the Oireachtas. It is shocking that there is still not a clear statutory entitlement for Members of the Oireachtas to take maternity leave. We are addressing that finally.

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: That has been done already.

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, it has. One of my colleagues-----

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: One of my Green Party colleagues is on maternity leave from her council at the moment.

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 are behind the local authorities in terms of that piece. Then, we are addressing the key piece on NDAs. My hope is that this can progress rapidly and a waiver can be granted and we can move to introduce this into the Seanad initially and subsequently the Dáil. I will circulate the draft amendments in advance to those who are interested and then seek to introduce the 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: Certainly, we are far behind other European countries in terms of our entitlement to maternity leave.

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: It is also fair to say that if we pass the piece on NDAs, we will be quite a leader in terms of making provision. Certain other jurisdictions are looking at the draft legislation that was debated through the Houses as a potential map or indication forward. We will be quite advanced in that particular area. That is certainly something I would welcome.

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, in other areas.

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: It is important to say that I do not want to be in any way overly harsh towards people who work in the drafting office and who do huge work. It is simply an issue of the pressure of work that is taking place at present. There is a finance Bill that will need to be drafted soon, a planning Bill that is going through the Senator's House, a gambling Bill, a family law report Bill and other...

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" is the clear answer. The policy intent is as set out here. I would not have gone through this convoluted process if the whole intent had been to pass legislation that was not delivering on what we all understood, which was to outlaw the use of NDAs in these circumstances. I hope I can provide that reassurance to Senator Ruane now.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Improving access to quality and affordable early learning and childcare is a key priority of Government. Data available to my Department demonstrate that, overall, early learning and childcare provision is expanding, specifically: Data from the Early Years Sector Profile Survey shows that, between 2021/22 and 2022/23, the estimated number of enrolments in services rose by 8% from 197,210...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (24 Sep 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme provides free universal pre-school to children in the eligible age range. The programme is provided for three hours per day, five days per week over 38 weeks per year. The programme year runs from the end of August to the following June in line with the primary school year. An approved ECCE provider must be registered with Tusla to...