428. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 1640 of 9 June 2026, to confirm whether any key performance indicator, governance metric or audit measure of any kind exists in respect of the use of Emergency Care Orders under Section 13 of the Child Care Act 1991; and if none exists, whether she will direct that such oversight arrangements be put …
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
432. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 876 of 19 May 2026, whether Tusla will commence collection of data on the number of children under one year of age subject to an emergency care order who are subsequently returned to parental care; and the timeframe for same. [50663/26]
433. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 499 of 28 May 2026, whether the absence of a national guidance, benchmark or threshold framework governing emergency care order applications under section 13 of the Child Care Act 1991 has been assessed as a risk; and whether her Department intends to develop such a framework. [50664/26]
436. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 1016 of 26 May 2026, the average cost of a State-operated residential childcare placement and of a privately operated residential childcare placement; or to confirm that no comparative cost analysis between the two is conducted. [50667/26]
437. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 490 of 23 April 2026, the average annual cost per child of a private residential childcare placement in each year from 2020 to 2026, in tabular form. [50668/26]
438. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to the reply to Parliamentary Question No. 1018 of 26 May 2026, whether a formal assessment of the risks arising from market concentration and dependency on a small number of private residential childcare providers has been carried out; and whether such risk is recorded on the Tusla corporate risk register. [50669/26]
441. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 841 of 19 May 2026, the average duration of a special emergency arrangement placement for mainstream children in each year since 2022; and the number of such placements that were in unregistered settings. [50771/26]
529. Deputy Paula Butterly asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider extending eligibility for the back to school clothing and footwear allowance to all children in foster care, regardless of the assessed income of the foster household, in recognition of the additional supports required for children in care; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48793/26]
692. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla maintains a national dataset recording the length of time individual children spend in temporary care arrangements prior to achieving a permanency outcome; if such a dataset exists, to provide the average and median length of time spent in temporary care prior to permanency for each year from 2020 to 2025; if no such datase…
704. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 639, 640 and 641 of 23 June 2026, to confirm directly whether Tusla’s data hub or any internal case management system captures the length of time individual children spend awaiting a permanency decision; if such case level data is captured, to confirm whether it has ever been compiled into a nation…
710. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the specific target and timeline, that has been set to reduce Tusla's reliance on private residential childcare placements; the date this target was approved; the metric against which progress will be measured; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49284/26]
711. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if Tusla's reliance on private residential childcare placements is included as an item on Tusla's Corporate Risk Register; if so, the date it was added and its current risk rating; if not, the reason for its exclusion; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49285/26]
712. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the average annual cost per placement for a child in a Tusla-owned or community and voluntary residential placement compared to the average annual cost per placement with a private provider, in each of the years 2021 to 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49286/26]
396. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality in light of research (details supplied) the action her Department has taken to address the highly concerning findings; if an investigation has been carried out on foot of this research; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48712/26]
240. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to clarify the governance arrangements for foster care committees, including whether representatives of contracted private fostering agencies participate in the approval of foster carers; the safeguards in place to ensure independence and avoid actual or perceived conflicts of interest; and if she will make a statement on the matter. …
5. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will ensure increased investment in voluntary residential care services for children in the care of the State; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47736/26]
594. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the supports in place for those leaving foster care at the age of 18 years where those young persons may still need certain assistance. [46864/26]
597. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children aged 12 years or younger currently in special arrangement houses; the average length of their stay; and the way in which those figures compare to one year ago and two years ago. [46868/26]
598. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of foster carers in Ireland. [46869/26]
599. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children in foster care in Ireland. [46870/26]
639. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the specific information, metrics and performance indicators reported by Tusla to her Department regarding permanency planning for children in care; the frequency of such reporting; and if she will provide a copy of the most recent report received. [47798/26]
640. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla or her Department maintains national data on the length of time children spend awaiting permanency decisions; if so, the figures for each of the past five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47799/26]
641. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any national targets, benchmarks or expected timelines exist for permanency planning decisions involving children in care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47800/26]
11. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will provide an update on the programme for Government commitment to examine pension provisions for foster carers; when he expects this to be introduced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46325/26]
432. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the supports in place for foster carers who foster a baby (up to 12 months old); if consideration has been given to providing paid leave for foster carers who foster babies up to 12 months old; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46473/26]