Ken O'Flynn

449. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the current average processing time from initial international protection application to first instance decision; the average time to final determination including appeal; and the measures being implemented to reduce decision timelines in 2026. [13864/26]

450. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of final negative international protection decisions issued in each of the years 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025; the number of deportation orders signed in each year; and the number executed; and whether additional resources have been allocated to enforcement capacity in 2026. [13865/26]

497. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether the current statutory framework governing Garda vetting requires mandatory re-vetting at defined intervals for individuals working in regulated child-care or early years settings; if so, to specify the legislative provision underpinning such requirement; and if not, whether legislative amendment has been considered [13461/26]

517. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department receives, on an annual or periodic basis, aggregated statistical reports from Tusla on the number of emergency child removal applications made under Section 13 of the Child Care Act 1991; whether such reports include age breakdowns, including children under one year of age; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13613/26]

518. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether she requires Tusla, under any governance framework agreed with her Department, to report on the outcomes of emergency child removal proceedings, including rates of reunification, care orders, guardianship or adoption; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13614/26]

519. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department requires Tusla to conduct internal audit, quality assurance review, or evidential compliance review of emergency child removal applications; whether summary findings of such reviews are reported to her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13615/26]

520. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department has sought or received any data from Tusla in the past five years regarding emergency child removal applications in which material allegations were subsequently amended, withdrawn, or corrected during proceedings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13616/26]

521. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any national policy guidance, approved or noted by her Department, requires Tusla to apply additional procedural safeguards, specialist assessment protocols, or disability-informed practice standards when child protection proceedings involve a parent with a diagnosed autism spectrum condition or intellectual disability; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13617/26]

522. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether she has issued, or is considering issuing, any general policy direction to Tusla under the Child and Family Agency Act 2013 in relation to evidential standards, proportionality thresholds, or quality assurance mechanisms in emergency child removal cases; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13618/26]

523. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether the Tusla Board is required to report to her Department on governance risks or systemic concerns arising from emergency child removal decisions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13619/26]

532. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether the figure of four governance or safeguarding concerns received since 2020, as referenced in correspondence to the Deputy, relates solely to concerns formally recorded by Tusla’s Alternative Care Inspection and Monitoring Service in respect of registered children’s residential centres under Part VIII of the Child Care Act 1991; and whether any additional governance, safeguarding, compliance or oversight concerns have been recorded since 2020 in relation to private companies providing care services funded by the State outside that specific statutory inspection framework [13745/26]

533. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department is formally notified when Tusla records governance or safeguarding concerns relating to privately operated residential centres; if so, the mechanism and timeframe for such notification; and what policy review, contractual oversight, or funding control measures are triggered at Departmental level following receipt of such notification [13746/26]

534. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department maintains a centralised register or consolidated database of governance, safeguarding, compliance or regulatory concerns relating to private companies delivering care services funded in whole or in part by the State; if not, whether she will establish such a register in the interests of transparency, public accountability, and value-for-money oversight [13747/26]

535. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total annual Exchequer funding paid to privately operated children’s residential centres in each year since 2020; and whether she has conducted or commissioned any risk assessment examining whether the scale of private provision presents governance, safeguarding, or systemic oversight risks [13748/26]

536. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children currently in State care who have been in care for more than two years, more than five years, and more than ten years; whether her Department sets any national policy targets, benchmarks, or key performance indicators in respect of time-to-permanency for children in care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13753/26]

537. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department has issued any written guidance, circulars, or policy directions to Tusla concerning the maximum duration a child may remain in voluntary care under section 4 of the Child Care Act 1991; whether any statutory or administrative time thresholds apply requiring escalation or court review after a defined period in voluntary care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13754/26]

538. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any mandatory senior management review, independent permanency review, or Department-level reporting requirement is automatically triggered once a child exceeds a defined duration in State care, including two years or more; if so, the details of the relevant policy framework; and if not, whether she will introduce such a requirement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13755/26]

539. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality what proportion of children currently in long-term foster care are subject to adoption orders, enhanced guardianship, special guardianship, or other permanent legal arrangements; whether her Department requires formal consideration of adoption or guardianship once a child exceeds a defined duration in care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13756/26]

540. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department compiles or publishes data on the average and median duration of time spent in State care before permanency is secured; whether such data is reported to her on a periodic basis; and if she will outline the governance and oversight mechanisms through which time-to-permanency outcomes are monitored at Departmental level; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13757/26]

541. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department accepts that the Children First Act 2015 and Children First National Guidance do not provide an express statutory basis for early years services to share serious staff-conduct safeguarding information between employers where the conduct falls short of a criminal threshold, including for recruitment references, suitability assessments, and risk management; and if she will outline the Department’s position on whether primary legislation is required to address this. [13879/26]

542. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department has conducted, commissioned or received any legal, policy, or regulatory review since 2020 on “lawful information-sharing” in the early years sector for safeguarding concerns relating to adults working with children, including analysis of data protection, employment law and fair procedures constraints; and if she will provide the title, date, and executive summary findings of any such review. [13880/26]

543. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department has considered establishing a statutory safeguarding-disclosure scheme for early years services, including (a) a defined threshold for disclosure based on risk to children, (b) independent assessment prior to any adverse finding, (c) notice to the staff member, (d) an appeal mechanism, (e) time limits and proportionality rules, and (f) oversight and audit arrangements; and if she will outline the options assessed and the preferred approach. [13881/26]

544. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality what guidance her Department has issued to early years services on the recording, retention, and sharing of staff-related safeguarding concerns that do not meet the mandated reporting threshold, including guidance on risk assessments, internal investigations, and reference requests; and if no such guidance has issued, whether she will publish sector specific guidance in 2026. [13882/26]

545. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department has engaged with Tusla, the Data Protection Commission, and representative bodies for early learning and childcare providers on the practical barriers to safeguarding information-sharing about staff conduct across early years settings; and if she will provide the dates of engagement and the key issues raised. [13883/26]

550. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether she is formally notified, either directly or through structured reporting arrangements, of substantiated governance or safeguarding failures identified by Tusla in early years services that receive public funding; if so, to outline the reporting mechanism, frequency and thresholds for notification; and, if not, to state how she is satisfied that systemic safeguarding risks are escalated to ministerial level. [14828/26]