It is a priority.

On 24 March, the Government approved high-level proposals for a national centre for research and remembrance. The establishment of the national centre is a core commitment in the action plan for survivors and former residents of mother and baby and county home institutions. The national centre will be located on the site of the former Magdalen laundry on Seán McDermott Street in Dublin 1. It will stand as a site of conscience and will be a national memorial to honour equally all those who were resident in mother an…

The Deputy is right that in our response to legacy issues timing is important. This will take longer than some of the other actions. It is a major building project. It will have very positive impacts for survivors, former residents and their families and for the wider community in Dublin's north-east inner city in terms of having social housing, education and early-years elements. We have been moving very quickly on that central right of access to information. Last night, we finished Committee Stage of the Birth In…

The enhanced medical card will be as part of the institutional payments Bill, the general scheme of which is being discussed in the Deputy's committee at pre-legislative scrutiny. I know the committee is working hard to get that report. We will be introducing that legislation early in the September term, with a view to getting it passed and operational by the end of the year. Local authority engagement is very important, too. My Department has been engaging with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Herit…

In total, my Department provided funding to 264 Foróige clubs nationally through the local youth club grant scheme in 2020, the latest year for which figures have been collated. Approximately 1,200 grants were made that year. Data for 2021 will be collated in the near future. A total of 72 grants were made in the Cavan and Monaghan education and training board area in 2020. Of these, 16 were made to Foróige clubs, making it the largest group to receive a local youth club grant scheme in that area. I secured €2.5 mi…

Absolutely. I hope to continue to grow the overall funding envelope. We have grown it by €5 million cumulatively each year and hope to continue to do that. The key scheme we are looking at is UBU Your Place Your Space, which is a targeted funding scheme. We have announced eight new schemes this year and announced six new schemes last year. We will look to continue to grow that. We had a useful discussion with youth groups from the Deputy's own area about providing additional support. We conversed about how that cou…

The Deputy made that point strongly when we met, which I take on board. It is good to give some degree of local autonomy when identifying these issues. When my Department and I identify what Youghal, Fermoy or other parts of Cork mean, it is not as good as when local elements do so. We need to ensure there is a wide spread of funding and to recognise the importance of supporting youth in rural areas too. It is not just about supporting what is happening in cities and large towns, but also about supporting rural you…

My Department is focused on providing short-term accommodation to people fleeing the conflict in Ukraine. As we spoke of earlier, more than 23,000 people have sought short-term temporary accommodation from my Department to date. Once accommodation is allocated to beneficiaries of temporary protection by my Department, transport to that location is organised for them. I have spoken directly with the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, with regard to the transport challenges faced by those fleeing Ukraine once…

I am happy to engage with the Deputy. I understand that general information was provided by my Department to Connecting Ireland and the Department of Transport about where concentrations of Ukrainian displaced persons are accommodated. The Department of Transport examined the plans for new routes under Connecting Ireland and acted to bring some forward more quickly. On the two specific routes the Deputy identified, I propose to look at their status to see whether they are being considered in the context of the acce…

I remember during the programme for Government negotiations there was a real focus to ensure that, inasmuch as we were putting significant investment into public transport in city areas, and my own very urban constituency is benefitting from that, there was a real need to focus on enhancing the local network around the country. Connecting Ireland is the roadmap towards doing that and significant funding has been put in place to support it. Perhaps one of the positive consequences of the arrival of a large number of…

I thank the Deputy. While the statutory bodies with primary responsibility for child welfare and protection are Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, and An Garda Síochána, sometimes concerns about a child or a retrospective allegation are reported to my Department. My Department is committed to acting promptly when notified of any concerns and follows the principles of Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children. A guidance document for staff of the Department details actions which s…

No, I was not. I am not aware of the two cases the Deputy has spoken about. If he wants to provide me with information about them, I will be happy to examine them.

It is my understanding that when an allegation of retrospective child abuse is being investigated, the full processes of Children First are implemented. I will come back to the Deputy in writing on what exactly that means in terms of whether every single adult is contacted. I do not have the absolute detail on that. It is a fair question and I will come back to the Deputy on it in writing. As I said, in respect of the two cases the Deputy identified, I am happy for him to bring them to my attention and I can look a…

The Deputy is correct about the direct provision system. He knows of my efforts to end direct provision. We have the White Paper. We had a quite substantive discussion about that during the taking of questions earlier today and I set out what we are doing. I have been honest about the impact of the war in Ukraine, which has affected my Department's ability over the past three months. Fourteen Ukrainian nationals sought international protection here in 2012. There were seven in 2013, 36 in 2014, 33 in 2015, 11 in 20…

I thank the Deputy. I echo his praise for the huge national effort that has been made by communities, local authorities, State agencies, charities and NGOs. An amazing effort has been made to extend a welcome and send practical supports to Ukrainians. The provision of accommodation to Ukrainians is imperfect. It is something we have had to put in place in such a short period for an influx the like of which we have never seen before, and that is at a time when we are trying to end a system that we have all identifie…

I share the Deputy's concern about the vacancy level in certain parts of the country, particularly in the smaller urban areas and small towns and villages. When the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, announced a package to respond to the Ukraine crisis and the wider housing crisis in April, he changed the measures under which people can apply for funding to refurbish vacant homes. He made it easier to access the funding. I hope that will allow the work to start in this rega…

We had a good discussion about the funding of youth services earlier. Unfortunately, there are no plans for a specific funding stream for transport right now. I realise it is an issue. It is raised with me by those in the sector. We have a capital budget for youth services, amounting to €2.7 million, but the vast majority of these funds are for small grants to help services to maintain their buildings and youth clubs. As the Deputy knows, over the past two years we have been able to grow the overall youth services …

I agree with the Deputy. I do not want to let this opportunity go by without referencing the young adult travel card that the Government has introduced, which will benefit young people between the ages of 19 and 23. This was an initiative brought forward by Comhairle na nÓg to me. I and Comhairle approached the Minister, Deputy Ryan, and got the funding for that, and it applies as of two weeks ago. All young people between the ages of 19 and 23, whether they are students or working, or whatever their position in li…

First, I recognise the really important work that has been done by the Deputy and her colleagues on that committee and the hugely significant testimony that has come in from so many experts, but particularly from families in terms of what surrogacy means to them. As the Deputy knows, the reason this committee was established was because the Government identified that this issue is critical, it is complicated and we want to get the legislation right. It is the understanding of the Government, and the reason the comm…

It is an important question. Deputy Ward and other Deputies have raised legitimate points about the interaction with vulnerable children and, in particular, children who are in State care. When we have different State agencies looking after them, silos can sometimes build up. I have dealt with that in respect of Tusla and the HSE in the context of children with significant needs who are in long-term care. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and I will engage on this issue and will get back to the committee on chi…