Questions

813. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department's budget allocation in 2027 is sufficient to implement the recommendations of a HSE report on disability service needs (details supplied), alongside other planned spending; and if not, the approximate size of the budgetary shortfall. [73662/26]

660. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the portion of her Department's budget for 2027 which is intended for disability residential services, and in particular residential services for disabled people currently in the care of older family members. [72210/26]

514. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide the headline findings from a report recently drafted but not published by her Department (details supplied); to provide a reason that the document was not published; and whether she will provide a copy of the report directly. [70094/26]

1028. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the details of any contracts in place between her Department and agencies under her remit with a company (details supplied) known to have provided material support to the IDF in Gaza, which the Government considers to be guilty of genocide, since 2023. [64858/26]

1032. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the steps her Department is taking to ensure that the educational standards and professional practice of early years educators working in crèches are maintained and continuously developed through ongoing professional training; whether all registered early learning and care services are required to have a structured CPD programm…

1033. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department has evidence demonstrating a consistent level of CPD and educational practice across registered early learning and care services; whether she will publish her Department’s most recent data showing the percentage of early years educators who have completed CPD and the average number of CPD hours undertaken…

634. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to address the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53121/26]

684. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the estimated cost of the maximum pay uplift proposed by trade unions and Section 39 providers through the KOSI Section 39 process; the number of staff that would have been covered in said proposal; and based on this number, the estimation of the cost of funding full pay parity between Section 38 and Section 39 workers in the ma…

655. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the estimated cost of increasing personal assistance hours by at least 270,000; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51334/26]

656. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the estimated full-year cost of increasing childcare subsidies to 100% of fees paid by parents availing of childcare subsidies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51335/26]

657. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the estimated full-year cost of providing free school meals for all pre-school children in the ECCE scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51336/26]

658. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total annual cost of wages for childcare workers; the number of childcare workers that are in receipt of Government support; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51337/26]

659. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children on waiting lists for public childcare places; the total cost of eliminating childcare waiting lists; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51338/26]

714. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the public funding that has been provided since 2020 to programmes aimed at increasing participation by underrepresented groups in political and public life, including women, minority ethnic groups, disabled people and young people, broken down by programme and annual expenditure. [49408/26]

54. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she has considered the role of housing insecurity on child welfare; the additional supports she is proposing to improve child welfare in precarious housing situations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47497/26]

70. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality his plans to fully implement the promise made in the Programme for Government of a €200 per month childcare and to provide a timeframe for implementation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47498/26]

1535. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality in respect of parental leave for same-sex parents of children conceived abroad through non-commercial surrogacy, whether the non-natal parent can avail of parental leave notwithstanding that, as yet, they are not registered as the child’s parent on their birth certificate. [41490/26]

1616. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to outline the options available for parents who have place(s) in a creche that opts out of core funding; if it is possible to ensure that proper notice is given to parents about increases in fees; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42739/26]

754. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an overview of the regulation and oversight of private home-care companies. [32420/26]

755. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the auditing of allocated homecare hours that is delivered by private home-care companies; and whether the HSE has any way to know that it is not paying for hours not delivered. [32422/26]

756. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the protections that exist for home care staff in HSE-funded services regarding excessive hours, pressure from management, and lack of accountability. [32424/26]

757. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether the management teams of private homecare providers receive commission for taking on HSE-funded clients; and the oversight that exists of these funding arrangements. [32426/26]

230. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 413, 414, 415, 416, 417, 418, 419 and 420, of 26 March 2026, the measures in place for her Department to identify twice exceptional children outside of the assessment of needs process (details supplied). [31091/26]

131. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is considering additional funding for disability organisations, particularly those in the voluntary sector, to help them cope with increasing costs of operations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29004/26]

136. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is satisfied with the delivery of the Action Plan for Disability Services 2024-2026, considering significantly lower levels of delivery to date; the additional measures she will take to achieve proposed targets; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29005/26]