Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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170. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to confirm the number of publicly provided residential care places for children, available in each year from 2020 to 2024, and the number available in 2025, in tabular form; the additional number of regulated places added in each year, either public or private; the plans for adding new public places in 2025; the additional funding in place for 2025 to provide new places; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24609/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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As this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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171. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the estimated average capital cost and current expenditure operating cost respectively of providing each new publicly provided residential care place for children; to provide a breakdown of staffing costs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24610/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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As this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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172. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the plans in place to phase out the use of special emergency arrangements by Tusla; the progress made over the past year on achieving this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24611/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Tusla has indicated that it is facing significant and ongoing challenges in sourcing appropriate placements for children in the care of the State. When residential care and foster care are unavailable, a Special Emergency Arrangement (SEA) is used to ensure an immediate place of safety. Where children are placed in an SEA, regular reviews are required and a child may only be placed in an SEA if it is judged to be the most suitable placement available at the time. All efforts are made by Tusla to move children from SEAs and into mainstream alternative care placements as quickly as possible.

A number of actions are being undertaken by my Department and Tusla to ensure the availability of suitable placements for children in care. These include:

• The Foster Care Allowance was increased by 21% last year in order to support the recruitment and retention of foster carers. Additionally, in 2025 foster carers will receive a bonus payment at the start of each initial foster care placement. I was also pleased to announce additional mileage support for foster carers who have significant travel responsibilities for children in their care.
• My Department will continue to prioritise residential care in the ongoing capital investment funding engagements with the Department of Public Expenditure, in the next iteration of the National Development Plan.
• An increase of €145 million was secured in Budget 2025, representing a 14% increase in Tusla’s total budget. This brings Tusla’s total funding to over €1.2 billion for 2025. This increase includes an additional €21m in 2025 in relation to residential care.
• Tusla’s Alternative Care Inspection and Monitoring Service (ACIMS) has met with each SEA provider to support moves to registered regulated services. Tusla has advised that over the months of January 2025 to May 2025, ACIMS have met and actively engaged with 14 current SEA providers on the process of registering their centres. Since May 2024, five SEA providers for 11 centres have successfully registered a centre with the ACIMS. There are a number of active applications and ACIMS anticipate some of these applications may be presented at a meeting of the Registration Committee in 2025.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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173. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of children in foster care arrangements in each year from 2020 to 2024, and to date in 2025; the number of households offering foster care in each of those years, and the increase or decrease in each year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24612/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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As this relates to information held by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, the question has been forwarded to the Agency for direct reply to the Deputy.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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174. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of children currently in special emergency arrangements; the number in SEAs as of 31 April 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24613/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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As this relates to information held by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, the question has been forwarded to the Agency for direct reply to the Deputy.