Parliamentary questions

1598. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will consider a second lower age eligibility criteria for children starting the ECCE scheme to prevent families from missing out on a full-year of the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42602/26]

1599. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when she intends to evaluate the eligibility of the ECCE programme, as outlined in the Programme for Government; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42603/26]

1600. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on the wellbeing review commissioned by her Department; a timeframe for completion; whether her Department intends to publish a final report; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42607/26]

1601. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department is aware of children with disabilities or additional needs being refused access to, or being unable to participate in, school-age childcare or after-school services because providers cannot meet their support needs; if data is collected on such refusals or exclusions; whether her Department int…

1602. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of families, per county, where elderly parents, particularly those over retirement age, are the primary carers for adult children with disabilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42676/26]

1603. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla maintains a centrally extractable dataset recording the cumulative number of placement changes experienced by each child in State care; and if not, whether plans are in place to establish such a dataset. [42681/26]

1604. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children currently in State care who have experienced more than five placement changes during their time in care, broken down by foster care, relative care, residential care and special care settings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42682/26]

1605. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children currently in State care who have experienced ten or more placement changes during their time in care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42683/26]

1606. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla operates any internal threshold, escalation trigger, or formal review mechanism in circumstances where a child in care experiences repeated placement breakdowns or multiple placement changes within a defined period; and if they will provide details. [42684/26]

1607. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children in State care who experienced three or more placement changes within a twelve-month period in each year from 2020 to 2026, broken down by region; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42685/26]

1608. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla centrally records the number of emergency placement arrangements involving children in State care; and if they will provide the annual number of such arrangements in each year from 2020 to 2026. [42686/26]

1609. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children in State care currently placed outside their home county or outside their Tusla service area due to placement availability issues, broken down by age category and placement type; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42687/26]

1610. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla has conducted any internal audit, review, analysis, or risk assessment regarding the impact of repeated placement instability on educational attendance, mental health outcomes, behavioural presentations, or long-term permanency outcomes for children in care; if so, to provide details and findings; and i…

1611. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla's current case management and information systems are technically capable of generating national reports on placement instability and repeated placement changes for children in care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42689/26]

1612. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether the Department or Tusla has established any national benchmark, target, performance indicator, or acceptable threshold relating to placement stability for children in State care; and if they will provide details. [42690/26]

1613. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality 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; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42691/26]

1614. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether repeated placement changes for children in State care are reported through any national governance, risk management, safeguarding, or quality assurance framework within Tusla; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42692/26]

1615. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if consideration will be given to a double foster care allowance payment for December 2026 and future years, similar to the once-off payment made in 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42714/26]

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]

1617. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to outline the process, including specific steps, through which a person with a disability can access a disability manager to assist with their case regarding care and housing; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42741/26]

1618. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the criteria used to assess whether public expenditure is delivering value for money; the assessments that have been carried out in relation to disability services; if she is satisfied that value for money is being achieved in this area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42782/26]

1619. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if in relation to childcare providers operating within Band F of the Core Funding Model, the number of providers offering 50 or more hours of childcare provision per week; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42785/26]

1620. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her plans to review the early withdrawal provisions of the national childcare subsidy scheme with the objective of eliminating the subsidy penalty imposed on families who withdraw their children early; if her Department will conduct a consultation with childcare providers to understand the actual fee structures and …

1621. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the measures being taken, or are planned, to increase the availability of childcare places for children aged 0-3 years old in Waterford; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42907/26]

1622. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will look at costs outside the control of Early Years providers who are in Core Funding, where costs have increased significantly, and they are not costs controlled by the provider (details supplied) meaning they are forced to make up the increase which in one case means an additional €26,000 annually; and …