Results 61-80 of 1,020,648 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Ruairi Ó Murchú OR speaker:Peter Burke) in 'Committee meetings'

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Parental Leave (30 Apr 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I would not underestimate the cultural handbrake that is also there. There is definitely a societal pressure, in particular on men, to get that fit of child rearing done and get back to work. That is the thinking on it. I do not subscribe to that view. I think that time you put into your child at home is incredibly valuable and, to speak to our earlier question, gives that best start and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Parental Leave (30 Apr 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: One of the key reasons we made parents' leave non-transferable between the two parents was because there is that societal pressure where, if you can transfer it, in a lot of situations dad's time would have gone to mam and that would have been the end of the conversation. We felt it was important to encourage dads in every way possible to spend that very valuable and potentially now 11...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (30 Apr 2024)

David Stanton: I thank the Minister for that. I emphasise the need for a fund for start-ups. Right now, as colleagues have said, there are problems around the country where there is no provision. Feeding into the county development plan is a great idea, but my worry is that the county development plan in County Cork was published just last year, so it will be another four years before we will see action...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (30 Apr 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The Cabinet committee on children, education and disability met two weeks ago. I presented on capacity, and this is one of the issues I flagged. There are guidelines for the use of school buildings, and we would certainly encourage as robust language as possible there. There are two elements here. There are after-school services and there are services that may run at the same time as...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (30 Apr 2024)

Early Childhood Care and Education

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (30 Apr 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: 89. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when he expects to announce further details of the proposed equal participation model; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19261/24]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (30 Apr 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I am smiling wryly at the Minister's previous answer. Teachers are very protective of their classrooms: "If they come into mine, they better not mess up the copies or anything else." As regards the fourth strand of the together for better programme, we have ECCE, the access and inclusion model and the national childcare scheme. The first three I understand quite well, but we have a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (30 Apr 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: In budget 2024, I secured €4.5 million to commence the initial roll-out of equal start from September of this year. That allocation is equivalent to €13.5 million in a full year, and I will be very pleased to be able to fully announce equal start in May of this year. Equal start is a funding model and set of universal and targeted measures to support access to, and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (30 Apr 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I believe passionately in this and that we should not confuse equality of outcome with the equality of opportunity we often get in a meritocracy, whereby you start from 50 m and I start from 100 m, we say the finish line is in the same place and we say, "Was it not great we all got to run in the same race?" That is not really how society works. Well, it is how society works but it is not...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (30 Apr 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: There will be a range of universal and targeted supports, just like there are for AIM. There will be universal supports as regards better training for everybody in settings in terms of social inclusion and how to act on that within the particular setting. Better information will be provided to all parents so they understand what the supports available to them are. Not all parents know...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (30 Apr 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: Additional staff and additional training for existing staff make all sorts of sense to me. The Minister will know that better informing parents is difficult. He talks about targeting that group. Trying to get people to actually interact with the services will be difficult. Will the Minister explain to me a little more about, as I said, the basic nuts and bolts? If I understand this...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (30 Apr 2024)

Ruairi Ó Murchú: Could I get a bit more detail? I think we all welcome any moves as regards AIMS, and I really like the idea of targeted supports, but the problem is that we are all aware of desperate sets of circumstances. We all know that we need to see full wraparound family supports and full interventions. In an awful lot of cases we deal with issues where kids have been left in the most chaotic of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (30 Apr 2024)

David Stanton: Again, I congratulate the Minister on the work but it strikes me it is taking an awfully long time. It could be another two years, maybe longer, before we see this in place. I asked the Minister if he would establish an interim board in order that it would be up and running and ready to go, rather than establishing a board which would then have to spend more time getting to know the brief....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (30 Apr 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy. I could speak at length about the various things we have done in the early years sector. When I became Minister, my priorities were cutting the cost of childcare for parents, ensuring childcare professionals are better paid and improving the sustainability of childcare providers. We have done a significant amount in all three of those areas, while recognising there are...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (30 Apr 2024)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. Anois, tógaimid ceist Uimh. 88, arís in ainm an Teachta Bruton ach á thógáil ag an Teachta Stanton.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (30 Apr 2024)

Childcare Services

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (30 Apr 2024)

Richard Bruton: 88. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide an update on the unmet need for childcare places, the uptake of the new capital scheme which he has published and his future plans for the sector. [19053/24]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (30 Apr 2024)

David Stanton: This question relates to what the Minister just said and asks him to provide an update on the unmet need for childcare places, the uptake of the new capital scheme which he has published and his future plans for that sector. It has to do with housing estates being built around the country but no childcare places being provided in those estates. In some instances, parents are not able to go...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (30 Apr 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy. Ensuring high-quality early learning and childcare is affordable and accessible is a policy priority. The range of data available to my Department indicates that supply of early learning and childcare is increasing but I also recognise there are parts of the country where there are real capacity challenges. The latest early years sector profile survey showed that,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (30 Apr 2024)

David Stanton: I thank the Minister for his response and congratulate him on the work that is going on there. If I am correct, the current schemes only support expansions, not startups. If somebody wants to start from scratch and build a childcare facility, is there any support for that? Has the Minister asked the local childcare committees to conduct an assessment of local need? If not, will he do so...