Yes, happily.

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion under Protocol No. 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to accept the following measure: Regulation (EU) 2021/1147 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 July 2021 establishing the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, a copy of which was laid b…

I thank all the Deputies for their contributions. To respond to Deputy Connolly on the breakdown, under the 2014-2020 scheme, Ireland had €55.5 million allocated. I have to hand a copy of the percentages for each of the areas. A total of 30% of the national allocation was spent on asylum, 32% on integration, 22% on return, 5.8% on solidarity and 10% on technical assistance. Under the regulations, that was the requirement for Ireland. Many of the groups she and other Deputies spoke about received their funding alloc…

I will respond to Deputy Tóibín's question. In the case at issue, serious incorrect information was provided on the file. In my correspondence with the Deputy I outlined when I became aware of it as Minister. The Department and Tusla will always respond rapidly if similar instances are notified to us by any parent in future.

I want to thank everybody for their detailed contributions over the past two days and consideration of the Bill since it was published. I want to thank the Acting Chair and Deputy Costello, in particular, as members of the joint committee, for speaking about a number of recommendations we implemented in moving from the original draft of the Bill last May to the Bill published two weeks ago. It has been said in the House and on the national airwaves that no recommendations were implemented. A significant majority of…

I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth pursuant to Standing Orders 95(3)( a ) and 181(1).

I join with the Taoiseach and Minister for Justice in paying tribute to Ashling Murphy, and offering my condolences to her family, friends and all those within her community who are grieving for her. The taking of a young life, a life that was so full of vitality and promise, has brought shock, revulsion and a great deal of reflection in Ireland, and through that, a necessary reckoning with the reality behind this appalling murder. We must call that for what it is: men's violence against women. According to a Europ…

I move: “That the Bill be now read a Second Time.” I am pleased to bring the Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022 before this House. It is landmark legislation in recognising the right to identity and rectifying a longstanding historic injustice. This Bill is fundamentally concerned with addressing the needs of adopted people and people who have questions about their origin of birth. It will achieve this through the guaranteed provision of full and unredacted release of birth certificates, birth, care and early-…

I thank the Deputy for the question. As she says, this is an important scheme for the undocumented and those who have been in direct provision for more than two years. As the Deputy knows, the scheme does not apply any charge to those who are in direct provision. Therefore, about 2,800 individuals will be able to participate in the scheme without any charge. Regarding undocumented migrants who wish to participate in the scheme, we believe the charges are fair. The charge for an individual is €550. It is €700 for a …

I agree with pretty much everything the Deputy has said. The issue of international surrogacy will have to be addressed. We know it is a very sensitive and complex area. We have to ensure that whatever measures we bring forward offer protection for children when they come to Ireland and for their parents but they should also offer protection to the surrogate mother. That is really important. This person will probably be in another jurisdiction and we have to be sure that protections are in place for her and that th…

I certainly agree. Urgency is important in this regard. However, I am sure the Deputy will agree that it is important we get this right in light of the complexity and the different situations we are dealing with. As I have said, a Bill on AHR is being advanced by the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. I believe it underwent pre-legislative scrutiny in the term of the previous Oireachtas. However, as the Deputy has pointed out, it does not address the area of international surrogacy. An Oireachtas committee could be…

In developing the proposals for the Government, extensive thought was given to how best to structure a fair and sensitive payment scheme for survivors of mother and baby institutions. I asked an interdepartmental group to develop proposals for a scheme and to make recommendations for the overall approach to the payments as well as potential payment rates. With regard to the payment approach, the group strongly advocated for a general approach based on time spent in these institutions rather than individual assessme…

Based on what I said a few moments ago and what I said when the scheme was announced, I have always been clear that I and the Government recognise that no amount of money can make up for what happened to women and children in these institutions. I think I have been clear on that. We understand that a payment scheme and the range of actions we are taking cannot make up for the trauma that was experienced in these institutions. However, it is a recognition of what happened. It is an attempt to provide some element of…

I do not believe it is an actuarial exercise. If that were the concern, the Government could have tried to rely on the recommendations from the commission which were much narrower. We could have tried to rely on the recommendations of the interdepartmental group which were much narrower. However, the Government did not do that. We went significantly beyond what the commission recommended. We went significantly beyond what the interdepartmental group recommended. It would have applied financial payments to 19,000 su…

I am aware that many early learning and childcare services are reporting staffing difficulties, exacerbated by the current high rate of Covid-19 in the community. My Department is actively monitoring the issue and has sought data and evidence-based proposals from sectoral representatives. Last week, my Department convened a subgroup of the early learning and childcare stakeholder forum to discuss immediate staffing pressures resulting from Covid-19 and additional measures that may be needed. The group is examining …

In terms of the short-term measures, when we announced to the sector representatives last week that we were making available third and fourth-year graduates and postgraduates who are in the institutes of higher and further education at the moment, to allow them to take up places across the sector, it was warmly welcomed. The initiative has been able to provide some kind of extra buffer at the moment in terms of many services experiencing staff being out due to Covid. We have acted in the short term to support the s…

I do not have specific figures in terms of how that will impact. We just announced it last week. I have spoken to one or two child care providers in my constituency who were able to secure some of these students so it is making a difference and alleviating some of the real pressures spoken about by the Deputy. This month, we are going to have two very significant announcements, namely, the workforce planning announced and published and the final report of the expert group on the funding model. Many Deputies here ha…

Tusla administers the family resource centre programme, which provides funding support to 121 centres across the country. My Department allocates core funding for the programme. Since 2019 we have provided an additional €1.5 million to this important service and funding for 2021 amounted to €18 million. My Department also secured funding for Tusla to support existing family resource centres, primarily with expenses relating to equipment and premises, through the Dormant Accounts Fund for 2020 and 2021. Tusla is cur…

I agree with the Deputy on the importance of family resource centres and how they respond to particular needs. I have visited a number, even in my own constituency, and they are quite different in terms of what they address because they respond to the immediate community need. The work being done by Tusla at the moment, in terms of the family subgroup between my Department and Tusla, looks at the overall supports provided to families across the country. Often Tusla provides family supports in an area without there …

The Deputy is right that I gave a general answer. As she knows, the determination on the allocation of family resource centres is a matter for Tusla. It is important, in my role as Minister, to give the agency the discretion in that. I understand what the Deputy is saying that disadvantage is present in all urban and rural communities across the country. I come from a very urban constituency and I know that the needs in a rural constituency are different but it does not mean that they cannot become as extreme. As I…