Topics / Children in Care

A subject heading for parliamentary questions

Children 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
MonthQuestions
January 20250
February 202519
March 202516
April 20258
May 20259
June 20252
July 202523
August 20250
September 20258
October 20250
November 202523
December 202511
January 202624
February 202619
March 202619
April 202616
May 202677
June 202652
July 202629
August 20260
September 20263
October 20260

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.

  • Aontú53 from 2 TDs · 2 seats today
  • Fianna Fáil16 from 7 TDs · 48 seats today
  • Fine Gael15 from 9 TDs · 38 seats today
  • Green Party16 from 1 TD · 1 seat today
  • Independent48 from 6 TDs · 15 seats today
  • Independent Ireland136 from 1 TD · 4 seats today
  • Labour Party24 from 3 TDs · 11 seats today
  • People Before Profit-Solidarity3 from 2 TDs · 3 seats today
  • Sinn Féin37 from 11 TDs · 39 seats today

The TDs who asked most

Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them. Each question counts once.

  1. 136
  2. 49
  3. 20
  4. 18
  5. 18
  6. 16
  7. 12
  8. 10

Asked of

Debated under the same heading

Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.

The questions

Paul Nicholas Gogarty Written 26 May 2026 · to Children
979. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children who entered State care in each of the past five years and who were classified as homeless, in emergency accommodation, or residing in family hubs at the time they entered care; and if she will provide the figures, in tabular form. [39453/26]
Paul Nicholas Gogarty Written 26 May 2026 · to Children
980. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children who entered State care in each of the past five years and who were classified as homeless, in emergency accommodation, or residing in family hubs at the time they entered care; and if she will provide the figures, in tabular form. [39454/26]
Paul Nicholas Gogarty Written 26 May 2026 · to Children
982. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children currently in State care whose families are recorded as homeless or residing in emergency accommodation; and if she will provide the figures by county, in tabular form. [39457/26]
Paul Nicholas Gogarty Written 26 May 2026 · to Children
983. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children currently in State care whose families are recorded as homeless or residing in emergency accommodation; and if she will provide the figures by county. [39458/26]
Emer Currie Written 26 May 2026 · to Children
1028. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether foster carers qualify for the Christmas bonus. [39964/26]
Keira Keogh Written 19 May 2026 · to Children
942. Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she has visited any special emergency arrangements; if not, if she plans to; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37833/26]
Ken O'Flynn Written 14 May 2026 · to Children
473. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the body, office, or accountable person that holds ultimate responsibility at national level for monitoring systemic delays in permanency outcomes for children in State care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36033/26]
Ken O'Flynn Written 14 May 2026 · to Children
476. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether HIQA conducts inspections, thematic reviews, audits, or performance analysis specifically relating to permanency delays, placement drift, or prolonged temporary care arrangements for children in State care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36036/26]
Ken O'Flynn Written 14 May 2026 · to Children
479. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any proposal, policy development, or internal review is underway to introduce national key performance indicators relating to reopened social work cases, placement stability, repeat care entry, or time-to-permanency outcomes for children in State care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36039/26]
Ken O'Flynn Written 14 May 2026 · to Children
480. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any internal analysis, briefing material, policy papers, or governance reviews prepared in connection with the Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2025 identified concerns relating to permanency delays, care drift, prolonged interim care orders, or extended voluntary care arrangements; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [360…
Ken O'Flynn Written 14 May 2026 · to Children
485. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department receives aggregate reporting on the outcomes following Section 12 removals, including rates of return home, repeat removals, interim care orders, or progression to full care orders. [36076/26]
Ken O'Flynn Written 14 May 2026 · to Children
490. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any external or independent review has assessed the effectiveness of the National Review Panel operational guidance last updated in 2021. [36119/26]
Ken O'Flynn Written 14 May 2026 · to Children
493. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any estimated costings or staffing models have been prepared for the establishment of a national statutory child death review mechanism; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36122/26]
Ken O'Flynn Written 14 May 2026 · to Children
494. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether the Government intends that a future national child death review mechanism will publish anonymised national thematic reports and recommendations arising from reviews. [36123/26]
Ken O'Flynn Written 12 May 2026 · to Children
917. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the average annual cost per child of a private residential care placement in 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026; and if she will provide the minimum, maximum and median cost per placement under current contractual arrangements. [34137/26]
Ken O'Flynn Written 12 May 2026 · to Children
918. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to set out the standardised national pricing bands or cost ceilings applied to private residential childcare placements under the current 2025-2028 contract; and the methodology used to determine those rates. [34138/26]
Ken O'Flynn Written 12 May 2026 · to Children
919. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla publishes or internally maintains benchmark rates for private residential care placements; if so, to provide details; and if not, the basis on which value for money is assessed in the absence of such benchmarks. [34139/26]
Ken O'Flynn Written 12 May 2026 · to Children
920. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla requires private providers of residential childcare placements to disclose cost breakdowns, including staffing, overheads, property, and profit margins, as part of the tendering or contracting process; and if so, to provide details of same. [34140/26]
Ken O'Flynn Written 12 May 2026 · to Children
921. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any cap, limit or oversight mechanism exists in respect of profit margins earned by private providers of residential childcare placements funded by the State; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34141/26]
Ken O'Flynn Written 12 May 2026 · to Children
922. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any comparative cost analysis has been undertaken between Tusla-operated residential care placements and privately operated placements; if so, to provide the findings; and if not, whether such analysis will be undertaken. [34142/26]
Ken O'Flynn Written 12 May 2026 · to Children
924. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the average weekly and annual cost per child of Special Emergency Arrangements in 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026; and the total expenditure on such arrangements in each year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34144/26]
Ken O'Flynn Written 12 May 2026 · to Children
925. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to quantify the savings achieved following the introduction of the Special Emergency Arrangement rate card in December 2023; and the methodology used to calculate such savings. [34145/26]
Ken O'Flynn Written 12 May 2026 · to Children
926. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the proportion of children in residential care currently placed in privately operated facilities; and the trend in such placements over the past five years. [34146/26]
Ken O'Flynn Written 12 May 2026 · to Children
927. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether time-to-permanency is tracked as a formal key performance indicator at national level by her Department or by Tusla; and if not, the way in which system performance is measured in the absence of outcome-based metrics. [34159/26]
Ken O'Flynn Written 12 May 2026 · to Children
928. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children currently in State care who have been in care for more than two years; more than five years; and more than ten years, and whether these duration cohorts are subject to any specific policy intervention or review mechanism. [34160/26]