Parliamentary questions

401. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of ECCE-only services nationally and by county in the years 2020 to 2025, inclusive. [50509/26]

402. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will urgently assist a family in south Kerry with a home care package (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50546/26]

403. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 1613 of 9 June 2026, the reason the average number of placement changes experienced by children in State care, broken down by duration in care categories of less than one year, one to three years, three to five years, and more than five years, is not centrally collated by Tusla; i…

404. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality given that Tusla’s only published placement stability metric is the number of children in their third or greater placement within the previous 12 months (328 of 5,729 children in care at end of 2025), whether her Department considers this metric sufficient to monitor placement stability across all durations in care; a…

405. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason for the 40% increase in the number of children in care experiencing three or more placement changes within a twelve-month period, from 231 in 2023 to 324 in 2024; whether this increase has been analysed by Tusla; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50556/26]

406. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether the number of children in care experiencing three or more placement changes within a twelve-month period is recorded on any Tusla or Departmental risk register; whether this metric is subject to any audit process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50557/26]

407. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason for the disproportionate increase in children experiencing three or more placement changes in the Dublin northeast region, which tripled from 30 in 2021 to 91 in 2025; whether any target or action plan exists to reduce placement instability nationally; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50558/…

408. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla has conducted any internal audit, review, analysis, or risk assessment of the impact of repeated placement instability on educational attendance, mental health outcomes, behavioural presentations, or long-term permanency outcomes for children in care; if no such audit, review, analysis, or risk assessmen…

409. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason data on the outcomes of emergency care order applications for children under one year of age is not centrally collated by Tusla; if the Department considers this an acceptable gap in oversight of the most vulnerable cohort in the care system; if the Department will direct Tusla to establish a centralised da…

410. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if the absence of centrally collated outcome data for emergency care order cases involving children under one year of age appears on Tusla's corporate risk register or internal audit plan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50581/26]

411. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the full expenditure within her Department in 2025 to tackle inequalities suffered by members of the travelling community; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50602/26]

412. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 1728 of 9 June 2026, of the 50 recommendations made by the National Review Panel between 2020 and 2025, the number implemented, the number partially implemented and the number outstanding; and if this information cannot be provided pending the Quarter 4 2026 audit, the way her Dep…

413. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 1647 of 9 June 2026, in respect of the 51 active National Review Panel notifications covering 79 children, the date of the oldest outstanding referral; the average time taken to complete a review; and the steps being taken to reduce the number of reviews awaiting allocation or com…

414. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 921 of 12 May 2026, to confirm that no cap, limit or oversight mechanism currently applies to the profit margins of private providers of State-funded residential childcare placements; whether she considers such a mechanism warranted given the scale of private provision; and if she…

415. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 942 of 12 May 2026, whether any independent value-for-money audit, as distinct from the bi-annual contract reviews referenced in that reply, has been conducted into private residential childcare placements since 2020; if so, to publish the findings; and if not, whether she will co…

416. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total expenditure by Tusla on placements purchased from private children's residential centres; the total expenditure on all residential care placements; and the percentage share represented by private placements, in each year from 2020 to 2026; and if figures for years prior to 2024 cannot be provided, the reason…

417. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether the absence, to date, of a completed centralised system for tracking the implementation of National Review Panel recommendations has been entered on the Tusla Corporate Risk Register; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50645/26]

418. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 1082 of 12 May 2026, whether any independent value-for-money audit, as distinct from the bi-annual contract reviews referenced in that reply, has been conducted into private residential childcare placements since 2020; if so, to publish the findings; and if not, whether she will c…

419. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 1587 of 9 June 2026, given the confirmation that Tusla maintains no key performance indicator for time-to-permanency, whether her Department has assessed the absence of such an indicator as a governance or child-welfare risk; whether this absence is recorded on any Tusla or Depart…

420. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 961 of 26 May 2026, if she will commit to the introduction of a national key performance indicator, benchmark or target timeframe for the achievement of permanency outcomes for children in care; the timeframe for its introduction; and if not, the reasons therefor. [50650/26]

421. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number and proportion of children in the care of the State for periods of five years or more, and ten years or more, respectively, as of the latest available date; whether her Department monitors the size of this cohort as an indicator of care drift; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50651/26]

422. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 474 of 14 May 2026, to confirm whether the Tusla Board receives any aggregate metric relating to time-to-permanency, placement drift, placement instability or repeat care episodes; and if no such metric is reported to the Board, whether she will direct that Board-level reporting o…

423. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 1604 of 9 June 2026, in which it was stated that the number of children who have experienced more than five placement changes is not centrally collated, whether Tusla measures placement stability by any national metric; whether her Department will direct that data on placement cha…

424. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 1546 of 9 June 2026, which did not provide the information sought, the number of children who remained in a special emergency arrangement for periods exceeding three, six, and 12 months respectively, in each of the years 2022 to 2025; and if the data is not held in that form, to s…

425. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children currently in a special emergency arrangement for longer than the 45-day maximum provided for in State policy; the longest single current duration; and in each such case whether the placement has been registered as a children's residential centre, has ceased operating, or has been designated to o…