776. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is satisfied that no national review of permanency planning outcomes for children in care has been undertaken since 2020; if she will commission such a review; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45093/26]
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
777. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla intends to establish a national reporting framework identifying the principal causes of delays in permanency planning for children in care, including court delays, placement shortages, staffing vacancies, assessment backlogs and lack of therapeutic services; the timeline for implementation; and if she will make a statement …
784. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department will establish a national reporting framework for permanency outcomes for children in State care, including reunification, adoption, guardianship and long-term foster care outcomes; whether annual national reporting will be introduced on these outcomes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45322/26]
785. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla maintains a national record of the permanency objective assigned to each child in care; if not, whether she will direct Tusla to develop such a dataset; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45323/26]
786. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether the Tusla Board and its Audit and Risk Committee will be required to receive regular reports on care drift, placement instability, permanency outcomes and the number of children remaining in care for more than two, five and ten years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45324/26]
818. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the percentage of all foster family placements arranged through private-for-profit foster care agencies in each of the past five years, as distinct from placements arranged directly through Tusla foster carers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45922/26]
819. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the average annual cost to the State, per child, of placements arranged through private-for-profit foster care agencies that place children with foster families, compared with the average annual cost per child of placements arranged directly through Tusla foster carers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45923/26]
1544. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla centrally records the length of time children remain in temporary care arrangements prior to achieving permanency outcomes; and if so, to provide the national figures for each year since 2020. [41706/26]
1545. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether the Tusla Board or its Audit and Risk Committee receive regular reports concerning delayed permanency outcomes, placement instability, or care drift trends; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41708/26]
1546. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality how many children remained in special emergency arrangements for periods exceeding 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months respectively in each year since 2022. [41709/26]
1547. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla conducts any national analysis of placement instability, including the number of placement moves experienced by children in care prior to achieving permanency outcomes. [41710/26]
1548. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla has undertaken any internal review examining the relationship between staffing shortages, recruitment pressures, and delayed permanency outcomes for children in care. [41711/26]
1584. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children currently in State care for more than five years who do not have an identified permanency plan, broken down by placement type and age cohort. [42461/26]
1585. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the average duration in care for children currently in State care, broken down by placement type and age cohort. [42462/26]
1586. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children currently in long-term foster care where adoption, guardianship, reunification, or long-term supported independent living has been formally identified as the permanency objective. [42464/26]
1587. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla maintains national key performance indicators relating to permanency planning, care drift, placement stability, and duration in care; and if so, to provide details. [42465/26]
1588. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any internal audit, external review, HIQA inspection programme, or policy evaluation has examined long-term care drift or delays in permanency outcomes within Tusla since 2020.; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42466/26]
1589. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children currently in State care for more than ten years. [42467/26]
1590. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children who exited State care in each year from 2020 to 2026 through reunification, adoption, guardianship, ageing out of care, or other pathways. [42468/26]
1603. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla maintains a centrally extractable dataset recording the cumulative number of placement changes experienced by each child in State care; and if not, whether plans are in place to establish such a dataset. [42681/26]
1604. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children currently in State care who have experienced more than five placement changes during their time in care, broken down by foster care, relative care, residential care and special care settings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42682/26]
1605. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children currently in State care who have experienced ten or more placement changes during their time in care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42683/26]
1606. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla operates any internal threshold, escalation trigger, or formal review mechanism in circumstances where a child in care experiences repeated placement breakdowns or multiple placement changes within a defined period; and if they will provide details. [42684/26]
1607. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children in State care who experienced three or more placement changes within a twelve-month period in each year from 2020 to 2026, broken down by region; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42685/26]
1608. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla centrally records the number of emergency placement arrangements involving children in State care; and if they will provide the annual number of such arrangements in each year from 2020 to 2026. [42686/26]