Ken O'Flynn

924. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the average weekly and annual cost per child of Special Emergency Arrangements in 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026; and the total expenditure on such arrangements in each year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34144/26]

925. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to quantify the savings achieved following the introduction of the Special Emergency Arrangement rate card in December 2023; and the methodology used to calculate such savings. [34145/26]

926. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the proportion of children in residential care currently placed in privately operated facilities; and the trend in such placements over the past five years. [34146/26]

927. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether time-to-permanency is tracked as a formal key performance indicator at national level by her Department or by Tusla; and if not, the way in which system performance is measured in the absence of outcome-based metrics. [34159/26]

928. 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, and whether these duration cohorts are subject to any specific policy intervention or review mechanism. [34160/26]

929. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether responsibility for setting national policy on time-to-permanency outcomes for children in care rests with her Department; and if so, the policy framework currently governs same. [34161/26]

930. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department has undertaken any comparative analysis with other jurisdictions regarding time-to-permanency targets or standards in child protection systems; and if so, to provide details and findings. [34162/26]

931. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether prolonged duration in State care without a permanency outcome is recognised within national policy as a risk factor for adverse long-term outcomes for children; and the measures in place to mitigate such risk. [34163/26]

932. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether there is a requirement for periodic formal review at national level of cases where a child has been in State care for more than five years; and if so, the governance arrangements underpinning such reviews. [34164/26]

935. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the staff-to-child ratio and average length of stay in private versus statutory residential centres operated or funded by Tusla; the number of children that are currently on a waiting list for a residential care placement; the average waiting time; the procurement or tendering process governs the awarding of contracts to private residential care providers by Tusla; when was that process last reviewed; the number of privately operated children's residential centres currently hold HIQA registration; the current rate of compliance with HIQA standards across both private and statutory centres; the total number of Irish children currently placed in residential care outside the State, including in the United Kingdom, and the annual cost of such placements. [34211/26]

936. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether individual residential childcare placements procured from the approved panel are subject to a secondary competitive process between providers; and if not, the basis on which a provider is selected in each case [34218/26]

937. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to set out the allocation mechanism used by Tusla when assigning residential childcare placements from the approved panel, including whether a ranking system, rotation system, or mini-competition process is applied. [34219/26]

938. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether standardised national pricing frameworks, cost ceilings, or maximum weekly rates apply to private residential childcare placements procured through the panel; and if so, to provide details [34220/26]

939. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the weighting applied to price, quality, and other criteria in the original tender process used to establish the residential childcare provider panel. [34221/26]

940. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether emergency or out-of-hours residential childcare placements are exempt from standard procurement procedures; and if so, the safeguards in place to control cost and ensure value for money in such cases. [34222/26]

941. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of providers currently on the residential childcare procurement panel; the date on which the panel was established; its duration; and whether additional providers may be admitted during its lifetime. [34223/26]

942. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any value-for-money, procurement compliance, or audit review has been conducted in respect of private residential childcare placements since 2020; and if so, to provide details and findings. [34224/26]

1036. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the total agency staffing expenditure within the public Health Service to date in 2026, broken down by HSE health region, staff category, and service area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34121/26]

1037. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the specific annual savings target set by the HSE for agency staffing expenditure in 2025 and 2026; the savings achieved to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34122/26]

1038. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of agency staff converted to direct HSE employment under the July 2025 agency conversion framework, broken down by HSE health region and staff category [34123/26]

1039. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the reason maintenance and technical agency staffing expenditure increased from €12.4 million in 2024 to €68.2 million in 2025; whether this increase has been reviewed by the HSE or her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34124/26]

1040. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE records the reason for agency staffing expenditure by category, including vacancy cover, sick leave, maternity leave, surge activity, or unfilled recruitment; and if so, to provide the breakdown for 2024, 2025, and to date in 2026. [34125/26]

1047. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the total expenditure on agency staffing across the public health service in 2025 and to date in 2026, broken down by Health Region and staff category; and the proportion of this spend directly attributable to vacancies as distinct from absence or activity demand. [34208/26]

1048. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the vacancy rate, expressed as a percentage, across the public health service by staff category and Health Region as of the most recent reporting period; and the methodology used to calculate same. [34209/26]

1049. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of whole-time equivalent posts currently recorded as "regional commissioning in progress" across each Health Region; the timeline for the allocation of these posts; and whether any of these posts relate to existing vacancies rather than new service developments. [34210/26]