Results 101-120 of 19,359 for speaker:Norma Foley

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

Norma Foley: There are 30 City/County Childcare Committees (CCCs) located nationwide, which are funded by my Department. The core operational funding allocation for City/County Childcare Committees for 2022, 2023 and 2024 is set out in the table below. In addition to core operational funding, CCCs were provided with funding to support the delivery of a number of specific programmes and initiatives on a...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (1 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: Thank you for your question, Deputy. Ireland currently provides accommodation to approximately 33,000 people applying for international protection and has also welcomed over 114,000 people from Ukraine since 2022. Our accommodation systems for both groups have been forced to expand at a rapid pace over the last two years in response to a sharp increase in need among both groups. As such, the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (1 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: Thank you for your question, Deputy. Ireland currently provides accommodation to approximately 33,000 people applying for international protection and has also welcomed over 114,000 people from Ukraine since 2022. Our accommodation systems have been forced to expand at a rapid pace over the last two years in response to a sharp increase in need among both groups. The over 114,000...

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

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

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Middle East (1 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: I regret that as my Department has responsibility for accommodation and reception conditions for people who have applied international protection applicants and beneficiaries of temporary protection (BOTP) fleeing the war in Ukraine, we do not have details to assist or make a statement in relation to this case. This question may be more appropriately addressed to my colleague, the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Citizens' Assembly (1 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: The Citizens Assembly on Gender Equality and the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Gender Equality both made a series of recommendations to improve the lives of women and girls living in Ireland today. As Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth my Department leads and co-ordinates the work in the area of gender equality. The previous National Strategy for Women and...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Irish Sign Language (1 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is committed to improving accessibility in all its communications. Between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2024, the Department has continued efforts to ensure social media video content is accessible to the widest possible audience. Please find the required information in the below table: Platform ...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Child and Family Agency (1 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: Tusla has informed my Department that the primary service it makes available to care leavers over the age of 26 is the Aftercare Drop-In service. There is no age limit on this service. The Aftercare Drop-In service provides a point of contact for young adults who have been in the care of Tusla, and can provide guidance, support and signposting for those young people who require a referral...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Programmes (1 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: The Programme for Government outlines the commitment to ‘undertake a broad consultation and publish a detailed Action Plan to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early childhood education and care system with State-led facilities adding capacity’. It goes on to state, ‘This plan will enhance parental choice through ongoing support for public, private and...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Programmes (1 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: The pathway to developing the early learning and childcare sector was set out in Partnership for the Public Good, the report of the Expert Group that was agreed by Government in 2021. The key theme of that report was the need to strengthen State involvement in the sector through greater levels of public management accompanied by greater levels of public funding. Since that report was...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Programmes (1 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 678, 679 and 681 together. Considerable reform has been implemented in the early learning and childcare sector in recent years through increased public management and public funding. The framework for reform of the sector is set out in Partnership for the Public Good, the 2021 report of an Expert Group which was established to develop a new funding model for...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Programmes (1 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: The Programme for Government commits to publishing "a detailed Action Plan to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early childhood education and care system with State-led facilities adding capacity. This plan will enhance parental choice through ongoing support for public, private and community provision, as well as childminders'. It further states that 'Childminding plays a...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Schemes (1 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: Investment in early learning and childcare is now at unprecedented levels with public funding exceeding €1.37 billion in 2025, clearly demonstrating Government commitment to this area. As well as addressing affordability this investment has served to improve accessibility, availability and the quality of provision. A number of existing Schemes contribute to the goal of reducing...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Programmes (1 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: As mentioned by the Deputy, the Programme for Government commits to exploring options to cap costs for larger families. The Government of Ireland is committed to continuing to improve affordability and reach the €200 per month cap within the lifetime of the Government. However, further progress on affordability cannot be made in isolation and must be integrated with our efforts to...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Programmes (1 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: The new Programme for Government, which was published on 15 January 2025, commits to review and increase Core Funding, ensure that providers’ fees are open, transparent and equitable and readily available to parents, and to maintaining the fee cap. Fee management under Core Funding has been an incremental and deliberate process to date. Since the launch of the scheme in September...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Funding (1 Apr 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. The scheme is designed to meet the combined objectives of:Improved affordability for parents through the introduction of fee management andcontractual requirements on providers to offer...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Programmes (1 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: Core Funding is a successful scheme with a high uptake rate among providers. Currently, 93% or more than 4,400, providers have signed up for Core Funding for year 3 of the scheme (September 2024-August 2025), which has an allocation of €331 million. Up to now, services availing of Core Funding have not been allowed to raise their fees above what was charged to parents on 30 September...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (1 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: First 5, the whole-of-Government strategy for babies, young children and their families, recognises that the workforce is at the heart of high-quality early learning and care. The roles of the early years educator and school-age childcare practitioner are valuable ones and they play an important part in supporting children's development, learning and care. It is acknowledged that pay is...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Schemes (1 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: I am open to engagement on the important issues of the Bessborough site and the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme. I would be grateful if this group would submit further details to my office so that the request can be given the fullest consideration.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Programmes (1 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: Work is well advanced on the Programme for government commitment to reduce the administrative burden on providers. On 19 September 2023, plans to develop an Action Plan for Administrative and Regulatory Simplification for the Early Learning and Childcare Sector were announced, supported by a Working Group comprising representatives from the Department, Pobal and the City / County Childcare...