Questions

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 resident…

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]

422. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any review has been undertaken by her Department regarding the application of the Equal Status Acts in the context of licensed premises, particularly in circumstances where lawful refusals of entry or service are made on the basis of capacity, safety, or operational requirements; and whether any guidance exists or is planned to d…

436. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to set out the policy basis on which reports of the National Review Panel are selected for publication or non-publication; the number of completed reports not published to date; the reasons for non-publication in each category; and whether she will commit to publishing all outstanding reports or summaries within a defined timeframe. [336…

437. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to detail the current legal powers of the National Review Panel in relation to compelling documentation, witness testimony, and inter-agency cooperation; and to outline the specific additional powers proposed under the Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2025. [33689/26]

438. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to specify which Department or statutory body currently holds overall responsibility for the review of child deaths at national level; and if no single body holds such responsibility; the way in which accountability is assigned across Government. [33690/26]

439. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department has assessed the absence of a national dataset tracking reopened child protection cases; whether this gap has been identified as a governance or oversight risk; and if so, the actions that are being taken to address it. [33691/26]

440. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether she accepts that data on re-referrals is not equivalent to data on reopened social work cases; and whether her Department intends to require Tusla to maintain a distinct dataset on formally reopened cases. [33692/26]

441. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to clarify whether her Department retains any policy, oversight, or reporting role in relation to follow-up actions arising from Section 12 removals under the Child Care Act 1991; and if so, to detail the mechanisms through which such oversight is exercised. [33693/26]

442. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any formal interdepartmental or inter-agency governance framework exists governing the review of child deaths involving Tusla, An Garda Síochána, health services, and other relevant bodies; and if so, to provide details. [33694/26]

443. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide a clear timeline for the establishment of a national statutory child death review mechanism, as referenced in the Programme for Government; and to outline the key milestones for delivery. [33695/26]