Results 1,321-1,340 of 20,818 for speaker:Norma Foley

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (29 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: I absolutely agree with the Deputy. It is to everyone's benefit, most especially the children, that we have suitably remunerated and qualified staff. That is the purpose of specifically ring-fencing the funding this year. As I have already said, it is my absolute desire that it would be used in full for that purpose. I also acknowledge that there is significant work under way to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (29 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: The Deputy is correct. The Government has made a significant commitment to improve accessibility, availability, affordability and the quality of early learning and childcare provision. Investment in early learning and childcare is now at an unprecedented level with public funding exceeding €1.37 billion in 2025, clearly demonstrating the Government’s commitment to this area. ...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (29 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: I agree with much of what the Deputy said. It is much of Government policy insofar as the key elements of that policy are, in the first instance, to manage and reduce costs for parents, which is a key anchor, and, second, to ensure sustainability of the service is being provided and that providers are sustainable in moving forward. A further element is to increase provision of places and to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (29 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: I will be clear. I am very happy to engage with the Deputy on this. I engage on an ongoing basis with stakeholders on whatever body of work needs to be done. He is right. We are unanimous in our acknowledgement across every sector within this Chamber that a job of work needs to be done and must continue to be done in this sector. However, while significant progress has been made, more...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (29 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: As the State is not the employer of staff in this sector, neither I nor the Department can set pay or determine working conditions. The joint labour committee is the formal mechanism established by which employer and employee representatives can negotiate minimum pay rates, which are set down in employment regulation orders. I absolutely acknowledge the joint labour committee is independent...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Childcare Services (29 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: I acknowledge the manner in which the Deputy and his party leader have followed this through. What I can say is that the portal was recently upgraded and it now includes fee lists for the previous programme year of 2023 to 2024. There is an issue at present - there is no point in saying there is not - in terms of the capacity of the Hive website to go further back. To ameliorate that or...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Childcare Services (29 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: The officials are working on the solution and the 2021-22 fees list will be made available through the county and city childcare committees. Also published will be the list of services that have been approved to increase their fees through the fee increase assessment process. It is the Department's best estimate currently that this will be available in the coming weeks. I am happy to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Commissions of Investigation (29 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy. She is 100% right. There must be learnings from this. We are conscious this is the story of Grace and others. It is important to point out that since Grace's case first arose, there have been a number of steps forward in safeguarding. There was the development of the Ombudsman for Children's Office, the establishment of HIQA, the establishment of Tusla - Child and...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Commissions of Investigation (29 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: Safeguarding is everybody's responsibility and should be everybody's business. I am committed to working with the HSE and Tusla to ensure there is a focus on continually enhancing the approach to safeguarding across all services. We are conscious of the obligations on us as individuals, whether working in the field of education, sport or whatever. When we deal with young people, we are all...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Childcare Services (29 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: Thanks very much, Deputy. I am aware the childcare search on the Hive website does not currently contain fees listed for services for the programme year 2021 to 2022. The portal was originally designed to contain information for the current programme year only. In addition to service fee lists, the following information is available on the portal: contact details for services; whether...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Commissions of Investigation (29 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: The commission of investigation into certain matters relative to a disability service in the south east and related matters, or the Farrelly commission, is an independent statutory commission of investigation established in 2017 to investigate the care and protection of Grace, which, as we are all aware, is a pseudonym, and others in a former foster home in the south east, which has been the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Youth Services (29 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: My Department supports the delivery of youth services nationwide. Youth services are a safe place where young people are able to reach their full potential and positively shape their own future. Young people with the support of youth workers, take part in engaging, creative, educational and challenging activities driven by the input of the young people. Arising from Budget 2025,...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (29 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: The 2001 Planning Guidelines for Local Authorities on Early Learning and Childcare Settings were issued under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000. The Guidelines are intended to ensure a consistency of approach throughout the country to the treatment of applications in respect to the land use planning aspects of early learning and childcare provision, for relevant planning...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (29 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: Thank you Deputy for your question. My Department is working with communities all over Ireland to source and provide accommodation for people applying for international protection and emergency centres have been opened in all parts of the country. This is part of Irish and EU law and is also part of our humanitarian duty to provide shelter to people fleeing war and persecution in their...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Child Safety (29 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: There are robust legislative, policy and practice measures in place to promote the safeguarding of children in Ireland. The Children First Act 2015 provides for number of key child protection measures. Under the Act, mandated persons, who are professionals working with children across a wide range of sectors including education, health, justice, youth and childcare, are legally required...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (29 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: Thank you, Deputy, for your question. As you will be aware, my Department has been working with communities all over Ireland to source and provide accommodation for people applying for international protection, and emergency centres have been opened in all parts of the country. This is part of Irish and EU law and is also part of our humanitarian duty to provide shelter to people fleeing...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Mother and Baby Homes (29 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: The Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes made significant findings in relation to the failings of the State and religious organisations, who together ran Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions. The Government believes that all relevant parties have a collective responsibility to respond to Ireland's legacy in relation to these institutions. The State has accepted its...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (29 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: Thanks for your question, Deputy. Ireland currently provides accommodation to over 33,000 people applying for international protection and has also welcomed over 114,000 people from Ukraine since 2022. People from Ukraine are supported across the EU under the Temporary Protection Directive. The basis of applying for asylum or refugee status is fleeing war or persecution in one’s...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Children in Care (29 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: I am advised by Tusla that, as of 25th April 2025 there are 15 young people in Special Care and that there are 3 young people who are currently the subject of a Special Care Order, in accordance with the Child Care Act 1991, who are not in special care owing to the absence of an available bed in a Special Care Unit. I understand that the Tusla CEO and Executive Management Team continue...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Departmental Properties (29 Apr 2025)

Norma Foley: I can advise the Deputy that my Department does not own any vacant or derelict properties. In relation to capital funding generally, I can also advise that neither my Department nor Tusla have capital funding to develop the capital infrastructure of Family Resource Centres, including refurbishing vacant or derelict buildings. Tusla does not have a dedicated budget for capital or building...