Results 241-260 of 11,327 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (22 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 659 to 662, inclusive, together. The Deputy has separately requested a breakdown of the full-year cost of increasing the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) subsidy to €2.50/hour, €3.00/hour, €3.20/hour and €3.50/hour. Due to the similarity of these PQs it is proposed that they be taken together. There are two types of subsidies...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (22 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 663 to 666, inclusive, together. The Deputy has separately requested a breakdown the full-year cost of increasing ECCE capitation by 10%, 15%, 20% and 25%. Due to the similarity of these PQs it is proposed that they should be taken together. My Department funds private ELC service providers to provide the ECCE programme at a standard rate of €69...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (22 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The introduction of Core Funding in September 2022 brought a significant increase in investment for the sector. In 2022 Core Funding had an outturn of €80.4 million. Core Funding was introduced in September 2022. This includes the two weeks of Interim Funding which was paid to the sector. This Interim funding was introduced to support providers to transition from the EWSS to the new...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (22 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Reform of the early learning and childcare sector has been a major focus of this Government. The Programme for Government committed to reforming the system to create one that brings together the best of community and private provision and the development of a new funding model for affordable, accessible, sustainable and high quality early learning and childcare. The framework for reform...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (22 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The main route through which parents are subsidised for their early learning and childcare costs is the National Childcare Scheme. The Childcare Support Act 2018, which provides a statutory basis for the National Childcare Scheme, specifies that only Tusla-registered providers are eligible to participate in the Scheme. The limitation of public funding schemes to Tusla-registered childcare...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (22 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I propose to take Questions Nos. 670 and 671 together. The Access and Inclusion model is designed to support children in ECCE. From September 2024 it has also been expanded to support ECCE aged children in early learning and childcare outside of AIM. The goal of the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) is to empower Early Learning and Care (ELC) providers to deliver an inclusive preschool...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (22 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: First 5 - A Whole-of-Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families 2019-2028 commits to "undertaking a review of the ECCE programme and, subject to findings, consider the need to make changes. Over the lifetime of the strategy, introduce a universal legal entitlement to preschool." The first state of this commitment has been met. An independent review of the ECCE...

Maternity Protection Bill 2024 [Seanad]: Second Stage (17 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: No, it was fully published.

Maternity Protection Bill 2024 [Seanad]: Second Stage (17 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank all the Deputies for their contributions and their assurance of support for both the core legislation and the two sets of amendments that we will seek to bring forward next week. In terms of the process, the amendments on NDAs relating to private records will be printed by the Bills Office tomorrow and will be available for full view. Next Wednesday we will have the opportunity...

Maternity Protection Bill 2024 [Seanad]: Second Stage (17 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: It is built in.

Maternity Protection Bill 2024 [Seanad]: Second Stage (17 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak on Second Stage of this important legislation. It is incredibly worthwhile legislation, which will have a very real impact on women at a very important juncture in their lives. The Bill provides for two main areas of reform. The first is to allow a pause in maternity leave for treatment...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (17 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: New Partner Service is defined strictly to mean services that were not in existence on 30 September 2021. Services that have made changes such as name, address, owner, or legal structure do not qualify as new Partner Services. If a Partner Service undergoes a closure and has been closed for over 6 months and has fully deregistered with Tusla, and subsequently a new service registers under...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (17 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The introduction of Core Funding in 2022 brought a significant increase in investment for the sector, with €259m of funding paid directly to services in year 1 of the scheme, of which €210.8 million was entirely new funding. This funding, which increased by 11% (to €287 million) in year 2, increased again by a further 15% in year 3 (to €331 million). In view of...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (17 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: My Department is currently collating the information requested and a reply will issue directly to the Deputy in due course.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Child Care Law Reporting Project (17 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Child care proceedings ordinarily occur otherwise than in public, and court reporting has an important role in highlighting for policy makers those issues that may impact on children as they arise in these proceedings. My Department renews the court reporting project periodically through a competitive tender process. The current iteration of court reporting began in November 2021 and will...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (17 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Huge efforts are underway, within this Department and as part of a whole-of-Government response, to source and bring into use suitable facilities to provide shelter and safety to international protection applicants. Providing reception conditions – accommodation and other basic supports – to applicants is part of Irish and EU law and is also part of our humanitarian duty to...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (17 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy for this question. A response will be provided directly to the Deputy in the coming days.

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (17 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: In March 2024 Government approved a new Comprehensive Accommodation Strategy (CAS) for International Protection applicants. The strategy seeks to address the current accommodation shortfall, while reforming the system over the longer term to ensure the State will always be able to meet its international commitments. Accommodation in the new strategy will be delivered through the following...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: International Protection (17 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: In March 2024 Government approved a new Comprehensive Accommodation Strategy (CAS) for International Protection applicants. The strategy seeks to address the current accommodation shortfall, while reforming the system over the longer term to ensure the State will always be able to meet its international commitments. Accommodation in the new strategy will be delivered through the following...