Results 101-120 of 19,925 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: My priority for childminding is the continued delivery of the National Action Plan for Childminding 2021-2028.The publication of the National Action Plan in April 2021 followed an extensive process of public consultation and research. The National Action Plan distinguishes childminding which involves care in the childminder’s home from care that takes place in the child’s home,...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: My Department is working in collaboration with other relevant Departments and agencies to develop a national plan to further the development of Irish language provision in the Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School-Age Childcare (SAC) sector. The development of such a plan is a commitment in the 5-Year Action Plan for the Irish Language. The national plan is expected to support the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Child and Family Agency (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, is the dedicated State agency responsible for improving wellbeing and outcomes for children and families. Tusla perform invaluable work often under extremely challenging circumstances. On becoming Minister, I requested to meet with the CEO of Tusla and it was agreed that we would meet on 19 February 2025. The CEO and I discussed a wide variety of issues...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Child and Family Agency (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: As this relates to information held by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, the question has been referred to the Agency for direct reply to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Reviews (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: The Programme for Government commits to review and increase Core Funding. An evaluation of the first year of Core Funding and the development of an evaluation framework for Core Funding is currently underway. This project will examine the early implementation of Core Funding and make recommendations for future evaluations of the grant. Findings from the project are expected in Quarter 4...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: The introduction of Core Funding in 2022, brought a significant increase in investment for the sector, with €259 million of funding paid directly to services in year 1 of the scheme, of which €210.8 million was entirely new funding. This funding increased by 11% in year 2 (to €287 million). The scheme increased by a further 15% in year 3 (to €331 million). I...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: Core Funding was introduced in September 2022. The Scheme is designed to improve affordability for parents through the introduction of fee management and contractual requirements on providers to offer the National Childcare Scheme and/or the ECCE programme. The Scheme aims to improve quality through better pay and conditions for the workforce by supporting agreement on Employment...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: School Accommodation (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: The Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme was launched on 4th November 2024. The closing date for applications was 30th January. There were four strands to the scheme: Community Construction, Community Extension, Community Purchasing and Private Extension. A total of 78 applications were received. These applications came from a variety of locations across the country. All applications...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: The Programme for Government commits to “progressively reduce the cost of childcare to €200 per month per child.” This commitment will be achieved over the lifetime of the Government.Initial steps have already been taken. Earlier this month, I announced the introduction of maximum fee caps for all Partner Services in Core Funding from September 2025. The fee freeze will...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: The information required to give an accurate figure on the number of children who will benefit from the new Fee Caps is not currently available to my Department. However, I am confident that the introduction of maximum fee caps will benefit families who are facing the highest fees across the country. Around 10 per cent of current Partner Services will have to reduce at least one of their...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: Improving access to quality and affordable Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare is a key priority of Government. Early learning and childcare capacity is increasing. Data from the Annual Early Years Sector Profile 2023/24 shows that the estimated number of enrolments increased by approximately 19% from the 2021/22 programme year. Core Funding application data shows that...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) was introduced in 2016 to ensure that children with additional needs or a disability could access and meaningfully participate in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme. In line with a commitment in First 5: A Whole-of-Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families 2019-2028, an independent evaluation of AIM was...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Reviews (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: I welcome the current Programme for Government commitment to establish a National Child Death Review Mechanism on a statutory basis. Additionally, as Minister I also welcome the Ombudsman for Children’s report titled Child Death Review: The Case for a National Statutory Review Mechanism for the Deaths of Children in Ireland. I am conscious that the Ombudsman for Children’s...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Funding (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: Core Funding programme year 2025/2026 introduced a new maximum fee cap for early learning and childcare services participating in Core Funding alongside record State funding of €390 million this year for the Scheme. This new maximum fee cap introduced is for all new and existing services participating in Core Funding. This applies to all services and scales across 6 bands, and...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Schemes (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 664, 665 and 666 together. As at Monday 9th June 2025, almost 6,600 applications to the Payment Scheme had been received, of which almost 6,300 are completed applications that entered the processing system. Decisions, or “notices of determinations” have issued in over 5,800 cases, over 82% of which contain an offer of an award and those...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Funding (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: The National Centre for Research and Remembrance, to be located in Sean MacDermott Street, Dublin 1, will comprise a museum and exhibition space, a research centre and repository of records related to institutional trauma in the 20th century, and a garden space for reflection and remembrance. This Centre will honour equally all those who spent time in Industrial Schools, Magdalen Laundries,...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Burial Grounds (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: The Institutional Burials Act 2022 provides the underlying legislative basis for an intervention, whereby the remains of those who died in residential institutions, and who were buried in a manifestly inappropriate manner, may be recovered and re-interred in a respectful and appropriate way. The legislation requires that Government must be satisfied that burials have taken place and must have...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Funding (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 670, 671 and 672 together. The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) is administered by Pobal on behalf of my Department. My Department and Pobal have recently received a number of queries relating to the attendance of children in receipt of AIM supports, with regard to absences due to illness or holiday. Pobal recently published a notice on the Early Years...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Funding (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: While my Department cannot mandate providers to participate in Core Funding, every effort has been made to carefully design the scheme to meet the policy objectives including to achieve high levels of participation by providers. Over 92% of services are currently signed up to year 3 of Core Funding. The table below outlines the Core Funding uptake in Dublin City, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown ,...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Care Services (17 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: Improving access to quality and affordable Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare is a key priority of Government. Early learning and childcare capacity is increasing. Data from the Annual Early Years Sector Profile 2023/24 shows that the estimated number of enrolments increased by approximately 19% from the 2021/22 programme year. Core Funding application data shows that...