Parliamentary questions

2518. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason a person (details supplied) has been waiting for an assessment of needs for their child since applying ten months ago in June 2025. [25758/26]

2519. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she has considered a location for the State-led childcare programme (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25759/26]

2520. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of service level agreements that Tusla has ended with family resource centres and similar organisations; the number of redundancies arising from these decisions as part of its reform programme; and the plans in place in each case to either continue the services previously provided (such as therapy) in an a…

2521. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason her Department took over eighteen months to process a complaint, and subsequent appeal in relation to an organisation (details supplied); if her Department believes that this extended process has had any impact on the organisation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25782/26]

2522. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason an 'underattendance exemption' under the national childcare scheme does not apply to a child (details supplied); if she can confirm whether an 'underattendance exemption' will apply where the HSE have recommended that a child with autism attend an Early Intervention Class during the morning time, and …

2523. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide a list of AI pilot projects which have taken place in her Department within the past three months; the expenditure associated with those projects; and whether they are still ongoing, in tabular form. [25789/26]

2524. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department has examined recent labour-market research indicating a 17% gap in salary expectations between men and women entering the workforce; the implications this may have for long-term gender pay disparities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25835/26]

2525. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department has assessed the finding that average pay increases for men (6.%) exceeded those for women (5.4%) in 2025; whether further measures are being considered to support equitable pay progression; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25836/26]

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 und…

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 d…

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 ind…

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 …

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…

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]