700. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total number of employees in the National Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) Service on the date of commencement, specifying the number of GALs employed nationally; and the total number of employees who are on secondment or career break from Tusla. [49172/26]
Topics / Guardians Ad Litem
A subject heading for parliamentary questionsGuardians Ad Litem
28 questions from 9 TDs, between 17 June 2025 and 30 June 2026.
28
questions
25 written, 3 oral
9
TDs have asked
5
parties and groups
Independents counted together
1
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 | 0 |
| March 2025 | 0 |
| April 2025 | 0 |
| May 2025 | 0 |
| June 2025 | 3 |
| July 2025 | 0 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 0 |
| October 2025 | 1 |
| November 2025 | 0 |
| December 2025 | 3 |
| January 2026 | 14 |
| February 2026 | 1 |
| March 2026 | 1 |
| April 2026 | 1 |
| May 2026 | 1 |
| June 2026 | 3 |
| July 2026 | 0 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 0 |
| 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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Asked of
Debated under the same heading
Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.
The questions
15. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of practising guardians ad litem that will be part of the new national service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47408/26]
767. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason the new national service for guardian ad litem will not accept records relating to children in their new service, and do not intend on holding records on children who have a guardian ad litem; her views on the importance of creating a safe and secure archive repository for records for these children, to have a record of the…
186. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the circumstances in which a child is assigned a guardian-ad-litem; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40668/26]
122. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is aware of serious concerns raised in relation to the new national service for guardians ad litem; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28697/26]
1501. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update in relation to the new Guardian ad litem national service and the recent stakeholder engagement she has had; if she will indicate when the start date for the new service will commence and come into force, with her approval; the transitional arrangements that are proposed for existing Guardians ad litem and their client…
93. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason she will determine legal representation for guardians ad litem in childcare court proceedings; the rationale for this change under the new service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13521/26]
391. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her views on concerns raised by Guardians ad litem for the new proposed Guardian ad litem National Service (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7068/26]
850. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the steps she is taking to ensure that the independence of guardians ad litem is fully protected under the proposed new Guardian ad Litem National Service; the rationale for the proposed governance structure; the extent of consultation undertaken with practising guardians ad litem and their representative organisations; the measures bei…
489. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her plans to make the new Guardian ad Litem service completely independent from Tusla; the consultation she and her Department have undertaken to establish this new system; the investigative work done into the service demand; if there will be a waiting list for the service; if she and her Department are willing to engage with the Indepe…
502. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the rationale for establishing a new Guardian ad Litem National Service, given that the current system provides independent representation for children without waiting lists; the way she will ensure the independence of Guardians ad Litem where both Tusla and the new service will be accountable to the same Department and Minister; wh…
239. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will consider facilitating a meeting with an organisation regarding their concerns related to the National Guardian ad Litem Service (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4695/26]
240. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her views on the appropriateness of both TUSLA and the National Guardian ad Litem Service falling under the same Government Department, particularly in cases whereby the service is critical of the actions of TUSLA or similar cases; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4696/26]
241. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding safeguards that are being put in place to ensure there are conflict resolution mechanisms between TUSLA and the National Guardian ad Litem Service in situations where there is dispute between services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4697/26]
242. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her views on whether the proposed staffing levels for the National Guardian ad Litem Service will be sufficient to deal with the level of demand for this support; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4698/26]
243. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding the recruitment process for the National Guardian ad Litem Service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4699/26]
244. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding the proposed staffing arrangements for the new National Guardian ad Litem Service, by role and grade; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4700/26]
245. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding the National Guardian ad Litem Service; and the timeline for when it will be fully operational; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4701/26]
1903. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is concerned that her proposed reforms will diminish the independence of guardians ad litem as they will be State employees, create potential conflicts of interest and reduce the ability of guardians to advocate freely for children (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74368/25]
1904. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is concerned that her proposed reforms will result in children losing automatic access to legal representation through their GAL (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74369/25]
2027. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is aware of the concerns of an organisation (details supplied) in relation to changes to the role of guardians ad litem; and if she will engage with the organisation in relation to these concerns. [2476/26]
768. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her attention has been drawn to the work of an organisation (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [69136/25]
769. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will consider meeting with an organisation (details supplied) to discuss their concerns related to the welfare of children who are subject to court proceedings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [69137/25]
770. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her attention has been drawn to the concerns of members of an organisation (details supplied) related to the regulation of the guardian ad litem profession; the actions she will take to address these specific concerns; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [69138/25]
673. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is aware of the concerns raised by an organisation (details supplied) and their request to meet to discuss the issues in detail. [57045/25]