Written answers
Thursday, 23 April 2026
Department of Children, Disability and Equality
- Childcare Services
125. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will examine the dependence on for-profit provision of childcare in delivering childcare; if she will take steps to increase... - Disability Services
126. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the steps she is taking to reduce waiting times for residential respite care for children and young people with disabilities in... - Disabilities Assessments
133. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children on waiting lists for assessment of needs in Dublin Mid-West; the average waiting times for assessments in the... - Childcare Services
135. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will take steps to deal with the issue of unused childcare facilities in private residential developments; and if she will... - Disability Services
136. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is satisfied with the delivery of the Action Plan for Disability Services 2024-2026, considering significantly lower levels... - Childcare Services
138. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when the building blocks scheme will open for applications in 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29097/26] - Disability Services
139. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the actions being taken to address the issues raised by a group (details supplied) concerning ageing parents who continue to provide... - Childcare Services
140. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if amendments to the national childcare scheme subsidy are being considered to allow parents flexibility in collecting children from... - Disability Services
141. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if equine therapy facilities will be developed at the HSE’s Toghermore campus in Tuam, County Galway; and if she will make a... - Early Childhood Care and Education
142. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of early learning and care facilities built as part of large developments that are not utilised for that purpose in... - Childcare Services
143. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to report on the progress her Department has made in updating the National Childcare Scheme website to include historical fees of... - Disability Services
146. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on the status and number of operational respite beds for children with disabilities in Cork; and if she will make a... - Artificial Intelligence
148. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her Department's use of artificial intelligence in developing policy materials and responding to parliamentary questions. [28591/26] - Childcare Services
149. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the measures she will take to increase pay and improve conditions for workers in childcare; and if she will make a statement on the... - Disabilities Assessments
150. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on assessments of need waiting lists in County Meath; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28426/26] - Childcare Services
151. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department has overspent on the research and development project on a National Childcare Agency; and if she will outline... - International Protection
153. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the mechanism by which it is ensured that unaccompanied minors seeking international protection are not accommodated alongside those... - Disability Services
154. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality how her Department is working with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Department of Health, as well as... - Childcare Services
156. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department is progressing a plan to provide State-run childcare. [29154/26] - Disability Services
157. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to explain the difference in early years disability support funding between CHO8 Louth/Meath and CHO1 Cavan/Monaghan, particularly... - Health Services
160. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the engagement her Department has had with the Department of Health on the proposed implementation of the single point of access... - Disability Services
161. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the progress made on the issues raised by a group (details supplied) since meeting with the group in January 2026; and if she will... - Childcare Services
162. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when a review into childminding regulations will commence; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28750/26] - Early Childhood Care and Education
163. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on the review of the 2001 planning guidelines for local authorities on early learning and childcare settings, in order... - Employment Support Services
166. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the action she has taken to improve supports for disabled entrepreneurs and self-employed people. [28233/26] - Childcare Services
167. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on the measures being taken to reduce the administrative burden on childcare providers; and if she will make a... - Early Childhood Care and Education
169. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide an update on her engagement regarding possible charges of commercial rates to childminders and ECCE providers; and if she... - Childcare Services
170. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to consider Dublin 15 in the first round of projects under the State-led childcare programme; and if she will make a statement on... - Early Childhood Care and Education
172. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will provide an update on developing State-led early learning and childcare facilities; the number of project proposals... - Disabilities Assessments
173. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether she is aware that there is currently a 36 month waiting list for assessment of need in Cork. [28234/26] - Childcare Services
174. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will provide an update on the application by Glanmire, County Cork to the recently announced public childcare fund; and if... - Disability Services
176. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the progress that has been made on recruiting speech therapists for children with disabilities in Laois; the number of these posts... - Childcare Services
179. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the progress on the evaluation framework for Core Funding; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29166/26] - Child and Family Agency
181. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether it is Government policy to phase out, regularise, or continue the use of unregulated special emergency arrangements by... - Childcare Services
182. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding developments towards reaching the commitment to reducing childcare costs to €200 per child, per month,... - Disability Services
183. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will report on the current funding model for disability support groups (details supplied) in relation to the home support... - Children in Care
187. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to report on her engagement to date with the Irish Foster Care Association; and if she will outline the work her Department has done... - Disability Services
188. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to identify health regions where significant discrepancies in staffing exists between CDNTs; and the recruitment steps she will take... - Child and Family Agency
190. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of complaints made directly by children to Tusla in each of the past five years; the categories of complaints received;... - Disability Services
191. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of additional residential placements for persons with intellectual disabilities that are planned or in development by the... - Child and Family Agency
192. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of allegations or reports of abuse made by or on behalf of children while in the care of Tusla in each of the past five... - Early Childhood Care and Education
194. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her plans to deliver State-led early learning and childcare facilities; if there are specific proposals in County Meath, given the... - Disability Services
195. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if approval has been given to recruit occupational therapists for paediatrics and younger persons with disabilities in Laois; the... - Childcare Services
196. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if childcare costs will be reduced in light of the worsening cost of living crisis; and if she will make a statement on the matter.... - Disabilities Assessments
197. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children in Cavan and Monaghan that received an assessment of need within the statutory timeframe in the years 2024 to... - An Ghaeltacht
199. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality an bhfuil sí ar an eolas faoi na deacrachtaí éagsúla a bhaineann le hearcú foirne le haghaidh cúram... - Childcare Services
200. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the work her Department is undertaking to deliver accessible and affordable community childcare for families living in north County... - Early Childhood Care and Education
201. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if priority will be given to sites with plenty of open space for the purchase of premises for State-led early years facilities; and... - Childcare Services
202. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department will examine the way to make the large number of unused childcare facilities built as part of housing developments... - Departmental Strategies
204. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide an update on progress in implementing the key commitments set out in the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled... - Disability Services
205. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the waiting list in each area for residential care places for adults with disabilities; the average waiting times; and the plan in... - Child and Family Agency
206. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide the number of Tusla staff who resigned, retired, or otherwise left employment, broken down by grade, for each year from... - Childcare Services
207. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the measures she will take to address the issue of staff turnover in childcare; and if she will make a statement on the matter.... - Disability Services
209. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on CDNT waiting lists for assessments and therapies in County Galway; and if she will make a statement on the matter....
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