Questions

833. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to confirm that the entirety of funding for a person (details supplied) to attend an adult disability day placement will urgently be made available, due to the needs of the person and that a start date has not yet been provided to date. [73879/26]

834. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for a breakdown of the 212 residential places funded under budget 2027; the rationale for reserving 112 of these places exclusively for emergency admissions rather than planned residential care transitions; the strategy in place to move away from a reactive crisis-driven residential model to a proactive, planned model for aging parents …

835. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the steps her Department will take to protect families whose childcare providers do not participate in core funding; whether alternative affordability measures or incentives could be introduced to encourage providers to rejoin the core funding scheme; and if her Department has considered ways in which parents can be protected from s…

836. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the timing and publication of the review on the work life balance Bill provisions for flexible working, including consideration of extending the right to request flexible work to everyone. [74025/26]

837. Deputy Micheál Carrigy asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the mandatory interim safeguarding directives or circulars issued by her Department to the Health Service Executive to protect vulnerable residents in congregated disability settings from abuse and communication barriers, pending the enactment of comprehensive adult safeguarding legislation. [74488/26]

838. Deputy Micheál Carrigy asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether she will direct the Decision Support Service to establish regional, in-person support clinics and paper-based application streams to reduce administrative barriers for adults with intellectual disabilities and their families, as highlighted in a report (details supplied). [74484/26]

839. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide the number of full-time equivalent staff within the climate action unit or division of her Department from 2020 to 2026 to date, broken down by year, in tabular form. [73985/26]

840. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the actions she is taking to address the shortage of part-time childcare places available, forcing parents to pay for full-time fees, regardless of whether the full hours are required. [74232/26]

841. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding any review of section 8.2/8.3.2 to allow certified extracurricular activities to count toward registered attendance hours under NCS attendance rules; and if she believes the current scheme disincentivises families to include their children in sporting or other afterschool activities. [74082/26]

842. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding any review of the national childcare scheme particularly in relation to the lack of flexibility afforded to parents who choose not to take the full-time allotted due to differing working arrangements outside the traditional 9-5pm pattern. [74237/26]

843. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the specific timeline for initiating the formal procurement process for private speech and language therapy capacity where significant service pressure points exist, as previously indicated by the Health Service Executive; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74247/26]

844. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will confirm whether CDNT 4 is currently delivering speech and language therapy exclusively in group format, regardless of individual clinical assessment. [74245/26]

845. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the current number of children on the open list (active caseload) and the waiting list (awaiting initial contact) for Children’s Disability Network Team 4 (CDNT4). [74244/26]

846. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when her Department last reviewed its policies, operations and handling of protected disclosures under all relevant protected disclosures legislation. [74440/26]

847. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality what supports are currently available to families of autistic children and other vulnerable children who are at significant risk of wandering or absconding; and whether her Department has examined the use of GPS or other appropriate location technology as a safeguarding measure for such children. [74145/26]

848. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason the €550 cap for childcare refers to those receiving 48 weeks of supervision, rather than the 52 weeks that many families pay for. [74161/26]

849. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department can provide a breakdown of how many families in Kildare, who use core funding childcare, fall into each band from A to F in tabular form. [74135/26]

850. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her attention has been drawn to the asks of a children's rights campaign (details supplied) and the actions she will take to engage with this organisation to progress their concerns. [74067/26]

851. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether consideration has been given to developing a national framework to assist families in accessing appropriate location technology where a child has been identified as being at significant risk of wandering or absconding. [74146/26]

852. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 70497/26, the actions being taken to address the additional concerns raised in correspondence regarding the funding and long-term sustainability of services provided by a disability service provider (details supplied). [74130/26]

853. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the plans to include band F childcare families under core funding in the €550 cap announced in Budget 2027 from September of next year. [74138/26]

854. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason her Department announced under budget 2027 that there would be a €550 cap on childcare for families when it is only applicable to families who fall under band E or below and not for band F families with 50+ hours of childcare. [74137/26]

855. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of core funded creches in Kildare which fall into each of the bands A to F, in tabular form. [74136/26]

856. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is aware of the case of a person (details supplied); the reason for the delay in making the approved funding available; when the funding will be released to enable them to recruit a personal assistant and access further education opportunities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74132/26]

857. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of childminders currently registered with Tusla in Cork city and Cork county, respectively; the number of childminders who have registered under the new regulatory framework; the measures being taken to encourage more childminders to register and provide additional childcare capacity; and if she will make a statement on the ma…