Results 41-60 of 1,305 for speaker:Joe O'Brien in 'Written Answers'

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Programmes (30 Jan 2024)

Joe O'Brien: Last December, I was delighted to launch the 2024 Local Enhancement Programme (LEP) which replaces my Department’s Community Enhancement Programme, with capital funding of €6 million to assist thousands of community groups across the country. A key feature of the Local Enhancement Programme is that it is targeted to the specific challenges facing local community groups and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (17 Jan 2024)

Joe O'Brien: 511. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update on the plan to build a permanent extension at a school (details supplied) in light of the initial design difficulties that have resulted in significant delays. [56816/23]

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Sector Pay (17 Jan 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 890, 898 and 938 together. My Department operates a number of employment support schemes; including Tús, Rural Social Scheme (RSS) and Community Employment (CE), for long term unemployed persons and low income farmers/fishers. I would like to acknowledge the important role that Tús and RSS supervisors play in providing valuable opportunities to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Industrial Disputes (13 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: My Department operates a number of employment support schemes; including Tús, Rural Social Scheme (RSS) and Community Employment (CE), for long term unemployed persons and low income farmers/fishers. I would like to acknowledge the important role that Tús and RSS supervisors play in providing valuable opportunities to participants in supporting the delivery of key services to local...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Industrial Disputes (12 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 485, 493, 496, 501 and 511 together. My Department operates a number of employment support schemes; including Tús, Rural Social Scheme (RSS) and Community Employment (CE), for long term unemployed persons and low income farmers/fishers. I would like to acknowledge the important role that Tús and RSS supervisors play in providing valuable...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Strategies (12 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: The national drug strategy, Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery, sets out government policy on drug and alcohol use for the period 2017 to 2025. The strategy provides an integrated health-led approach to drug and alcohol use, focused on reducing the harms for individuals, families and communities and promoting rehabilitation and recovery. The vision of Reducing Harm, Supporting...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Industrial Disputes (7 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: My Department operates a number of employment support schemes; including Tús and Community Employment (CE), for long term unemployed persons which also assist communities across the country in the provision of vital services. The Department is very conscious of the important role that these work programmes play and wish to support these schemes. While Tús supervisors are...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Food Poverty (7 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025is a whole-of-government strategy with the ambitious target to reduce consistent poverty to 2 per cent or less and to make Ireland one of the most socially inclusive countries in the EU. It includes a commitment to “develop a comprehensive programme of work to further explore the drivers of food poverty and to identify mitigating...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (7 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 128 and 141 together. The Government is committed to the reduction of all forms of poverty, particularly child poverty, as outlined in the Programme for Governmentand the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020 to 2025. The Roadmap is a whole of Government strategy with the ambitious target to reduce consistent poverty to 2 per cent or less and make Ireland one of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Industrial Disputes (7 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 235, 237, 243 and 245 together. My Department operates a number of employment support schemes; including Tús, Rural Social Scheme (RSS) and Community Employment (CE), for long term unemployed persons and low income farmers/fishers. I would like to acknowledge the important role that Tús and RSS supervisors play in providing valuable...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Industrial Disputes (6 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: Officials from my Department hold regular meetings with representative associations to discuss issues of mutual interest in relation to the delivery of all employment programmes; Community employment (CE), Job Initiative (JI), the Rural Social Scheme (RSS) and Tús. With regard to the issue raised by the Deputy, the Department is involved in ongoing discussions, as a partner in a...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Schemes (5 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: My Department's mission is to support vibrant and sustainable communities across this country, and in doing so to deliver on a wide range of strategic interventions, funding programmes and policies to support urban and rural communities. In 2019, my Department published Sustainable, Inclusive and Empowered Communities - A five year strategy to support the community and voluntary sector in...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Funding (5 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: The charity fundraising campaign called ‘Ireland for Ukraine’ was established by a coalition of media outlets including RTÉ, Virgin Media Television, TG4, Sky and many others, as a collective effort to raise funds to support the humanitarian response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Community Foundation for Ireland is the charity partner for the fundraising appeal...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Voluntary Sector (5 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: While I cannot comment specifically on Community Childcare Centres, I am aware more generally of the challenges faced by community and voluntary groups and organisations around recruiting and retaining volunteers. In publishing the National Volunteering Strategy 2021-2025, Government has acknowledged the importance of volunteering to the well-being of the nation, and has set out a plan...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Programmes (5 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: My Department’s Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) aims to reduce poverty and promote social inclusion and equality by supporting rural and urban communities and individuals using community development approaches, engagement and collaboration. The procurement process for SICAP 2024-2028 is currently ongoing. Galway County Local Community Development...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Programmes (5 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: My Department's Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP), is our country’s primary social inclusion programme which aims to reduce poverty and promote social inclusion and equality by supporting disadvantaged communities and individuals. The procurement process for the next iteration of SICAP 2024-2028 is currently ongoing. The SICAP procurement process is run on a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (30 Nov 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 406, 408 and 416 together. Officials from my Department hold regular meetings with representative associations to discuss issues of mutual interest in relation to the delivery of all employment programmes; Community employment (CE), Job Initiative (JI), the Rural Social Scheme (RSS) and Tús. With regard to the issues raised by the Deputies, the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (29 Nov 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 98 and 99 together. Officials from my Department hold regular meetings with representative associations to discuss issues of mutual interest in relation to the delivery of all employment programmes; Community employment (CE), Job Initiative (JI), the Rural Social Scheme (RSS) and Tús. With regard to the issues raised by the Deputy, the Department has...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Programmes (21 Nov 2023)

Joe O'Brien: My Department's Community Services Programme (CSP) supports over 420 community-based organisations, to provide local services through a social enterprise model. CSP provides an annual co-funding contribution towards each full-time equivalent (FTE) position being supported, and, where warranted, towards the cost of employing a manager. An application window for funding for additional staff...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Programmes (21 Nov 2023)

Joe O'Brien: The Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP), is our country’s primary social inclusion intervention. This is a national programme that is delivered in both rural and urban areas by Local Development Companies to help those in the greatest need. SICAP aims to address high and persistent levels of deprivation through targeted and innovative, locally-led approaches. ...