Results 101-120 of 978,815 for in 'Dáil debates' OR speaker:Jan O'Sullivan in 'Committee meetings'

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disabilities Assessments (30 May 2023)

Anne Rabbitte: I completely agree. In actual fact, I said the first day I became a Minister of State that we do not need 100% of a workforce but 140%, in order to ensure people can go on maternity leave. I agree with the Deputy on that. The HSE is back-filling. Funding was provided to ensure managers of the CDNTs could be back-filled. It is also very important for the HSE to implement its own policy,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions (30 May 2023)

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (30 May 2023)

Disability Services

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (30 May 2023)

Denis Naughten: 36. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the steps being taken to address the additional costs associated with disability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16971/23]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (30 May 2023)

Seán Canney: What steps will be taken to address the additional cost of living for people with disabilities? Could the Minister of State let us know what is happening in that regard? People are very anxious to know. This is not about the cost of living as a result of inflation and the war in Ukraine. This is about the cost of living with a disability, as set out in the Indecon report.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (30 May 2023)

Anne Rabbitte: The Cost of Disability in Ireland report was commissioned by the Minister for Social Protection and prepared by Indecon International Research Economists. It was published in December 2021. It provides important evidence of the additional costs that people with a disability face. The report has implications for many areas of public policy. A whole-of-government approach is required to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (30 May 2023)

Seán Canney: It is very important to note that all of those measures were as a result of the increases in the cost of living and inflation. They were nothing to do with the cost of disability, which is a separate issue. It is important that we separate both those things. We should not conflate this by saying we gave money because that money was given as a result of the increased cost of living due to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (30 May 2023)

Anne Rabbitte: While I would love to give the Deputy a kite-flying answer, I cannot do that here tonight.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (30 May 2023)

Seán Canney: There are enough of ye at it.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (30 May 2023)

Anne Rabbitte: I am not adding to it; I can tell the Deputy that much for nothing. However, I will say one thing. The most cost-effective way of supporting people with disabilities is to work with them to get people back into the workforce. That is one of the most important ways we can do it. One of the things the Minister did when dealing with the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Act...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (30 May 2023)

Seán Canney: I agree wholeheartedly with that and I commend the Department on what is happening there but I will say one thing. When a person who is getting disability allowance gets married or partners with somebody who is working, their disability allowance is reduced to about €40 on the basis that their household income has now changed. That flies in the face of everything we are trying to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (30 May 2023)

Early Childhood Care and Education

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (30 May 2023)

Pauline Tully: 34. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the measures he is taking to address the severe shortage of childcare provision and early education provision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26326/23]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (30 May 2023)

Pauline Tully: What measures is the Minister taking to address the severe shortage of childcare provision and early education provision? I ask him to make a statement on the matter.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (30 May 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: Ensuring high-quality early learning and childcare is accessible and affordable is a key priority for me and there are a number of funding programmes available through my Department that seek to improve capacity. The new core funding scheme, which we were just discussing, has a range of objectives, including capacity growth. Although this scheme has only been in place since last September,...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (30 May 2023)

Pauline Tully: I will talk about my county of Cavan but I am sure it is reflective of what is happening elsewhere. The Cavan childcare committee as well as a number of providers have reported a crisis with the provision of childcare, particularly for children aged under two years. Many of the baby rooms are closing because the ratio is three children to one childcare professional. Providers are taking...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (30 May 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: There is a very strong uptake of core funding in counties Cavan and Monaghan. It is 98% in services in Monaghan and 97% in Cavan, which are among the best rates in the country. There are definitely capacity constraints in both of those counties but we do have vacancies in both. I think it is about an 8% vacancy rate in Monaghan and a 12% vacancy rate in Cavan. However, in particular areas...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (30 May 2023)

Pauline Tully: I spoke to another service provider based in Blacklion, which is way over in west Cavan. That service has a waiting list of roughly 60. One of the biggest problems there is not space; it is retaining staff because many staff are leaving to become special needs assistants, SNAs, and so on. In addition, many Ukrainian families have been moved into that area. Those parents cannot go out to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (30 May 2023)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Deputy is right in saying we need increased capacity. The building blocks grant will be very important. In July we hope to put out a call for applications for services to be able to apply for extensions or financial support to build new services with a view that that would be called down in 2024. There is real pressure on staff within the childcare system at the moment. One of the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disabilities Assessments (30 May 2023)

Disabilities Assessments