Questions

482. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla’s Audit and Risk Committee has considered risks associated with the absence of nationally standardised data on reopened child protection cases. [36073/26]

483. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any key performance indicators, governance metrics, or safeguarding indicators monitored under the Tusla Oversight Agreement relate to repeat child protection interventions, repeat emergency removals, or reopened social work cases. [36074/26]

484. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department has sought legal or policy advice regarding whether reopened child protection cases should form part of a national safeguarding and outcomes dataset. [36075/26]

488. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of child deaths involving children known to Tusla were reviewed by the National Review Panel in each year since its establishment. [36116/26]

499. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any national framework exists to assess consistency in the application of emergency child removal powers under sections 12 and 13 of the Child Care Act 1991 across Tusla regions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36369/26]

500. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any formal outcomes comparison has been conducted between Tusla-operated residential placements and privately operated placements; and if she will provide details. [36374/26]

501. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any quantified target exists to reduce Tusla’s reliance on private residential childcare placements; and if not, whether such a target will be introduced. [36375/26]

314. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any independent or externally commissioned value-for-money review has been conducted on the use of private providers for residential childcare placements funded by Tusla since 2020; if so, to provide the dates, authors, scope and key findings of each review; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27504/26]

316. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the outcome measures used at Departmental level to assess the effectiveness of privately delivered residential childcare placements funded by Tusla; whether such outcome measures are formally linked to funding allocations or contract renewals; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27506/26]

317. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department requires Tusla to assess the underlying cost structures, including profit margins, of private providers of residential childcare placements as part of value-for-money considerations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27507/26]

318. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any internal audit, external audit, or examination by the Comptroller and Auditor General has been carried out on the cost-effectiveness or value-for-money of private childcare placements funded by Tusla since 2020; if so, to provide details and findings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27508/26]

319. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of private providers contracted to deliver residential childcare placements funded by Tusla; the proportion of total placements accounted for by the five largest providers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27509/26]

320. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the policy basis on which pricing for private residential childcare placements is set by Tusla, including whether pricing is benchmarked against international comparators or independently validated cost models; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27510/26]

321. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total additional Exchequer funding approved to support increases in rates paid to private providers of residential childcare and foster care placements in each of the years 2023 to 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27511/26]

322. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department has considered publishing summary value-for-money assessments or aggregated cost data relating to private childcare placements funded by Tusla, in the interest of transparency; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27512/26]

416. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total annual expenditure by Tusla on placements purchased from privately operated children’s residential centres in each of the years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024; the total expenditure on all residential care placements in those years; and the percentage share represented by private placements in each year, in tabular form. [2124…

417. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department, or Tusla, has conducted any analysis of the cost differential between privately operated residential placements and placements within Tusla-operated centres; and if she will provide the average weekly cost per placement under each model. [21241/26]

418. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla has set any strategic target to reduce reliance on privately operated children’s residential placements, given that approximately 73% of placements were provided by private operators in 2024. [21242/26]

419. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department, or Tusla, has engaged with the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General regarding the expenditure incurred on privately operated children’s residential care placements; whether the Comptroller and Auditor General has examined or intends to examine the governance, procurement arrangements or value-for-money co…

420. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department, or Tusla, has conducted any value-for-money or cost-effectiveness analysis comparing privately operated residential care placements with placements within Tusla-operated residential centres; and whether any such analysis has been provided to the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General. [21244/26]

1611. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether she will introduce mandatory autism and neurodiversity training requirements for Tusla social workers involved in child protection, family support and care proceedings. [20353/26]

1612. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether the Department has conducted any review of the adequacy of training provided to Tusla staff in relation to autism, neurodiversity and disability awareness. [20354/26]

1613. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla records the number or proportion of social workers who have completed autism or neurodiversity training programmes. [20355/26]

1614. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether guidance exists to support Tusla staff when assessing families where a child or parent has autism or another neurodevelopmental condition. [20356/26]

1615. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department intends to introduce national standards for neurodiversity awareness training across Tusla services. [20357/26]