692. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection whether the Schools Procurement Unit permits external accountancy, consultancy or administration firms to conduct, manage, score or administer tender evaluations on behalf of schools under the Hot School Meals Scheme; whether any approval process exists for such arrangements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37399/26]
693. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of schools participating in the Hot School Meals Scheme which used external third-party administration, consultancy or accountancy firms in the management or evaluation of procurement competitions in each year from 2020 to 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37400/26]
694. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection whether the Schools Procurement Unit has conducted any audit, compliance review or governance assessment concerning the composition of tender evaluation teams used by schools under the Hot School Meals Scheme; whether any external firms were identified as participating in evaluations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37401/26]
695. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection whether actual food quality, taste, nutritional standard, presentation or meal sampling forms part of the formally weighted evaluation criteria under the current Hot School Meals procurement framework; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37402/26]
696. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection whether the Schools Procurement Unit intends to introduce a mandatory and formally weighted food quality assessment component within future Hot School Meals tender evaluations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37403/26]
697. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection whether his Department has conducted any assessment of whether the current hot school meals procurement framework disproportionately favours suppliers with sophisticated written tender submissions over suppliers providing higher-quality food; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37406/26]
698. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection whether any legal advice has been sought by his Department, the schools procurement unit or the Office of Government Procurement regarding the legal implications of suppliers offering gifts, promotional items or undeclared service add-ons during active hot school meals procurement competitions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37407/26]
699. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection whether consideration has been given to establishing a confidential reporting mechanism for suppliers, school staff or parents to report suspected procurement irregularities under the hot school meals scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37409/26]
700. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps he intends to take to ensure the integrity of the hot school meals procurement process; to ensure compliance with public procurement law and anti-corruption obligations; and to ensure that contracts are awarded on the basis of genuine food quality, nutritional standards and service delivery rather than administrative capability, documentation …
719. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration which Department, agency or statutory body currently holds responsibility for oversight, enforcement or regulatory review of S.I. No. 147/1988 - Special Restaurant Licence (Standards) Regulations 1988 following the amendments introduced under section 27 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2000. [36658/26]
720. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether any review has been carried out since 2000 into the continued operation, applicability or enforcement of S.I. No. 147/1988 - Special Restaurant Licence (Standards) Regulations 1988; and if so, to provide details of the review and any recommendations arising. [36659/26]
830. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla maintains any centralised audit, review or quality assurance process relating to emergency child removals carried out under sections 12 and 13 of the Child Care Act 1991. [36688/26]
831. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of emergency child removal applications made under sections 12 and 13 of the Child Care Act 1991 in each year from 2020 to 2025, and the number granted, refused or withdrawn. [36689/26]
832. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla records or analyses complaints, adverse findings, judicial criticisms or legal challenges arising from emergency child removal decisions under sections 12 and 13 of the Child Care Act 1991. [36690/26]
833. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla has conducted any internal review of the governance, oversight, consistency or proportionality of emergency child removal practices under the Child Care Act 1991 since 2020. [36691/26]
834. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any national policy, procedural framework or mandatory oversight mechanism exists governing decision-making thresholds for emergency child removals under sections 12 and 13 of the Child Care Act 1991. [36692/26]
835. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether consideration will now be given to including emergency child removal decisions within Tusla’s enterprise risk management or corporate governance framework following confirmation that no such consideration has previously taken place. [36693/26]
836. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason Tusla does not readily hold annual expenditure data on private childcare placements prior to 2024; and whether she is satisfied with the Agency’s financial data retention and reporting systems. [36695/26]
837. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla maintains a central database recording expenditure by private childcare placement provider; and if so, whether she will provide the total expenditure by provider for 2024 and 2025. [36696/26]
838. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total number of children placed in private residential childcare settings in each year from 2020 to 2026, in tabular form. [36697/26]
839. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the proportion of all residential childcare expenditure accounted for by private providers in each year from 2020 to 2026. [36700/26]
840. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of Tusla-operated residential childcare places added nationally in each year from 2020 to 2026. [36702/26]
841. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla tracks the number of emergency placements made due to shortages in public residential capacity; and if she will provide the annual figures from 2020 to 2026. [36703/26]
842. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether the Department has received any briefing regarding risks associated with reliance on private residential childcare placements, including cost inflation, placement shortages, or geographic dependency. [36704/26]
844. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason the HSE does not currently collect the average duration of vacancies within Children's Disability Network Teams; whether she considers this compatible with effective workforce planning; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36861/26]