Parliamentary questions

836. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason Tusla does not readily hold annual expenditure data on private childcare placements prior to 2024; and whether she is satisfied with the Agency’s financial data retention and reporting systems. [36695/26]

837. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla maintains a central database recording expenditure by private childcare placement provider; and if so, whether she will provide the total expenditure by provider for 2024 and 2025. [36696/26]

838. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total number of children placed in private residential childcare settings in each year from 2020 to 2026, in tabular form. [36697/26]

839. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the proportion of all residential childcare expenditure accounted for by private providers in each year from 2020 to 2026. [36700/26]

840. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of Tusla-operated residential childcare places added nationally in each year from 2020 to 2026. [36702/26]

841. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla tracks the number of emergency placements made due to shortages in public residential capacity; and if she will provide the annual figures from 2020 to 2026. [36703/26]

842. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether the Department has received any briefing regarding risks associated with reliance on private residential childcare placements, including cost inflation, placement shortages, or geographic dependency. [36704/26]

843. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if childcare providers in receipt of core funding are obliged under their funding agreement to maintain continuity of services for enrolled families; the obligations that exist where a provider changes the age cohorts it caters for, resulting in families losing access to childcare services; and if she will make …

844. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason the HSE does not currently collect the average duration of vacancies within Children's Disability Network Teams; whether she considers this compatible with effective workforce planning; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36861/26]

845. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of Children's Disability Network Teams currently operating below recommended staffing levels; the staffing deficit within each team, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36862/26]

846. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any national target vacancy rate exists for Children's Disability Network Teams; whether any escalation mechanism applies where vacancy levels exceed defined thresholds; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36863/26]

847. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of Children's Disability Network Team posts approved under previous new service developments which remained unfilled at year end 2025; the associated unspent allocation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36864/26]

848. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any independent review has been conducted into the impact of staffing vacancies within Children's Disability Network Teams on waiting times, unmet need, delayed intervention or child outcomes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36865/26]

849. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children currently awaiting initial assessment, therapy intervention or review by a Children's Disability Network Team, broken down by waiting time band and HSE region; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36866/26]

850. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether the HSE intends to publish the June 2026 Children's Disability Network Team workforce review in full; whether this will include team-by-team vacancy data; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36867/26]

851. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on the implementation for the National Strategy for Women and Girls 2025 - 2030. [36882/26]

852. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether a formal review of the operation of the mother and baby institutions payment scheme is scheduled; and if so, the timeframe for this review. [36967/26]

853. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether institutions (details supplied) will be considered for inclusion in the mother and baby institutions payment scheme as part of any forthcoming review of the scheme. [36968/26]

854. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide details of any judgments, findings, or official assessments relating to institutions (details supplied) and the rationale for their exclusion from the scheme to date. [36969/26]

855. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether all available documentation and survivor testimonies relating to institutions (details supplied) are being examined as part of any review of the operation of the mother and baby institutions payment scheme. [36970/26]

856. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether the 180-day residency requirement under the mother and baby institutions payment scheme will be examined as part of any review of the scheme. [36971/26]

857. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if consideration is being given, within any review of the mother and baby institutions payment scheme to waiving or introducing flexibility into the 180-day threshold, particularly in cases where individuals narrowly fall below the requirement but experienced comparable hardship. [36972/26]

858. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the role the local city and county council's and the community childcare committees have in providing local community childcare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36973/26]

859. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether optimal level of community childcare targets are set; the specific plans to develop more community childcare in each specific county childcare committee; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36974/26]

860. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department will mandate that local city and county councils prioritise tenders from community groups over private providers for community childcare in publicly owned facilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36975/26]