Questions

489. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if consideration has been given to creating a system that would allow for parents to be paid the ECCE subsidy directly in cases whereby their choice of preschool or childcare centre is not signed up to this scheme and therefore they cannot benefit from it and must pay the full cost of the fees. [66427/26]

490. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether consideration will be given to providing a redress mechanism for persons who were boarded out as children and who are not eligible for existing redress schemes, including the mother and baby institutions payment scheme; and the engagement has taken place with representatives of boarded-out survivors regarding their exclusion from exi…

491. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her plans to introduce multiannual funding Department funded services. [66511/26]

492. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the planning undertaken regarding the demand, supply and funding of service delivery across regions. [66510/26]

493. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of Department funded services that are receiving less than in 2008. [66509/26]

494. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of Department funded services; and the number of children cared for by each, for each of the years 2008 to date in 2026. [66508/26]

495. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the way in which Department funding is reallocated when a Department funded service closes; and if she will confirm whether it is reallocated to services providing same or similar services in the locality. [66507/26]

496. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on the building blocks grant extension (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66582/26]

497. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on an application (details supplied) under the building blocks extension grant; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66581/26]

498. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on an application (details supplied) under the building blocks extension grant; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66580/26]

499. Deputy Daniel Ennis asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the consultation that took place before the introduction of the revised AIM funding and payment arrangements, including the linking of AIM payments to national childcare scheme approvals; and the stakeholders that were consulted in this process. [66708/26]

500. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the approved staffing complement for each children’s disability network team; the number of sanctioned, filled and vacant whole-time equivalent posts in each team, broken down by discipline and grade; the number of children currently waiting for services in each team, by service type and time waiting; the average and median waiting t…

501. Deputy Paula Butterly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children currently attending children’s disability network teams in County Louth; the number awaiting access to occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, psychology and physiotherapy services respectively; the average waiting time for each service; the number of children with an assigned key worker; and if she w…

502. Deputy Paula Butterly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the role of occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, psychologists and physiotherapists working within Children's Disability Network Teams; the proportion of clinician time allocated to direct therapeutic intervention, assessment and administrative duties respectively; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6…

503. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to confirm that consideration will be given to increasing paid paternity benefit and leave to eight weeks; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66623/26]

504. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when the next round of funding under the building blocks capital programme will be announced. [66995/26]

505. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the staff vacancy rate for children’s disability network teams in CHO7 as of 31 August 2026, in tabular form. [67082/26]

506. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the potential to provide co-located state led early years provision at the location of a planned school (details supplied). [67188/26]

507. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality in respect of safeguarding referrals or notifications relating to people in disability services, the number recorded under each category of safeguarding concern used by the HSE, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, financial abuse, neglect, discriminatory abuse, institutional abuse, self-neglect and any other cate…

508. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the consideration that has been given to the impact of pay differentials between Section 38 and Section 39 disability service employees and equivalent HSE staff on the recruitment and retention of nursing and care staff; the measures are being taken to address any such recruitment barriers; and if she will make a statement on the matt…

509. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the specific measures being taken to support an organisation (details supplied) in recruiting and retaining appropriately qualified nursing, social care and support staff for a facility on Valentia Island, given the ongoing difficulties in filling staffing rosters; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [67164/26]

510. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will respond to concerns raised by the HSE that, even if additional funding for staffing at a location (details supplied) were approved, there can be no guarantee that sufficient nursing and care staff can be recruited and retained to safely meet assessed needs on an ongoing basis; the action she is taking to address this issue…

511. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality is there any update on the ratifying of the second optional protocol of the UNCRC. [67217/26]

512. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality If she will consider the salient points raised in correspondence (details supplied) regarding a Kildare based childcare provider who is considering exiting the service. [67032/26]

513. Deputy Ann Graves asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to consider increasing paid paternity leave from two to eight weeks, as Ireland currently lags far behind our European neighbours when it comes to supporting fathers in the early weeks of their child's life, with countries like Spain offering nineteen weeks, Finland offering over six months of shared leave, and Norway 15 weeks. [67008/26]