Results 11,401-11,420 of 11,744 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (8 Sep 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy. I am acutely aware of the importance of the commission of investigation and of how much the report is anticipated by the former residents and their families. The commission's final report is due to be submitted to me by 30 October 2020. It is important to understand that when the commission submits its final report to me, I will have to address a number of procedural...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Tests (8 Sep 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy. On the point about testing, I will continue to engage with the acting Chief Medical Officer and the HSE. Again, I am working in the context of NPHET advice and that objective to increase the general level of testing but also to get the response in the tracing time down as quickly as possible. The statistics out today show that, certainly in the past week, we are...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Tests (8 Sep 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy. We are all aware of the high turnover in that sector and statistics released yesterday highlighted that. I know they are for 2015 but, nonetheless, they are concerning as regards the overall sector. This is probably one element of creating the uncertainty that exists in the sector. We are undertaking a workforce development plan and, as the Deputy said, greater...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Tests (8 Sep 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: That is the sting in the tail but it is the context in which we know we are all operating. It is to ensure that we have those solid protections for childcare professionals who, as we have seen over the summer, have gone above and beyond to get childcare reopened during that period.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Early Years Sector (8 Sep 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I greatly appreciate the anxiety of parents who seek an overage exemption from the early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme for their child. Overage exemptions for ECCE are provided by my Department and are governed by three guiding principles: first, a specialist has recommended the additional time in ECCE; second, the child will not reach six years of age before beginning primary...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Early Years Sector (8 Sep 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy. On the origin of the exemption, when the ECCE programme was just a one-year programme there were certain children who, because of their particular needs, would not have been able to avail of the full five days so they ended up taking three. We allowed them to take it then over two years. I believe that is the origin of the two-year rule in that particular situation but...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Attendance (8 Sep 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: As schools have been reopening, Tusla's education and support service, TESS, has been engaging with families to provide advice, support and encouragement for students as they return to school recognising that this is a significantly different environment for many children and young people. Under the Education (Welfare) Act 2000, schools are obliged to maintain a record of the attendance of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Attendance (8 Sep 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am happy to confirm that. We double-checked that with Tusla and TESS today in advance of addressing the Deputy’s question. Where an absence is explained due to a Covid-related reason, that will not count towards the 20 days. The Deputy is correct that parents are nervous as this is such a different environment but when one looks at how the education and welfare service worked over...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Attendance (8 Sep 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: This is a common sense approach. We are carrying out the September audit of who is attending because research undertaken by my Department over the past number of months has shown that there is a real potential for impact of the three and half months spent out-of-school on children generally but, particularly, on children with special educational needs and from disadvantaged backgrounds....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Tests (8 Sep 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy. First, I commend the early learning and childcare sector on the fact that 94% of services that normally open during the summer, did so again this year. This is despite the very many challenges Covid-19 created. Our preliminary information is that the level of term-time services reopening over the past two weeks is also extremely high. This involved a major...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: National Childcare Scheme (8 Sep 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy for bringing forward this question as I feel this will be an important element of the ultimate funding model we move towards. I look forward to hearing her input more as that work progresses. The NCS is designed to be highly inclusive and to meet the needs of the most economically vulnerable children and those living with other forms of disadvantage. It is based on the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency (8 Sep 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: As of 31st July 2020, 187 new Social Workers have been recruited in 2020 by Tusla. At the same time 73 existing social workers have been promoted to more senior Social Work posts in Tusla. While these do not increase whole time equivalent numbers, they assist Tusla in ensuring supportive management and supervisory structures are in place for frontline staff. During the same period, 13 Social...

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

Roderic O'Gorman: It is normal for some Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) services to close every year. Services intending to close must notify the childcare regulator, Tusla. The most recent available data shows that 123 services notified their closure to Tusla for the period to 21 August 2020, while 39 new services notified their intent to open in the same period. The number of...

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

Roderic O'Gorman: Over the past five budgets, investment in Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) has increased by 141% - rising from €260 million in 2015, to €638 million in 2020. Despite this progress, investment in the area remains low by international standards. In their latest calculation of Ireland’s expenditure on early learning and care, the OECD includes an...

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

Roderic O'Gorman: At the outset, although it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the detail of an individual case, I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep sympathy to the family and friends of Mohammed Arif Ahrar, and to the wider Afghan community in Ireland. The tragic death of a person who comes to this country seeking our protection is something on which we should all...

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

Roderic O'Gorman: I want to assure the Deputy of my commitment to young people and their families, particularly those who are vulnerable, marginalised or disadvantaged. Structured services and activities, such as those provided by the youth sector, play an important role for young people, supporting their development, and helping their well-being and resilience. I am pleased to report that funding to the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency (8 Sep 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: Tusla’s local area teams provide a range of therapeutic interventions and supports through directly employed Tusla staff. In addition, Tusla provides grant aid to community and voluntary agencies for the provision of a wide range of family support services including specific funding for counselling services. Therapeutic and assessment services are also delivered through the...

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

Roderic O'Gorman: In addition to supports provided to school going children through the Department of Education and Skills, my Department has worked in collaboration with that Department and a range of other relevant stakeholders to roll out the Let’s Get Ready campaign. This campaign was developed in response to the particular challenges arising from Covid-19 for children preparing to attend early...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Legislative Process (8 Sep 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2019 is an important piece of legislation which seeks to provide for much-needed reform of guardian ad litem (GAL) arrangements. Its objective is to regulate the existing system of GAL appointments and to extend the system so that GALs can be made available to a larger number of children on a more equitable basis. It provides a statutory basis for a nationally...

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

Roderic O'Gorman: I am happy to confirm that the provider in question has over the past 3 years availed of a number of supports under the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM), which provides a range of supports to enable children with disabilities to access and participate fully in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme. In addition, I understand that there has been correspondence between the...