1037. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 3022 of 7 September 2026, if she will require private providers of residential childcare to submit segmented or open-book accounts for State-funded placements as a condition of any future tender, so that the profit earned on public contracts can be verified; and if not, the reason for same. [64978/2…
Parliamentary questions
Questions
TDs ask ministers questions to get answers on the record, most of them in writing. Here is every one asked in the 34th Dáil, by the department it went to and the subject heading it was filed under. How questions work
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1,180 questions match, newest first.
1038. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 3023 of 7 September 2026, to reconcile the stated intention of the Child and Family Agency to incrementally reduce dependency on private residential care with the increase in the number of privately funded placements from 834 in 2024 to 1,038 in 2025; and the target number of private residential pla…
1039. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when a report commissioned by her office in 2024 (details supplied) will be publicly released. [64975/26]
1040. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is aware of continued frustration among childcare providers regarding the use of the HIVE system (details supplied) and the impact this administrative burden has on busy providers; and if she will commit to reduce such a burden. [65040/26]
1041. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is aware of concerns being raised by providers regarding the new system for AIM (details supplied); if an AIM worker is expected to be sent home when a child is absent; and if she will ensure greater clarification for on the ground in settings for providers. [65039/26]
1042. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the rationale for changes to attendance for children in ECCE to register five days per week; the consultation that took place on this change before its implementation; and if she acknowledges the importance of flexibility in ECCE for parents and the difficulty for providers in enforcing attendance that may not suit parents and child…
1043. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Children First provides specific national guidance on the sex of adults supervising children in circumstances involving changing, showering, toileting or sleeping arrangements; whether it provides guidance where the sex of a supervising adult differs from their gender identity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65…
1044. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether organisations working with children are permitted to determine independently the sex or gender of adults considered suitable to supervise children in changing rooms, showers, toilets and sleeping accommodation; whether her Department monitors consistency in such safeguarding arrangements; and if she will make a statement on the …
1045. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether national child safeguarding guidance requires consideration of the sex of adults supervising children in settings involving changing, showering, toileting or sleeping arrangements; whether her Department has provided guidance on how such arrangements should operate where the sex of a supervising adult differs from their gender i…
1046. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the actions being taken to address concerns raised in correspondence (details supplied) regarding a three-year-old child with significant communication and developmental needs who is non-verbal and known to the Children's Disability Network Team. [65161/26]
1047. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of referrals to the national special care referrals committee per month, over the past 24 months. [65166/26]
1048. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the supports available to assist a child (details supplied) in accessing appropriate early learning, childcare and early intervention services; and whether transport supports will be made available where a suitable placement is not available locally. [65164/26]
1049. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department is considering a review or revision of the implementation of the Time to Move on from Congregated Settings policy developed under the Transforming Lives Programme. [65258/26]
1050. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will provide a detailed, itemised timeline for the implementation of the reforms cited in Departmental correspondence (ref: DCDE-MFO-01419-2026), including the review of the Missing Children in Care Joint Protocol, the update to the Child Sexual Exploitation Procedure, and proposed amendments under the Child Care (Amendment) B…
1051. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the statutory, regulatory and inspection frameworks governing privately operated or externally contracted residential care settings, including section 38 and section 39 commissioned placements; whether any regulatory, transparency or reporting exemptions apply to commercial providers compared with State-operated services; and the spe…
1052. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the assessment that has been undertaken of the increasing reliance on private, for-profit care providers in the provision of residential services for children, including placements commissioned under section 38 or section 39 arrangements or external private commercial providers; the proportion of children in State care currently acco…
1053. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the statutory protections available to frontline social care professionals, advocates, and members of the public who raise child-safeguarding concerns in good faith involving public bodies or publicly funded services; whether her Department has identified any evidentiary or legal gaps in those protections where concerns relate to mul…
1054. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the details of whether any automated technical mechanism currently exists within Tusla's case management system to cross-reference children identified as exhibiting indicators of trafficking or exploitation with children reported missing from care; and if the Government intends to introduce such a statutory cross-referencing mechan…
1055. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether the Government has undertaken, or intends to undertake, an independent joint audit of the operational handover and follow-up arrangements between An Garda Síochána and Tusla following emergency child removals under section 12 of the Child Care Act 1991; and the statutory framework that exists to ensure joint inspection and c…
1056. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether consideration has been given to establishing an independent, cross-agency statutory oversight mechanism for cases where responsibility for the safeguarding, care, or welfare of a child crosses organisational boundaries between Tusla, the HSE, and An Garda Síochána; the mechanism currently that exist to examine the actions a…
1057. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the formal statutory or administrative mechanism that exists to ensure that children with complex co-occurring needs including severe intellectual disabilities, neurodivergence, or acute mental health crises are not left without an appropriate support plan where responsibility involves both Tusla under its welfare mandate and the H…
1058. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether consideration has been given to the construction of a second youth detention facility; whether a feasibility study or business case has been prepared; and the estimated capital cost of providing an additional youth detention campus. [64642/26]
1059. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of WTE behavioural specialists posts filled at each CDNT within CHO8 as of 8 September 2026, in tabular form. [65216/26]
1060. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of WTE family support workers posts filled at each CDNT within CHO8 as of 8 September 2026, in tabular form. [65215/26]
1061. Deputy Joanna Byrne asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the breakdown of current staffing across all children's disability network teams in the Louth Meath IHA. [65297/26]