Questions

1602. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children currently in the care of Tusla; the number of children who were in the care of Tusla from 2020 to 2024, by year, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60000/25]

1603. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children currently in the care of Tusla who are placed with foster parents; the number of such children who were placed with foster parents from 2020 to 2024, by year, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60001/25]

1604. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the longest period of time that a child has been in foster care under the care of Tusla; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60002/25]

1605. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of adoptions that have been facilitated by Tusla from 2020 to 2024, by year, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60003/25]

1606. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will review the case of a person (details supplied); the back-to-school supports which are currently in place for foster carers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60027/25]

1607. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department will consider proposals in relation to extending parental leave entitlements in the case of multiple births in the same pregnancy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60029/25]

1608. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department will examine schemes where single parents of newborn children can access the full leave entitlements of two-parent families as seen in other European countries; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60030/25]

1609. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will consider changing Ireland's parental leave legislation to address the disparity faced by one-parent families, whereby children in such households are effectively entitled to only half the parental leave available to children in two-parent households; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60031/25]

1610. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on the Programme for Government commitment to examine the possible extension of parent's leave and benefit and additional flexibilities; if this will include examining schemes where single parents of newborn children can access the full leave entitlements of two-parent families; and if she will make a statement on the matt…

1611. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the status of the newly announced family resource centre in Carrickmacross; when this centre will become operational; the number and titles of staff allocated; the services that will be provided; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60048/25]

1612. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department or Tusla, are aware of any legal challenges being brought before the Workplace Relations Commission by staff members in relation to the impact that the current restructuring of special care services will have on their roles; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60087/25]

1613. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of staff members in special care centres who have applied for transfers since the commencement of the restructuring process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60088/25]

1614. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of staff members in special care centres who are currently engaged in the grievance procedure as a result of concerns regarding the impact of the restructuring process on their roles or conditions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60089/25]

1615. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of staff members across all grades that Tusla has managed to directly recruit since the launch of its recruitment campaign associated with the new structures of special care services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60090/25]

1616. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if Tusla has received feedback from a trade union (details supplied) in relation to its members’ views on the restructuring proposals for special care services; and if so, to outline the nature of this feedback; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60091/25]

1617. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla has increased special care bed capacity since the commencement of its restructuring plan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60092/25]

1618. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if the “dedicated retention team,” referenced in previous correspondence, has met with special care employees regarding their concerns about the Tusla restructuring process; and if so, to provide details of when such meetings took place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60093/25]

1619. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla, or her Department, has developed an organisational risk management plan in special care centres to address the potential loss of staff member, particularly at senior management, management and social care leader levels, arising from the restructuring; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60094/25]

1620. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla, or her Department, has a contingency plan in place to maintain or increase special care bed capacity, as outlined in recent budget commitments, in light of the risk of staff departures associated with the restructuring process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60095/25]

1621. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality in relation to overseas recruitment costings previously cited at €337,650 for special care centre employees, if she will confirm the specific timeframe to which this cost applies, given that the overseas recruits commenced in the summer, and that this figure therefore appears to cover approximately four months rather than an annua…

1622. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will outline the improvements being made to disability services, including the provision of personal assistant hours, respite care, and access to children’s disability network teams; if she will provide current waiting times for assessments of need by region; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60105/25]

1623. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of new childcare places that have been opened in County Meath for the years 2024 and 2025, respectively. [60108/25]

1624. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Health if it is the case that the paediatric cardiology department at Crumlin Hospital is no longer seeing children in clinic, and only prioritising emergencies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57693/25]

1625. Deputy Martin Daly asked the Minister for Health for an update on the implementation of the Acute Hospital Inpatient Bed Capacity Expansion Plan 2024–2031; if she will detail, by each relevant hospital, the number of the 441 ‘committed’ beds now in place; and if she will detail, by each relevant hospital, the number of the 2,997 ‘total planned bed’ now in place (details supplied), in tabular form; and if she wi…

1626. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Health if she has received the report from the National Hearing Care Plan Working Group that was due by end of Q2 2025, as per the terms of reference; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57737/25]