Right now, where a service is not involved in the core funding model my Department does not have a mechanism to influence how much it charges. If the service is in the NCS the Department provides a significant subsidy to parents, which is growing this year - very significantly in September - and which will lessen the costs. However, right now the Department does not have a mechanism if services are not within the core funding model. That is why it is so important that 94.5% of services are in the core funding model…

Foster care is the preferred method of care for children in care who cannot live with their families of origin. As we know, foster care provides a safe, secure and stable home environment for some of our most vulnerable children. Tusla's assessment of any foster carer must consider the foster carer's expected availability to meet and support the needs of the child who has come into his or her care. The assessment and approval process explores what type of care the prospective foster carer can best offer to a child …

I thank the Deputy for keeping the spotlight on this issue because it is so important that we support foster carers. I have met IFCA and Movement for Change in Foster Care and other organisations representing foster carers regularly. In particular, I met them after, not the 2024 budget but the 2023 budget, and I said I would work with them to deal with the allowance which was a key issue for them. The allowance has been raised by €25 from 1 January and will increase by another €50 from 1 November this year. This me…

When I met IFCA and Movement for Change in Foster Care, we spoke about five broad areas where they felt the State needed to be doing more. These were allowances - which the Deputy has discussed already; travel expenses - which I am working on with Tusla; and additional concrete supports particularly in terms of therapies and we now have therapist groups available to foster carers from which they can draw because often children in care have a range of significant additional needs. We have also put a much greater foc…

Nine hours.

The Merchant pub, which I believe the Deputy is referring to, was offered for international protection accommodation some time ago. The offer was rejected by my Department. I gather the Deputy is highlighting that there is potential that the pub may be re-offered. It has not been as yet and there is no offer currently with my Department. I cannot speak to what the owners will do in the future. All I can speak to is that the offer was rejected for significant reasons the previous time it was made. That is the positi…

There is no application within my Department for that pub right now.

The previous application we dealt with was rejected for significant reasons. As the Deputy will be aware, none of us wants to be in a situation where we are taking hotel accommodation. That is why we published a comprehensive accommodation strategy, one that moves away from reliance on private providers and towards a core of State-provided accommodation.

If I can have a last word, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, in the short-term, it is about being able to provide accommodation for people who are rough sleeping at present. Another 109 people were offered accommodation today.

I am really pleased to have the opportunity to speak to this Bill on Second Stage today. I thank Deputy Ó Cathasaigh and his team for their work on this legislation. I have not had the opportunity to meet the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales yet but, in my role, I have met a number of Welsh Ministers at various intergovernmental meetings over the last number of years. It has always been interesting to hear them speak about how the role of the commissioner is influencing things, particularly in the area of …

I again thank Deputy Ó Cathasaigh for bringing this matter to the Dáil. I acknowledge, as Deputy Nash did, the range of contributions from across the House. We heard different but valuable perspectives, all of which pointed to the importance, significance and worthwhile nature of the proposal before us. Across the Oireachtas, we all come from different political backgrounds and have our own views. However, by and large, everybody in this House has a common belief in leaving the country better off for future generat…

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the following Order in draft: Parent's Leave and Benefit Act 2019 (Extension of Periods of Leave) Order 2024, a copy of which was laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 24th May, 2024.

Insufficient plans.

I do not agree with the Deputy's assertion that there has been no communication. We have been very clear that there is no contract for modular homes at this location for either Ukrainians or international protection applicants. There are approximately 100 international protection applicants staying at the site already. That is recognised and members of the community have been supportive of them. However, there is no contract in place for modular homes for Ukrainians or international protection applicants. That is a…

There have been so many debates.

I welcome this motion as an opportunity to debate the important issue of early learning and childcare and I will focus on that element. I acknowledge my colleague has focused on the issue of nursing homes and elder care previously. It is clear from this debate so far that we all recognise the importance of early learning and childcare for children and their families, and for our wider society and economy as well. In opposing the motion and in supporting the Government amendment, our objective is not to claim that t…

I thank the Deputy for her engagement on this issue, about which we have spoken a number of times, and her constituency colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, has also been in touch on the issue. In January 2023, through the online offers portal on gov.ie , my Department received a commercial offer of temporary accommodation for beneficiaries of temporary protection fleeing the conflict in Ukraine at the location to which the Deputy refers. As the proposal involved a property requiring significant convers…

I thank the Deputy. I recognise that a significant number of Ukrainians are resident across counties Kilkenny and Carlow. I recognise the welcome they have received from communities. Ukrainians are being accommodated in urban and rural areas. People are being accommodated in many different situations all over Ireland. Our primary focus is on meeting the necessary guidelines we have set out for the refurbishment of buildings. The building in question is being considered under one specific stream, that is, the refurb…

We have converted many types of buildings for use as Ukrainian accommodation. The Deputy has set out her concerns about the use of equestrian facilities but we have done it successfully in Millstreet and in Kill. Those are two areas in which we have converted equestrian accommodation into emergency accommodation in recent times, recognising the scale of our accommodation challenge. I know from engagement with the Deputy and other TDs that there is an enforcement issue in respect of some materials or objects on the …

I thank the Deputy. The commission of investigation into mother and baby institutions made significant findings regarding the failings of the State and religious bodies, which together ran mother and baby and county home institutions. The Government believes all relevant parties have a collective responsibility to respond to the legacy of these institutions. As the Deputy knows, we have an action plan setting out 22 actions, one of which is the institutional payment scheme. In May 2023, the Government approved my p…