Parliamentary questions

783. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the funding opportunities available under her Department's remit to secure permanent funding for a play therapist at a family resource centre (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55107/25]

784. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the person or body which is responsible for overseeing the operation of residential care services in a housing estate (details supplied); and the options available to local residents if they are affected by issues related to that service, such as anti-social behaviour, physical threats vandalism of property, and s…

785. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the assessments carried out when identifying residential care service centres for minors; and the criteria that must be met for a property to be approved as one of these residential care service centres for minors. [55141/25]

786. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide a list of all studies, research and reports commissioned by her Department that were outsourced, in each of the past five years, in tabular form; the names of the companies to which each study, research and report was outsourced; the total cost for each; the number of reports finalised and presented to he…

787. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the current status of the national childcare strategy; when a formal strategy document is expected to be published; if stakeholder consultation has been completed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55253/25]

788. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when the forward planning unit within her Department will publish outputs from its work on mapping childcare provision and identifying gaps; if this data will be made available, by county and constituency; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55254/25]

789. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the timeline for implementing targeted measures to address the deficit of childcare places in constituencies such as Dublin Fingal West; if capital investment or capacity-building supports are planned for areas with sustained population growth; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55255/25]

790. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when the building blocks capital grant scheme will be reopened; the eligibility criteria which will be appliable; the way her Department intends to prioritise areas with limited availability of places; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55256/25]

791. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the way in which north county Dublin scored in the most recent round of allocations under the building blocks capacity grant scheme; if any applications from the area were successful; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55257/25]

792. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is aware of a rehabilitation programme based at DCU involving the use of exoskeleton technology to support individuals with mobility impairments; and if she will engage with the programme lead (details supplied) to explore potential funding options to sustain and expand this initiative. [55275/25]

793. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children currently on a waiting list with the NCSE for an assessment of needs; the number of children on a waiting list from 2019 to 2025, in tabular form; the average time children spend on a waiting list; the plans to lower the number of children on a waiting list; and if she will make a statement on the m…

794. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department and each body under its aegis discloses expenditure on external consultancy and adviser fees, by category (details supplied) in their annual report and or financial statements for each accounting year; if they provide direct web links to the most recent publications where these Section 1.5 disclosur…

795. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the plans her Department has to progressively reduce the cost of early learning and childcare to €200 per month per child during the lifetime of the Government; if she will provide a proposed timeline for the roll-out of this plan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55380/25]

796. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will provide information on the funding being provided for child and youth participation during Ireland’s EU Presidency in 2026; the initiatives being planned by her Department; the collaboration planned with other departments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55465/25]

797. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to outline the efforts her Department is making to address waiting lists for those awaiting an assessment of need; if she will address the delays faced by a person (details supplied) in accessing support from the children’s disability network team; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55958/25]

302. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to extend the age range of after care allowance to those leaving care to the age of 23; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54307/25]

303. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to index-link the foster care allowance to the rate of inflation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54308/25]

304. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if consideration will be given to index linking the foster care allowance to keep pace with rising costs and relieve financial pressure on carers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54337/25]

305. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to outline the start-up funding schemes currently available to individuals or organisations seeking to establish a childcare service, including early learning and childcare and school age childcare services; the eligibility criteria for each scheme; if consideration will be given to expanding supports for new entran…

306. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of external consultancy contracts entered into by her Department in the past five years, including the original estimated cost, the final cost, and the reasoning for contracting this work rather than using internal resources. [54322/25]

307. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if consideration will be given to an increase in the aftercare allowance to align with the foster care allowance and extend support up to age 23; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54332/25]

308. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if consideration will be given to pension security for foster carers to recognise the years spent caring for children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54334/25]

309. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to confirm if any staff devices (laptops, phones, USBs) containing departmental information or sensitive data were reported lost or stolen in the past five years; the number of devices reported; the data risk involved; and the associated cost of mitigation. [54382/25]

310. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to detail the instances in which software or IT systems procured by her Department or agencies were later deemed unfit for purpose; and the costs of replacement or remediation. [54392/25]

311. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if the neurorehabilitation centre in Bray, Co. Wicklow is now fully operational; if not, when it is expected to become fully operational; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54497/25]