62. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children in Tusla care who have come to the attention of An Garda Síochána in each of the past five years; whether Tusla is adequately providing for children at risk of reoffending; and the number of juvenile detention beds. [66252/26]
Topics / Children in Care
A subject heading for parliamentary questionsChildren in Care
358 questions from 46 TDs, between 5 February 2025 and 17 September 2026.
358
questions
353 written, 5 oral
46
TDs have asked
10
parties and groups
Independents counted together
3
departments asked
Questions per month
The record holds no questions for August, when the Dáil does not sit.
Jan 2025Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions |
|---|---|
| January 2025 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 19 |
| March 2025 | 16 |
| April 2025 | 8 |
| May 2025 | 9 |
| June 2025 | 2 |
| July 2025 | 23 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 8 |
| October 2025 | 0 |
| November 2025 | 23 |
| December 2025 | 11 |
| January 2026 | 24 |
| February 2026 | 19 |
| March 2026 | 19 |
| April 2026 | 16 |
| May 2026 | 77 |
| June 2026 | 52 |
| July 2026 | 29 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 3 |
| October 2026 | 0 |
Who asks, by party
The party each TD belonged to on the day, in alphabetical order. Parties differ a lot in size, and members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them, so this shows who raised it, not how much a party cares about it.
The TDs who asked most
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them. Each question counts once.
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136
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49
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20
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18
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18
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16
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12
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10
Asked of
Debated under the same heading
Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.
The questions
126. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to outline measures to encourage greater numbers into fostering. [65731/26]
1035. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 3021 of 7 September 2026, the number of children placed at each of the set weekly rates published in the most recent tender competition, by multi-occupancy, dual occupancy, single occupancy and each other category in 2024 and in 2025; and the total annual expenditure on single-occupancy private plac…
197. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will give detailed consideration to the issues raised in the 2027 pre-Budget submission of a national association (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52164/26]
674. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 704 of 30 June 2026, in which her Department confirmed that permanency planning data is recorded in individual care plans but is not collated or reported nationally by Tusla; the reason no national system exists to aggregate this data given its centrality to the welfare of children in care; whether t…
403. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 1613 of 9 June 2026, the reason the average number of placement changes experienced by children in State care, broken down by duration in care categories of less than one year, one to three years, three to five years, and more than five years, is not centrally collated by Tusla; if this data gap has …
404. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality given that Tusla’s only published placement stability metric is the number of children in their third or greater placement within the previous 12 months (328 of 5,729 children in care at end of 2025), whether her Department considers this metric sufficient to monitor placement stability across all durations in care; and if she will make …
405. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason for the 40% increase in the number of children in care experiencing three or more placement changes within a twelve-month period, from 231 in 2023 to 324 in 2024; whether this increase has been analysed by Tusla; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50556/26]
406. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether the number of children in care experiencing three or more placement changes within a twelve-month period is recorded on any Tusla or Departmental risk register; whether this metric is subject to any audit process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50557/26]
407. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason for the disproportionate increase in children experiencing three or more placement changes in the Dublin northeast region, which tripled from 30 in 2021 to 91 in 2025; whether any target or action plan exists to reduce placement instability nationally; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50558/26]
408. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla has conducted any internal audit, review, analysis, or risk assessment of the impact of repeated placement instability on educational attendance, mental health outcomes, behavioural presentations, or long-term permanency outcomes for children in care; if no such audit, review, analysis, or risk assessment exists, to confirm…
409. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason data on the outcomes of emergency care order applications for children under one year of age is not centrally collated by Tusla; if the Department considers this an acceptable gap in oversight of the most vulnerable cohort in the care system; if the Department will direct Tusla to establish a centralised dataset tracking reuni…
410. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if the absence of centrally collated outcome data for emergency care order cases involving children under one year of age appears on Tusla's corporate risk register or internal audit plan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50581/26]
414. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 921 of 12 May 2026, to confirm that no cap, limit or oversight mechanism currently applies to the profit margins of private providers of State-funded residential childcare placements; whether she considers such a mechanism warranted given the scale of private provision; and if she will make a stateme…
415. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 942 of 12 May 2026, whether any independent value-for-money audit, as distinct from the bi-annual contract reviews referenced in that reply, has been conducted into private residential childcare placements since 2020; if so, to publish the findings; and if not, whether she will commission one. [50640…
416. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total expenditure by Tusla on placements purchased from private children's residential centres; the total expenditure on all residential care placements; and the percentage share represented by private placements, in each year from 2020 to 2026; and if figures for years prior to 2024 cannot be provided, the reasons therefor. [50641/2…
419. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 1587 of 9 June 2026, given the confirmation that Tusla maintains no key performance indicator for time-to-permanency, whether her Department has assessed the absence of such an indicator as a governance or child-welfare risk; whether this absence is recorded on any Tusla or Departmental risk register…
420. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 961 of 26 May 2026, if she will commit to the introduction of a national key performance indicator, benchmark or target timeframe for the achievement of permanency outcomes for children in care; the timeframe for its introduction; and if not, the reasons therefor. [50650/26]
421. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number and proportion of children in the care of the State for periods of five years or more, and ten years or more, respectively, as of the latest available date; whether her Department monitors the size of this cohort as an indicator of care drift; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50651/26]
422. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 474 of 14 May 2026, to confirm whether the Tusla Board receives any aggregate metric relating to time-to-permanency, placement drift, placement instability or repeat care episodes; and if no such metric is reported to the Board, whether she will direct that Board-level reporting on these matters be e…
423. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 1604 of 9 June 2026, in which it was stated that the number of children who have experienced more than five placement changes is not centrally collated, whether Tusla measures placement stability by any national metric; whether her Department will direct that data on placement changes be centrally co…
424. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 1546 of 9 June 2026, which did not provide the information sought, the number of children who remained in a special emergency arrangement for periods exceeding three, six, and 12 months respectively, in each of the years 2022 to 2025; and if the data is not held in that form, to state same explicitly…
425. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children currently in a special emergency arrangement for longer than the 45-day maximum provided for in State policy; the longest single current duration; and in each such case whether the placement has been registered as a children's residential centre, has ceased operating, or has been designated to operate under Section…
426. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality in respect of special emergency arrangements operating under Section 59(a) of the Child Care Act 1991, the number currently so designated; whether the Health Information and Quality Authority has been notified of each; and the number inspected by the Authority in 2025 and to date in 2026. [50656/26]
427. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 1639 of 9 June 2026, whether her Department will direct Tusla to centrally record and analyse the proportion of Emergency Care Order applications that progress to Interim Care Orders, Care Orders or Supervision Orders; and the reasons this information is not currently collated, given its relevance to…