Child Protection

889. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide a numbered breakdown of each recommendation contained in the 2023 University College Dublin report on sexual exploitation risks in residential and emergency care; to state, in respect of each recommendation, whether it has been accepted in full, accepted in principle, rejected, or remains under consideratio…

890. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether a formal cross-departmental or inter-agency oversight group was established to coordinate the State response to the 2023 University College Dublin report; if so, the date of establishment, its chairing authority, the Departments and agencies represented, the number of meetings held to date, and whether minutes…

891. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether compliance with any policy or procedural changes arising from the 2023 University College Dublin report is subject to formal monitoring or audit; whether such monitoring forms part of a centrally approved governance framework within her Department; and to outline the performance indicators or reporting mechani…

431. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether his Department has held any formal meetings since 1 January 2025 with the Department of Children, Disability and Equality regarding safeguarding-disclosure or re-vetting arrangements in the early years sector. [13462/26]

517. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department receives, on an annual or periodic basis, aggregated statistical reports from Tusla on the number of emergency child removal applications made under Section 13 of the Child Care Act 1991; whether such reports include age breakdowns, including children under one year of age; and if she will make …

518. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether she requires Tusla, under any governance framework agreed with her Department, to report on the outcomes of emergency child removal proceedings, including rates of reunification, care orders, guardianship or adoption; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13614/26]

519. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department requires Tusla to conduct internal audit, quality assurance review, or evidential compliance review of emergency child removal applications; whether summary findings of such reviews are reported to her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13615/26]

520. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department has sought or received any data from Tusla in the past five years regarding emergency child removal applications in which material allegations were subsequently amended, withdrawn, or corrected during proceedings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13616/26]

521. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any national policy guidance, approved or noted by her Department, requires Tusla to apply additional procedural safeguards, specialist assessment protocols, or disability-informed practice standards when child protection proceedings involve a parent with a diagnosed autism spectrum condition or intellectual d…

522. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether she has issued, or is considering issuing, any general policy direction to Tusla under the Child and Family Agency Act 2013 in relation to evidential standards, proportionality thresholds, or quality assurance mechanisms in emergency child removal cases; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13618/2…

523. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether the Tusla Board is required to report to her Department on governance risks or systemic concerns arising from emergency child removal decisions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13619/26]

524. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the figures for the number of children put in special emergency arrangements in each of the years 2020-2026 to date. [13624/26]

583. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department requires non-statutory bodies in receipt of direct funding to maintain a Department-approved safeguarding policy, a designated safeguarding officer, mandatory reporting procedures to the Department in the event of safeguarding concerns, compliance with Children First Act 2015 obligations, where applicable, and periodic ce…

584. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department maintains a central risk register in respect of non-statutory bodies receiving direct Departmental funding, conducts formal risk assessments prior to the allocation of funding, applies a risk-rating classification to such bodies, requires annual risk statements from funded bodies; and has defined escalation procedures whe…

991. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to consider the creation of a mandatory rechecking system for Garda vetting for those people employed in the childcare sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12756/26]

999. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding the review that was ordered in the wake of a case (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11682/26]

1000. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding any engagement that she has had with Tusla in the months following a case (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11683/26]

1001. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding the structural changes carried out within Tusla in the months following a case (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11684/26]

1002. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the actions she has taken in the months following a case (details supplied) to ensure that the failings identified in the childcare system are addressed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11685/26]

1003. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding the meetings that she has held with Tusla specifically in relation to a case (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11686/26]

298. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration his plans to introduce legislation to ensure that access orders for children will not be granted against the will and preference of the children where the parent in question has been found guilty of coercive control or similar offences (details supplied). [9165/26]

299. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if a review can be conducted to ensure that legislation respects, within reason, that where children who do not want to see a parent as a result of a case of abuse or intimidation, their rights are respected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8782/26]

894. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the assessment her Department has made of the risk of sexual exploitation of children placed in residential care and special emergency arrangements; the formal risk classifications which apply to such placements; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7490/26]

895. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the safeguards which are in place to prevent grooming, coercion, and sexual exploitation of children placed in open or non-restrictive residential care and special emergency arrangements; the way in which compliance with those safeguards is monitored; and if she will publish the most recent internal review or evaluati…

896. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department reviewed the findings and recommendations of a report (details supplied) on sexual exploitation risks faced by children in residential and emergency care; the actions which were taken following its publication; and which recommendations, if any, remain outstanding. [7492/26]