Questions

741. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the status of the Horizontal Equal Treatment European Directive; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32010/26]

742. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the average annual staff turnover rate of graduate lead educators working in Early Years services during the 2023/2024 programme year, on county-by-county basis, community /private employment and service size, in tabular form. [32142/26]

743. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of protected disclosures that have gone missing or have been compromised that have been submitted to her Department or State bodies that are responsible to her Department. [32281/26]

744. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total number of emergency child removals carried out under sections 12 and 13 of the Child Care Act 1991 in each of the past five years, in tabular form, broken down by region and by the legal basis for removal. [32382/26]

745. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla maintains a centralised dataset capturing emergency child removals under sections 12 and 13 of the Child Care Act 1991; if so, the variables recorded within that dataset; and if she will provide details. [32383/26]

746. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any trend analysis has been conducted by Tusla or her Department in respect of emergency child removals under sections 12 and 13 of the Child Care Act 1991; and if so, the findings of such analysis. [32384/26]

747. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department has assessed regional variation in the use of emergency child removal powers under sections 12 and 13 of the Child Care Act 1991; and if so, the outcome of that assessment. [32385/26]

748. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether consideration has been given to classifying emergency child removal decisions under sections 12 and 13 of the Child Care Act 1991 as a systemic or governance risk within Tusla's corporate risk framework; and if so, the outcome of that consideration. [32386/26]

749. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the criteria used by Tusla to determine when patterns in frontline child protection interventions escalate to a strategic or corporate risk requiring inclusion on the National Corporate Risk Register. [32387/26]

750. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality how her Department satisfies itself that emergency child removal powers under sections 12 and 13 of the Child Care Act 1991 are applied consistently nationwide in the absence of formal trend analysis reporting from Tusla. [32388/26]

751. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reporting mechanisms in place between Tusla and her Department in respect of emergency child removals under sections 12 and 13 of the Child Care Act 1991; and the frequency and format of such reporting [32389/26]

752. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any external review, audit or inspection has been undertaken in the past five years examining the use of emergency child removal powers under sections 12 and 13 of the Child Care Act 1991; and if so, the findings. [32390/26]

753. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether she has requested or plans to request the development of national reporting or oversight mechanisms relating to emergency child removals under sections 12 and 13 of the Child Care Act 1991; and if not, the reason. [32391/26]

754. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an overview of the regulation and oversight of private home-care companies. [32420/26]

755. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the auditing of allocated homecare hours that is delivered by private home-care companies; and whether the HSE has any way to know that it is not paying for hours not delivered. [32422/26]

756. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the protections that exist for home care staff in HSE-funded services regarding excessive hours, pressure from management, and lack of accountability. [32424/26]

757. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether the management teams of private homecare providers receive commission for taking on HSE-funded clients; and the oversight that exists of these funding arrangements. [32426/26]

758. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total annual expenditure by Tusla on private childcare placements for each year from 2020 to 2026, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32432/26]

759. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children placed in private childcare placements funded by Tusla in each year from 2020 to 2026; and the proportion this represents of all children in State-funded care. [32433/26]

760. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the average annual cost per child of private childcare placements funded by Tusla, and the comparative average cost per child in public or directly provided placements, for each year since 2020; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32434/26]

761. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department has conducted or commissioned any comparative cost analysis between private and public childcare placements since 2020; if so, to provide details and findings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32435/26]

762. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality what governance framework is in place within her Department to oversee expenditure by Tusla on private childcare placements; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32436/26]

763. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department requires Tusla to report on value-for-money, cost drivers, or financial performance in respect of private childcare placements; if so, the frequency and format of such reporting; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32437/26]

764. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether private childcare placements funded by Tusla are explicitly identified as a financial or governance risk within Departmental or Tusla risk registers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32438/26]

765. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality what mechanisms are in place to ensure that rates paid to private providers represent value for money over the lifetime of a placement, beyond the initial procurement or tendering process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32439/26]