Results 141-160 of 19,925 for speaker:Norma Foley

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy very much. I appreciate his comments at the outset as well. I acknowledge his personal interest and experience in this area. Specifically with regard to issues of consistent poverty, it is an absolute agenda by Government to decrease the numbers of children experiencing poverty. It is for that reason there is within the Department of the Taoiseach a unit dedicated to...

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: On children in IPAS accommodation, there is a unit in the service that is dedicated to child welfare. On special emergency arrangements, I note that staff working there are vetted and qualified. A compliance unit has been set up in respect of those special emergency arrangements. The children are visited every week. I appreciate the Deputy's bona fides. We absolutely do have a duty of...

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: I appreciate the Deputy's perspective and experience, which are important. On mental health support for children, I acknowledge that significant improvements are under way, although it is a long journey. For the first time, we are introducing pilot supports in our primary schools. Counselling supports will be made available there. We have begun that journey and I hope to see it rolled out...

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: Regarding the national development plan, there is intensive engagement including bilaterals with the Minister. I have met with the Minister, as have officials in the Department. There is considerable engagement around this. We have an ambitious programme. It is reflected in the programme for Government. That is across all levels and supporting many aspects of childcare. The Deputy...

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: On average, families have seen a 50% reduction in charges. There were further reductions last week and we have given a commitment that over the lifetime of the Government it will reduce to €200. There has been significant support offered to parents, alongside supports for providers and, going forward, hopefully, to the workers. We cannot do everything by magic overnight but that is...

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: I thank the Senator. I want to be entirely supportive of foster care. It is the right solution for children. As I said earlier, 87.2% of children in care are in the foster care system and I want to see even more than that in it because I think it is the right environment for them. Distinct to that, the Senator talked about the aftercare. It is, as she said, tied to education. I am...

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: -----if it would be in school buildings or whatever. In some instances, that may be the case, and it might be an outside provider coming in to do whatever in the school building. Last year, we launched within the schools a system whereby if they are in a position to give over any element of their property, anything they make out of it they hold themselves. The principle of schools being...

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: I thank the Senator, and as always I am delighted to balance things out by having somebody else from the Kingdom at any committee I attend. I am delighted to be here in the Senator's company. With regard to some of the points he has raised, the last one was around early years staff, funding, moneys and all of that. I have said it previously; the committee that makes the decision here is...

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy. I want to acknowledge that she has engaged with me on an ongoing basis, particularly in respect of her own constituency and I do accept the challenges that are there. It is the absolute vision, as the Deputy has referenced, of the programme for Government. I was honoured to be part of the negotiating team that wrote that up and I absolutely accept that while there is...

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: I recognise that those who received support through building blocks experienced a very positive uplift. There has to be strict criteria regarding what providers will give in return for receiving funding. Some of the funding was quite significant at over €700,000 so there has to be an absolute guarantee that the providers will give that back for the benefit for which it was given in...

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: I would have to say that the €25 million was what we had. It was what we achieved-----

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: Where there is scope before year's end, I am confident that will be the case.

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: There is a body of work being done on that. Specifically, we have made contact with the committee regarding some of the work that is to unfold on the general scheme of the equality Bill. I appreciate that the committee has contacted the Department to say that it has a full schedule in terms of prelegislative scrutiny here and asked that it be extended out. I also want to acknowledge that...

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: Yes. It is for codification, or at least that is my understanding. Sorry, I do not want to lead the Deputy astray on this. We specifically named certain reforms. For example, there was something in the Seanad recently in terms of socioeconomic background being a source-----

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: Okay.

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: If I miss anything in the time available to me, the Deputy might come back to me on it. Regarding foster carers and the pension, there is a commitment in that regard in the programme for Government. Obviously, it is not within my gift to deliver but, rather, that of the Minister for Social Protection. However, there is an absolute commitment in this regard. I appreciate the Deputy's...

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: I will begin with the first point the Deputy raised, which concerned foster carers. I 100% agree with her in this regard. I deliberately spoke about foster carers first because we want to do all we can to support those who are in the system to stay and to attract more into it. The Deputy is right that the programme for Government includes significant commitments regarding the pension, as...

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: I have to tell the Deputy that it is one for the Minister for Education but I will give my tuppence worth. Unless there is an exact mirror of children in primary school and post-primary school, it is going to be a different cohort of children. There might be 20% or 50% of the children from primary school going to post-primary school but unless it is a 100% mirror, they are going to be very...

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: I thank the Senator. I know this is of particular interest to her and she has raised it with me on an ongoing basis. She is right. I like the phrase that they are the engine room because it is true. Every single person who spoke here today has referenced the fact that we cannot achieve anything if we do not have the workers in place. The joint labour committee is independent and I...

Committee on Children and Equality: Priority Issues Facing the Department: Minister for Children, Disability and Equality (12 Jun 2025)

Norma Foley: Reference was made previously to building blocks. I think it is a very good scheme because it provides additional places. A total of 1,500 additional places will be provided for under the recently announced building blocks scheme and there were 78 applications, of which 49 have gone through. I would like to see us do more in this space, although it is obviously contingent on the funding...