Results 161-180 of 10,153 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Ministerial Responsibilities (14 Jul 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: Detailed discussions between my Department and the Department of Health are ongoing with regard to the transfer of functions between both Departments. The Minister of State with Responsibility for Disability is currently working directly with Department of Health officials in order ensure a fuller understanding of the issues prior to its transfer to my Department. This is a significant...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Services (14 Jul 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department is aware of the case mentioned and have previously been in contact with both Pobal and the service concerned regarding the circumstances of this case. In a letter to the service concerned from my Department on the 27th November 2019, it was clarified that Pobal initially issued correspondence to the service on 26th October 2018 querying an error surrounding the submission of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education (14 Jul 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Early Childhood Care and Education Programme (ECCE) programme is a free universal two-year pre-school programme which is available to all children within the eligible age range. The programme is available to all children who have turned 2 years and 8 months of age before September 1st of the year they will be starting ECCE. With regard to the child referred to by the Deputy, he does not...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Childhood Care and Education (14 Jul 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department has not received an application for an additional year of ECCE for the child referred to by the Deputy. If the parents or the service provider wish to make an application they should forward it to my Department by email to eyqueries@dcya.gov.ie.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Guardians Ad Litem (14 Jul 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2019 is an important piece of legislation which seeks to provide for much-needed reform of guardian ad litem (GAL) arrangements. Its objective is to regulate the existing system of GAL appointments and to extend the system so that GALs can be made available to a larger number of children on a more equitable basis. It provides a statutory basis for a nationally...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Children in Care (14 Jul 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Deputy will be aware that I cannot comment on an individual case. Tusla receives children into care when it is necessary to ensure their safety, welfare and development In the event of a child or an unborn child requiring safe care which is assessed as not being available from within the family, Tusla is obliged to consider, together with the parents and sometimes the Court, how...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Departmental Functions (14 Jul 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: Power to transfer functions from one Minister/Department to another and to rename Departments is vested in the Government under section 6 of the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act 1939. Preparatory work for the transfer of functions and progressing the legislative requirements is ongoing. A revised organisational chart will be made available as soon as the required legal and...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Years Sector (14 Jul 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 874 to 876, inclusive, and 879 to 881, inclusive, together. According to the Living Wage Technical Group, the "living wage" in Ireland in 2019 was €12.30 per hour. Although the average wage in the Early Learning and Care sector in 2019 was €12.55, as per Pobal’s Annual Early Years Sector Profile Report for the 2018/2019 programme year,...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Years Sector (14 Jul 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department does not record parental spending in the early years sector. Data from the Independent Review of the Costs indicates that approximately, 42% of service income is from parental fees with the remainder (i.e. 58%) of income provided by the State. My Department funds childcare providers through subsidy and grant schemes. The subsidy schemes, which are administered by...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Services (14 Jul 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department funds childcare providers through subsidy and grant schemes. The subsidy schemes, which are administered by Pobal, include ECCE, the National Childcare Scheme, CCSP and TEC. In addition, Programme Support Payments are made to providers each year, based on the number of children they have registered on each scheme. Capital grants are available annually, and providers are...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Early Years Sector (14 Jul 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Department has estimated from analysis conducted by Crowe that State subsidies represent 58% of the total income for the early learning and care and school age care sector, with the remaining 42% coming from parental fees. This is spread over a 12 month period and can vary from month to month. My Department operates a number of funding schemes which subsidise early learning and care...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency (14 Jul 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Deputy is referring to an operational matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. I have therefore referred the matter to Tusla, and asked that a direct response be provided to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency (14 Jul 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Deputy is referring to an operational matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. I have therefore referred the matter to Tusla, and asked that a direct response be provided to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Abuse (14 Jul 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Deputy is referring to an operational matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. I have therefore referred the matter to Tusla, and asked that a direct response be provided to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: National Childcare Scheme (14 Jul 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: Parents whose children were availing of the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) before childcare services closed on 12 March do not need to make a new application arising from the re-registration process. Those parents should contact their childcare service to make arrangements for their child’s return to childcare if they have not already done so. The services can re-register the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: National Lottery Funding (14 Jul 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: I can confirm that the Department of Children and Youth Affairs operated a discretionary National Lottery Funding Scheme from 2011 to 2014 in which grants were allocated to community groups and programmes to support children, young people and families. This scheme closed in 2014. The records available to hand indicate that my Department’s Vote had a specific allocation of...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Costs (14 Jul 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department strongly encourages service providers to support parents as best they can as they re-engage with early learning and care services. Childcare services which are reopening over the summer, and are in receipt of a Reopening Support Payment, are not permitted to increase their fees above the level which was charged in March 2020, before the Covid closures. Where a service has...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Respite Care Services (15 Jul 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: Responsibility for disability related care services still remains with my colleague, the Minister for Health. As a result, the information requested by the Deputy is not available in my Department at present. However, I have referred the Deputy's question to the Department of Health with a request that they reply directly to you. It is Government's intention to transfer these...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Childcare Services (16 Jul 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: On 10 June 2020, my Department announced a major funding package to facilitate the reopening of early learning and care (ELC) and school-age childcare (SAC) services. In accordance with the Government Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business, and guided by the expert advice of the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HSPC), ELC and SAC services started to resume from 29 June. I am pleased...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (16 Jul 2020)

Roderic O'Gorman: On 10 June 2020, my Department announced a major funding package to facilitate the reopening of early learning and care (ELC) and school-age childcare (SAC) services over the summer months. In accordance with the Government Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business, and guided by the expert advice of the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HSPC), ELC and SAC services resumed from 29 June....