Parliamentary questions

650. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any review of the Assisted Decision Making Capacity legislation and the policy on congregated settings is currently underway, particularly in relation to the impact on families seeking appropriate residential placements for persons with intellectual disabilities; and if she will make a statement on the matt…

651. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she has considered extending statutory paternity leave from two weeks to eight weeks; whether her Department has undertaken any assessment of the social, economic and equality impacts of such an extension; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52679/26]

652. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on her Department’s efforts to enshrine discrimination on the basis of socio-economic status as a non-discrimination ground, as outlined in the general scheme of the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024; if both the assessment of the potential costs for the Exchequer and the enhanced SME te…

653. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 892 of 4 February 2026, if she considers it acceptable that this child must wait 8 to 12 months for an assessment for autism; the actions she is taking to deal with the waiting lists; the indicative timeline for the reduction of the waiting time; the number of children in each…

654. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 693 of 30 June 2026, if she is satisfied that Tusla is adequately resourced and capable of dealing with 106,000 referrals each year; the way in which she assesses this capability; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52789/26]

655. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if an interim physiotherapy service is being provided or is planned in Cashel CDNT, whilst the current physiotherapist is on leave; if not, the reason an interim service has not been established given the physiotherapist has been on leave since January 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52812/26]

656. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department has itself sought confirmation from Tusla as to whether any of any specific gaps are in fact recorded on the Corporate Risk Register, as distinct from restating who bears responsibility for maintaining that register. [52828/26]

657. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department Oversight Agreement with Tusla provides any mechanism by which her Department is made aware of the contents of the Corporate Risk Register; or whether her Department has no visibility of it whatsoever. [52829/26]

658. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality given that three separate and substantively different governance gaps have now been put to her Department and met with the same non-substantive reply, whether she accepts that her Department is currently unable to state whether any of these matters are being treated as risks by Tusla at all. [52830/26]

659. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 439 of 2 July 2026, in which it was stated that reports from the two commissioned studies on the educational, career and life outcomes of care leavers "will be finalised and published shortly," and that planning is "underway" for a national longitudinal study following young peopl…

660. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if there is a specific policy within her Department that seeks to preclude those elected to local authorities from any boards that she may appoint; the rationale behind any such policy; the way in which it aligns with encouraging participation in local government; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [528…

661. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to commit to preparing legislation to not automatically exclude members of local authorities from consideration for appointment to State boards; and to set out the reasons such persons would be excluded. [52866/26]

662. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Questions Nos.1606 and 1614 of 9 June 2026, (details supplied), to confirm whether a defined threshold or escalation trigger exists for repeated placement breakdowns, and, if so, the threshold; whether the 328 figure, or equivalent data on repeat placements, is reported through any national go…

663. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total number of individual child protection and welfare referrals received by Tusla, regarding school employees, broken down by primary school and post-primary school, for each of the years 2023, 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026. [53033/26]

664. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of individual child protection and welfare referrals received that were classified as mandated reports; and the number classified as non-mandated referrals. [53034/26]

665. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number and percentage of individual child protection and welfare referrals received determined by Tusla at screening stage to not meet the threshold. [53035/26]

666. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of unique children the individual child protection and welfare referrals received relate to, broken down by primary school and post-primary school. [53036/26]

667. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total number of formal appeals to Tusla; and the percentage of those appeals that were successful or resulted in a decision reversal. [53037/26]

668. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her plans to address the shortage of childcare places across Waterford city and county; if she will consider Tramore as a pilot area for state-led childcare intervention; if she has considered correspondence from a group (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53043/26]

669. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will review the operation of the statutory domestic violence leave provisions, particularly the type of information or evidence that an employer may request from an employee applying for the leave; if her Department is considering issuing further guidance or legislative changes to provide greater clarity for…

670. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide an update on the provision of services and equipment in Tipperary for a child (details supplied) given current arrangements are in Temple Street, Dublin, and given it places a significant burden on the child and family; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53068/26]

671. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when a child (details supplied) will get access to physiotherapy services close within Tipperary; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53072/26]

672. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when a child and their family (details supplied) will get access to social worker support within Tipperary; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53073/26]

673. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when a child (details supplied) will get access to an anterior marcy walker, as advised by their neurologist; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53074/26]

674. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when a child (details supplied) will get access to the correct orthotics, which they currently don’t have access to; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53075/26]