Results 101-120 of 20,049 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Detention Centres (2 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: Oberstown Children Detention Campus is the State’s sole detention centre for children. The maximum occupancy in Oberstown is set by the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality by way of a certificate made under the Children Act 2001. This certificate is currently set at 46 (40 boys and 6 girls). Places can be used to accommodate both children on detention orders and children...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Rights of the Child (2 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is an international human rights agreement which sets out the rights of children and young people under the age of 18. The articles of the UNCRC are wide-ranging and cover a number of areas including health, housing, social security, education, leisure and play, child protection and welfare, criminal justice, international...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Family Resource Centres (2 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy may know, applications for FRC Programme membership were open from 1st May to 30th May 2025. Funding secured as part of Budget 2025 will allow for membership of the Programme to increase from 121 members to 126 members in 2025, in line with a Government commitment to expand the Programme. Tusla, as the body responsible for the day-to-day administration of the FRC Programme,...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Care Services (1 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: As this relates to operational 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, Disability and Equality: Departmental Projects (1 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: A final draft of the commissioned Report on a Systematic Review to Examine Definitions, Interventions, Indicators and Risk Factors of Institutional, Organisational and Organised Child Abuse, Including Trafficking and Exploitation of Children and Young People has been received in my Department for final consideration and observations. As the Deputy is aware, this literature review is part...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Swimming Pools (1 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: As this relates to operational 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, Disability and Equality: Early Childhood Care and Education (1 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: Improving access to quality and affordable Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare is a key priority of Government. I am grateful for the insights of the childcare needs analysis report and the work carried out by the Boyle Family Resource Centre in providing this report. My officials are considering its contents to understand the analysis and insights it provides. Demand...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Equality Issues (1 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: In November 2024, Government approved the publication of the General Scheme of the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, which includes a number of legislative provisions arising from the review of the Equality Acts. At the same time, approval was granted, in principle, for the introduction of a new equality ground of socioeconomic disadvantage in Ireland’s equality legislation,...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (1 Jul 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, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (1 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: Participation in Core Funding is optional but it remains open to all registered providers subject to their agreement to the terms and conditions of the funding. According to recent data provided by Pobal, in their role as scheme administrator, a total of 4,437 services contracted (as of 23 June), to Core Funding, to date, with applications still open. Please see table below, which gives...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (1 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: Core Funding, which was introduced in 2022, operates alongside all other early learning and childcare programmes and constitutes additional income to services on top of these programmes, and parental fees. There is high participation rates among services, with 92% of providers participating in year 3 of the scheme. It is a matter for providers to decide whether they wish to sign up to...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Qualifications (1 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: As the State does not employ staff nor does it have an official register of staff working in Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare sector, the Department does not hold official information regarding either the number of early years students who attend work placements in settings or new graduates with a recognised qualification who begin working in settings. However, the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (1 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: I can inform the Deputy that as part of Tusla’s Infant and Early Child Mental Health work the inclusion of Early Years Practitioners in the Solihull Training programme is currently being considered. In addition a Play Therapy pilot, funded by What Works using Dormant Accounts Funding, is running in certain ELC settings, to test the viability of play therapy in such settings. At this...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Departmental Contracts (1 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: The information sought is set out in the table below. Bodies under the aegis of my Department will respond directly to the Deputy. Supplier Description of Contract Estimated Value of Contract €(Exc VAT) Start Date End Date (not including optional extensions) Total Duration of Contract 7 Framework Members:...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (1 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: The Deputy has requested the cost of increasing the NCS subsidy so that 100% of fees are covered by the NCS. It is not possible to provide an accurate estimation at this time. To model a change such as this accurately would require individualised fee data on out of pocket costs for parents. Each year Pobal compiles data from Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC)...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: School Meals Programme (1 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: The full-year cost of providing a nutritious meal to all children attending the ECCE Programme is approximately €31m. This calculation is based on the following assumptions:€1.50 rate of daily capitation108,000 children in ECCE5 day programme week38 week programme yearResourcing a healthy eating educational programme for Early Learning and Care settingsThis cost estimate...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (1 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: I firmly believe that the level of pay for early years educators and school-age childcare practitioners should reflect the value of their work for children, families, society and the economy. Investment in early learning and childcare is now at an unprecedented level, with public funding exceeding €1.37 billion in 2025. As well as addressing affordability, this investment has served...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Departmental Funding (1 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: I would like to thank the Deputy for the additional query in relation to Parliamentary Question No.712 of 24 June 2025. As noted in the aforementioned Parliamentary Question, my Department is committed to ongoing engagement on this matter and will consider wider changes to Core Funding deposit rules for the 2026/2027 programme year. These considerations will include a review of the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (1 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: Improving access to quality and affordable Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare is a key priority of Government. Demand for early learning and childcare beyond sessional pre-school provision is highly elastic and shaped very substantially by families' individual composition, circumstances, and preferences; employment patterns and income; and the price and availability of...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Children in Care (1 Jul 2025)

Norma Foley: Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, is required under the Child and Family Agency Act (2013) to support and promote the welfare and protection of children; to support and encourage the effective functioning of families; and to provide services relating to the psychological welfare of children and their families (excluding the provision of specialist mental health services for children). ...