Results 101-120 of 11,327 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

Ceisteanna Eile (Atógáil) - Other Questions (Resumed): Departmental Budgets (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: Arising out of budget 2025, €85 million will be allocated to current and capital expenditure for the benefit of young people. That is an increase in funding of €7 million, or almost 9%, on the 2024 budget. I have increased funding for youth services every single year as Minister. This is the largest boost in youth funding that youth services have received during my time as...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy. In line with the progressing disability services model, 93 children’s disability network teams are aligned to 96 community healthcare networks across the country and provide services and supports for children from birth to 18 years of age. Part of services provided by CDNTs and primary care services includes assessment for, prescription, provision and training for...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy. I can absolutely understand the frustration there, especially if her constituent is hearing the course is not full. That is hugely frustrating. Maybe the Deputy could drop a note to the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and me and we could look to follow it up with the CHO to get some clarification and ensure this person is able to avail of the course as quickly as...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: That point about integration between health supports health supports provided through my Department and the HSE and education supports provided through the Department of Education and the NCSE is very important. What I have seen in the new Cabinet committee on children and education and disability is we have those opportunities to ensure we are able to address the gaps which results in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Child Care Law Reporting Project (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy. My Department renews the court reporting project periodically through a competitive tender process. The current iteration of the court reporting project began in November 2021 and will expire on 31 October 2024, over which period funding totalling €600,000 will have been provided to the Child Law Project. My Department is currently prioritising the development of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I take the Deputy's point on getting the therapists who will graduate in years to come where they are most needed. I look at what Tusla did in terms of social workers. Every social worker who graduates from an Irish university gets an offer of employment from Tusla. That is extremely attractive and has been very good in bringing not all social workers, but a significant number to do work...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rights of People with Disabilities (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy. She has raised this with me regularly in my time as Minister. I was pleased to announce on 8 October that the Government made the important decision to formally accede to the optional protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, delivering on a key programme for Government commitment. This decision marks a milestone moment for...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rights of People with Disabilities (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: We all want a country where people with disabilities and their families do not feel they need to take up the provisions of the optional protocol and feel that Ireland is meeting their full rights under the UNCRPD. We know we are not there yet and have a lot of work to do to get to that place. We have been able to do some important things in the past four and a half years, particularly since...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rights of People with Disabilities (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: There is no further delay. I am not quite sure what the Deputy is talking about. We have agreed as Government to sign the optional protocol and sent the accession documents to New York, which is how it is done. They will be delivered by the Irish representative in the United Nations to the United Nations disability committee and 30 days later the optional protocol will be binding on...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rights of People with Disabilities (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: -----and no lack of clarity on that point. On Deputy Hourigan's point, it will be a motivator. It motivated our Department on the assisted decision-making legislation and is an important motivator behind the mental health legislation passing through the Houses right now. There have been analyses and there are areas where Ireland is vulnerable. Universal design, which the Deputy has...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: An interesting point is that more than 1 million children have done ECCE, about one fifth of our population, as it has been available since 2009. The next steps will be a decision for the next Government. I have strong views. I agree with the Deputy. ECCE is the cornerstone of early learning and care. I would love to see it on a statutory basis so that every child would have a legal...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I am interested in a mid-year entry point, which there was originally but was removed. Where a child is born just on the cusp of the next year, it can be frustrating for parents. It is worth considering that day-to-day change in the operation of the scheme. We spoke earlier about early years professionals. Ultimately, it comes down to State investment because if the State is to be more...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: The implementation of the progressing disability services programme is agreed Government and HSE policy. This policy supports the reconfiguration of children's disability services to provide equitable child- and family-centred services based on need rather than diagnosis. Crucially, this aligns with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The HSE's roadmap for service...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I cannot disagree with anything the Deputy said in terms of the challenge the significant level of vacancy poses for the CDNTs all over the country and their ability to deliver crucial interventions for children and the subsequent improvements in quality of life for families. The next Government will look at the progressing disabilities model and have an opportunity to make decisions. We...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank Deputy Conway-Walsh for raising this question. I acknowledge the challenges faced by children and young people in terms of accessing services, particularly essential therapy services, in Mayo. The lead agencies there are experiencing ongoing challenges in recruiting across a range of disciplines and grades to fully staff the CDNTs. Recruitment is ongoing for administrative and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I fully agree with the Deputy on the challenges of recruitment. It is the big challenge in disabilities services right now. The core solution to that is to train more health and social care professionals, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, physiotherapists and psychiatrists. We need more of them because the level of demand and need has increased, both because of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank Deputy Conway-Walsh for her passionate advocacy on behalf of that child and his family. What I have done as Minister is to recognise that for so long disability was the poor relation within the Department of Health. We have taken it out of the Department of Health and brought it into my Department. That applied from March 2023, more than 18 months ago. There is so much more...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Early Childhood Care and Education (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Deputy. It was published on Tuesday. We are delighted to publish it. I am delighted to have published it because I asked for this to be undertaken. There is a lot happening in the early years section in my Department. We had a busy summer negotiating another really successful budget. We have been bringing out extra support for AIMS, rolling out equal start and the new DEIS...

Seanad: Maternity Protection, Employment Equality and Preservation of Certain Records Bill 2024: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: I appreciate the guidance of the Acting Chairperson. If Members will indulge me for a minute before I speak to the amendments in group A, I wish to warmly welcome three women and their families to the House here today for this important matter. Having experienced the terrible news of a cancer diagnosis during their pregnancies, Erica Tierney, Mary Canavan and Emma McGuinness have all...

Seanad: Maternity Protection, Employment Equality and Preservation of Certain Records Bill 2024: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (24 Oct 2024)

Roderic O'Gorman: That is amendment No. 6. This proposal, related to maternity leave for Members of the Oireachtas, was carefully drafted with the Office of the Attorney General to avoid any perceived overstep in relation to the separation of powers. However, given the subject matter of what we are doing, in allowing all women to have the ability to defer their maternity leave in the event of serious...