Questions

170. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will outline the immediate and short-term plan to address the confirmed inability of agencies to provide transport solutions for new school leavers with disabilities in Cork and Kerry, given that HSE South West has acknowledged in its Cork Oireachtas briefing of 18 May 2026 that agencies can no longer provide transport due …

171. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total number of business cases submitted by agencies in the HSE South West region seeking additional funding to meet the changing and additional support needs of day service attendees previously funded under the legacy block-funding model; the number of those business cases have been approved, are pending or have been refused;…

172. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the waiting times for adults with complex progressive or acquired neurological conditions seeking access to the Community Neuro-Rehabilitation Team service in the HSE South-West region; whether the current capacity of the service is sufficient to meet demand across Cork and Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4…

173. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will confirm whether a formal reallocation policy exists within HSE South West whereby residential respite places for children that become available at short notice due to cancellation or non-attendance are offered to other children on the waiting list; if no such policy exists, if she will outline the steps that are being …

174. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the current number of children on the waiting list for overnight residential respite in Cork; the average waiting time for a child to access a suitable respite placement given that placements are not allocated in strict chronological order but on a compatibility matching basis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4057…

175. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will outline the new residential and alternative respite developments that are currently planned for children with disabilities in the HSE South-West region; the timeline that has been set for their delivery; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40574/26]

176. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason the number of assessment of need reports overdue for completion in Cork increased by approximately 600 cases from 1,193 in Q1 2025 to 1,872 in Q1 2026; the additional resources that are being allocated to address this backlog given that applications received also increased by 31% from 1,568 in 2024 to 2,056 in 2025; and…

177. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason the number of assessment of need cases overdue to commence Stage 2 in Cork more than doubled from 43 in Q1 2025 to 93 in Q1 2026, representing an increase of over 100%; the specific measures that are being put in place to address this acceleration in delays at Stage 2; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40…

224. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the vacancy rates for each of the twelve CORU-regulated health and social care professions in the public health service in each of the past five years, noting that the April 2025 CDNT Workforce Report recorded a 21% vacancy rate for health and social care professionals in Children's Disability Network Teams; the progress that has …

225. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will provide details on the current Children's Disability Network Team staffing ratio per 1,000 children in each area across Cork city and county; if she will confirm whether the staffing disparity between areas where parts of East Cork have fewer than 1.5 CDNT staff per 1,000 children compared to over 4.7 in other parts of…

226. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is aware that the Cork-based HSE-funded voluntary organisation (details supplied) which supports more than 2,800 children and adults with intellectual disabilities and autism across Cork city and county, spent a combined total of €11.33 million on agency staff during 2024 and 2025; if she will outline the analysis her Depar…

227. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is aware that an analysis of all 71 HIQA inspection reports into Cork disability residential centres published in 2024 found that just two centres were fully compliant with regulations, with Cork centres overall assessed as 59% compliant, 26% substantially compliant, and 15% not compliant; if she will outline the engagement…

228. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will confirm the specific plans that are in place to address the HSE Roadmap for Service Improvement Q2 2025 projection that approximately 23,903 assessments of need could be due for completion by the end of 2025, with 16,593 already overdue at the end of Quarter 2 2025; if she will outline whether sufficient resources are …

229. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will provide details on the number of senior health and social care professional whole-time equivalent posts allocated to deliver therapy services across special schools nationally; if she is aware that of the 136.3 senior HSCP whole-time equivalents allocated for onsite service provision across 82 special schools, only 88.…

230. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will confirm whether the Service Improvement Function of the National Children's Disability Services Team, which was responsible for working directly with individual Children's Disability Network Teams to drive service improvements, has been stepped down and its funding withdrawn; if so, when this decision was made, the ass…

231. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will provide details on the number of the up to 6,500 clinical assessments funded through the Assessment of Need Targeted Waitlist Initiative under Budget 2026 have been delivered to date; the number of those assessments that have been allocated to families in the HSE South West region covering Cork and Kerry; the projected…

232. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children living in emergency accommodation or in homeless families' accommodation who are currently awaiting their first contact from a Children's Disability Network Team or awaiting an assessment of need; if she is aware that the number of homeless children in the State rose from 4,510 in January 2025 to 5,188 in De…

233. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of social workers recruited by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, in each of the past five years; if she is aware that Tusla's own Chief Executive has stated that at least 500 new social workers need to be recruited annually to keep pace with demand, while only 143 were appointed in 2024; the portion of the €6 million …

804. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the average waiting time for Garda vetting applications for new hires in childcare facilities in County Cork in each of the past three years; the steps being taken to reduce these waiting times; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33046/26]

805. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of expressions of interest received by her Department in respect of State-led childcare facilities in County Cork; the locations from which such expressions of interest have been received; the timeline for delivery of the first State-led childcare facilities in Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3304…

806. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the current waiting time for an assessment of need in County Cork; the number of children currently awaiting assessment, broken down by length of time waiting and by Children's Disability Network Team; the specific measures being taken to reduce this backlog; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33048/26]

807. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children in County Cork who received an assessment of need within the statutory timeframe in each of the years 2023, 2024 and 2025 to date in 2026; the number who did not; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33049/26]

808. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of whole-time equivalent staff, by discipline and by grade, employed in each Children's Disability Network Team in County Cork as of the most recent date available; the number of approved but unfilled posts; the percentage vacancy rate for each team; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33050/26]

809. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the steps being taken to address the recruitment and retention of speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and psychologists in Children's Disability Network Teams in County Cork, including any specific recruitment incentives, in light of the Department of Health's recent announcement of additional…

810. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of operational respite beds for children and adults with disabilities in County Cork as of the most recent date available; the planned increase in respite capacity in Cork during 2026, including the share of the additional 10,000 respite nights announced under Budget 2026 to be delivered in Cork; and if she will make a …