Questions

2526. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason a child (details supplied) was denied an under attendance exemption to allow them continue to attend a creche under the national childcare scheme in the afternoons after completing early intervention appointments for non-verbal autism in the mornings; if she accepts that the failure to approve this under attendance exempt…

2527. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her views on the proposals of a group (details supplied) on its call to end the practice of relying on costly, for-profit emergency placements, ensuring a national transition framework to establish a formal planning process for adults with intellectual disabilities over the age of 18 and for ringfenced funding with dedicated capital for…

2528. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if a multi-agency approach involving Tusla, a school and the Garda Youth Diversion Programme could assist a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25887/26]

2529. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 1594 of 18 March 2026, which provides a breakdown of 16,960 people who are waiting for an assessment of need for over three months, if she will provide the breakdown by age categories (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25891/26]

2530. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of sanctioned whole-time equivalent posts and the number currently filled within each CDNT; the number of vacant posts by discipline; the number of children currently awaiting assessment and first intervention; and all per county and team. [25924/26]

2531. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children in Longford–Westmeath currently awaiting assessment from Children’s Disability Network Teams; the average waiting time; the longest waiting time; and the steps being taken to reduce these delays. [25937/26]

2532. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children per county currently awaiting assessment from Children’s Disability Network Teams; the average waiting time; the longest waiting time; and the steps being taken to reduce these delays. [25938/26]

2533. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the bodies which operate under her aegis which have a regulatory or enforcement remit which include provision for a person convicted of an offence to receive a fine upon summary conviction, the associated maximum amount and duration of any related potential imprisonment term; provision for a person convicted on indictment to receive a…

2534. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to clarify where responsibility lies for questions in relation to safeguarding for childcare services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25991/26]

2535. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the current staffing levels within the CDNT serving Longford, including speech and language therapy and occupational therapy posts; the number of children currently on waiting lists for each service; the average waiting time for assessment and intervention; and the measures being taken to address staffing shortages in this area. [26015…

2536. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the current staffing levels within the CDNT serving Westmeath, including speech and language therapy and occupational therapy posts; the number of children currently on waiting lists for each service; the average waiting time for assessment and intervention; and the measures being taken to address staffing shortages in this area. [2601…

2537. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if there will be a review of the ECCE eligibility cut-off dates to eliminate the unfair disadvantage faced by children born in early January (details supplied). [26031/26]

2538. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children currently benefiting from the universal subsidy under the national childcare scheme; the number benefiting through Tusla-registered childminders; and the steps being taken to ensure that more families can avail of the subsidy in areas where registered childminders are scarce. [26037/26]

2539. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of Tusla-registered childminders in each county; the number in Cork; the estimated unmet demand for childminding places; and the measures being taken to expand registration and participation in the national childcare scheme. [26038/26]

2540. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether the Government has assessed the number of families that are unable to avail of the national childcare scheme solely because their childminder is not Tusla-registered; and her plans to address that barrier. [26039/26]

2541. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether consideration is being given to further reforms of the national childcare scheme so that affordability supports are available in a more practical way for parents who rely on local childminding arrangements but cannot access a Tusla-registered provider. [26040/26]

2542. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the measures her Department is taking to encourage more family-friendly working conditions for parents of young children, including flexible working hours, predictable scheduling and measures to reduce the financial pressure caused by childcare costs. [26048/26]

2543. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department has undertaken any assessment of the extent to which childcare costs and inflexible working arrangements are pushing parents, particularly mothers, out of the workforce; and if she will publish that assessment. [26049/26]

2544. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the population of children aged 0-18 years assigned to each children's disability network team in Cork; the current approved whole-time equivalent staffing of each such team, by discipline; and the staffing-to-population ratio in each case. [26055/26]

2545. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of WTE social care workers posts filled at each CDNT within CHO8, as of 1 April 2026, in tabular form. [26081/26]

2546. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether a condition known as functional neurological disorder where an individual has a problem with their balance is a recognised disability; if persons with this diagnosis are allowed continue in the workplace; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26083/26]

2547. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total number of filled and unfilled places in supported housing units in Mayo for adults living with intellectual disabilities; the number of these spaces currently unfilled; the number of adults with an intellectual disability in Mayo that are on a waiting list for a space in a supported housing unit; if there are any plans t…

2548. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the outcome of the little baby bundle pilot scheme by her Department in 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26103/26]

2549. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether she is satisfied that St. John Ambulance is fully implementing the recommendations of the Shannon report given that the National Safeguarding Officer’s own audit report of August 2025 identifies ongoing safeguarding deficiencies and makes further recommendations for corrective action; his views on whether these findings suggest …

2550. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of non-governmental organisations that have received State funding from her Department in each of the past five years; the number of such organisations currently registered in the State which have been funded by her Department; the number located outside the State that have received Irish public funds from her Department for…