Child Safety

206. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will engage with the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs Migration on the way in which child safeguarding can be strengthened given the details of a case (details supplied) brought forward by a childcare provider; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44388/26]

1646. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether interim safeguarding recommendations are issued before completion of National Review Panel reviews where urgent risks are identified. [43231/26]

989. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the cross-border safeguarding mechanisms that are activated when a child in State care is reported missing and believed to have travelled to another jurisdiction [39580/26]

992. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if an exit or pre-departure safeguarding check is conducted where a child indicates an intention to leave the State. [39583/26]

1078. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will consider a unit in between residential care and special care to support children and young people as previously existed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40238/26]

417. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the way in which her Department accounts for situations where individuals subject to safeguarding concerns avoid accountability and continue working with children, including moving between settings without those concerns being identified or acted upon; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31677/26]

161. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the position regarding any engagement he has with the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality in relation to the delays in processing Garda vetting application for new hires in childminding facilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29104/26]

162. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration his views on the merits of creating a priority scheme under Garda vetting for new hires in childminding facilities; if this is something that is under review, if he will engage with the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality on this proposal to reflect the serious impact that processing delays are having on t…

1497. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality with reference to Operation Cosnaím, the number of formal notifications made by Tusla to the Garda National Protective Services Bureau regarding concerns of child trafficking and child sexual exploitation for children in State care in each of the past five years; and the number of these cases where a criminal inves…

228. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department maintains a consolidated Department-level governance and risk oversight framework in respect of privately operated children’s residential centres funded by the Exchequer; whether her Department receives structured, periodic reporting on safeguarding, compliance or regulatory concerns relating to…

463. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department maintains a formal risk register entry relating to reliance on privately operated children’s residential centres; if so, the risk categorisation and mitigation measures identified; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15842/26]

518. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the provision of direct Exchequer funding by her Department to any non-statutory body is conditional upon the recipient maintaining a formally adopted safeguarding policy; a designated safeguarding officer; written mandatory reporting procedures in respect of safeguarding concerns; compliance with obligations under the Children First Ac…

519. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department maintains a central register or consolidated oversight framework identifying all non-statutory bodies in receipt of direct Exchequer funding; whether that register records safeguarding compliance status, including the existence of safeguarding policies, designated safeguarding officers and reporting procedures; whether he…

518. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department sets national policy in relation to the prevention of children absconding from residential care and special emergency arrangements; whether sexual exploitation risk is a mandatory policy consideration within that framework; and when the policy was last reviewed. [11385/26]

519. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether she or her officials have received briefings, reports, or submissions since 2021 concerning links between absconding from care and sexual exploitation risk; the number of such briefings; and the actions taken following receipt. [11386/26]

520. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether she accepts that the absence of any national metric or reporting requirement for the escalation of high-priority unallocated child protection cases limits effective ministerial oversight; whether her Department has assessed the governance or child-protection risks arising from the fact that such escalations ar…

521. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the assurance mechanisms that are in place within her Department to confirm that risk-escalation procedures for high-priority unallocated child protection cases result in timely allocation; whether any internal or external audit, review, or evaluation has been conducted of escalation outcomes in 2023 or 2024; and if n…

522. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether she receives regular reports, briefings, or summary data on the number or duration of high-priority child protection cases that remain unallocated following escalation; the form in which any such information is provided; and if no such reporting occurs, the way in which ministerial assurance is maintained in r…

523. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether she is satisfied that existing national policy arrangements governing the escalation of high-priority unallocated child protection cases provide sufficient transparency, consistency, and accountability across Tusla regions; whether her Department has reviewed the adequacy of these arrangements; and if she will…

524. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department has issued any guidance, circulars, or policy instructions to Tusla concerning the monitoring or reporting of escalation activity for high-priority child protection cases; whether compliance with such guidance is reviewed at Departmental level; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11…

530. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department has examined the absence of a statutory mechanism allowing early years providers to lawfully disclose and assess serious safeguarding concerns relating to staff conduct which does not meet the criminal threshold; whether she accepts that this represents a gap in the current safeguarding framewor…

531. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department has considered how a statutory safeguarding-disclosure framework for the early years sector could be designed to protect children while also ensuring fair procedures, independent assessment, appeal rights, and proportionality for staff;; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11462/26]

532. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether she is satisfied that the current statutory and policy framework governing safeguarding in Early Years services fully gives effect to the principles of Children First, particularly in circumstances where serious concerns arise outside the criminal justice threshold; and if she will make a statement on the matt…

930. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide the outcomes, in each of the past five years, of emergency child removal cases involving children under one year of age, including the number resulting in reunification with a parent or parents, long-term care orders, adoption, or guardianship arrangements; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9…

710. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the guidelines and procedures in place for the vetting of individuals working or volunteering in sectors that provide services to children; and if an individual may continue to work or volunteer in such a capacity while their vetting application is being processed and not yet completed. [56871/25]