Ken O'Flynn

786. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason social welfare appeal decisions are taking up to 18 months in some cases; the number of applicants currently awaiting a decision; and the interim supports available to those left without income while awaiting an appeal outcome. [48785/25]

787. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection the average processing time for social welfare appeals in 2023 and 2024, in weeks, by scheme; and the way in which these compare with his Department’s stated service standards. [48787/25]

788. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection the measures being taken to strengthen the independence and transparency of the social welfare appeals office; if the recommendations made by an organisation (details supplied) regarding structural reform have been considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48788/25]

789. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection if improvements are planned to reduce delays in transferring files and in decision-making; the status of plans to digitise the appeals process; and if priority processing will be introduced for urgent or hardship cases. [48789/25]

790. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection the provisions in place to ensure that appellants have access to legal or advocacy support during social welfare appeals; if he will consider introducing free legal aid for complex appeals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48790/25]

854. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he is satisfied that sufficient coordination exists between Gardaí and Tusla in cases of children known to the agency who go missing. [47989/25]

855. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if any Garda-Tusla joint protocols are in place for missing children cases, and if these protocols were activated in the Donabate case. [47990/25]

865. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration further to the Irish Prison Service Annual Report 2024, noting 213 prisoners sleeping on cell floors representing a 150–156% annual increase, the daily average population versus design capacity in 2024 and 2025 to date; the implementation timeline, monthly targets, and KPIs for electronic monitoring for bail, post-release supervision, and community sanctions; the projected number of offenders to be diverted from custody in 2025 and 2026; and any planned Cork-region pilot scheme, by facility, in tabular form. [48106/25]

867. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if she will publish the number of prisoners sleeping on mattresses on cell floors in each prison; the number of bail-eligible prisoners held on remand due to the absence of electronic tagging or community supervision; and the Department’s specific 2025 targets for expanding electronic monitoring, including procurement status, KPIs, and independent evaluation of outcomes, by week since 1 January 2025. [48135/25]

868. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if she will provide the average and maximum time spent on remand since 2020; the proportion of remand prisoners subsequently convicted of non-custodial offences; and the Department’s current policy on crediting time served on remand towards sentence calculation, by prison. [48136/25]

880. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of complaints lodged with An Garda Síochána concerning the practices or staff of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda; the number currently under investigation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48279/25]

882. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if applications for international protection (asylum) have been received from nationals of the United States of America; if so, the grounds cited in such applications; the number of applications received in the past two years; and whether any of these applications have been granted. [48304/25]

969. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the current legal requirements and guidelines concerning the labelling of meat products certified as Halal; to detail his Department’s role in ensuring clear and accurate labelling; and to clarify whether further transparency measures are being considered to assist consumers. [48850/25]

970. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide a current list of slaughterhouses holding Halal certification; to describe the certification and oversight process, including which bodies are involved for example, DHCE or other accredited agencies; and to specify the safeguards that exist to maintain public trust in this certification system. [48851/25]

971. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether the EU-mandated meat establishment code system, for example, "IE 363"and "IE 367", could be reviewed for greater clarity, specifically, to distinguish clearly between codes as origin indicators and any religious certification; and to assess whether additional labelling for example, official Halal logos or QR verification links should be considered. [48852/25]

972. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether his Department has conducted any recent audits related to the traceability and segregation of Halal-certified meat; if he will publish any key findings that inform safe and accurate labelling; and the way these practices intersect with the responsibilities of his Department, particularly in safeguarding consumer information. [48853/25]

973. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether any specific marine-sourced food products, such as fish, carry Halal certification or processing designations; if so, how these are labelled; whether guidelines differ from those applied to meat; and whether his Department intends to introduce uniform labelling standards for all Halal-certified food products across sectors. [48854/25]

1023. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she accepts the Ombudsman for Children's finding that the National Review Panel is "not a powerful vehicle" and "disrespectful to families" in its handling of cases such as the disappearance of a child in Donabate now presumed dead; and if she will commit to establishing a fully independent statutory body with powers to investigate, publish, and enforce recommendations in serious child protection cases. [47976/25]

1024. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will review the statutory basis, powers, and independence of the National Review Panel, in light of the Ombudsman for Children’s statement that it is “not a powerful vehicle” and “disrespectful to families”; and if she will consider reforms to allow the publication of reports in full. [47985/25]

1025. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of child welfare and protection cases closed by Tusla due to Covid-19 restrictions between 2020 and 2022; and if she will outline the methodology and timelines for the current “well-being checks” being carried out on those cases. [47986/25]

1026. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of cases reviewed by Tusla’s National Review Panel in each of the past five years; the average time taken to complete such reviews; and the percentage of recommendations implemented. [47987/25]

1027. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will consider establishing an independent statutory body, separate from Tusla, with authority to investigate and publish reports on serious child protection failures. [47988/25]

1028. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will consider commissioning an independent inquiry into the handling of the Donabate case, given the Ombudsman’s concerns about the adequacy of existing review mechanisms. [47992/25]

1054. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will bring forward legislation to establish a statutory independent review mechanism for cases involving the death or suspected death of a child known to Tusla; if she will provide, for each year since 2019, the number of closed social work cases subsequently reopened; and if she will provide the number of Section 12 emergency care orders where the required follow-up timelines were not met. [48137/25]

1055. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will set out the Department’s current procedures for data quality assurance of Tusla case management systems; if she will confirm the number of incidents since 2020 in which incorrect or missing data delayed an intervention; and if she will publish the audit schedule for Tusla’s National Child Care Information System for 2025. [48138/25]