Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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419. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 1587 of 9 June 2026, given the confirmation that Tusla maintains no key performance indicator for time-to-permanency, whether her Department has assessed the absence of such an indicator as a governance or child-welfare risk; whether this absence is recorded on any Tusla or Departmental risk register; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50649/26]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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420. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 961 of 26 May 2026, if she will commit to the introduction of a national key performance indicator, benchmark or target timeframe for the achievement of permanency outcomes for children in care; the timeframe for its introduction; and if not, the reasons therefor. [50650/26]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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421. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number and proportion of children in the care of the State for periods of five years or more, and ten years or more, respectively, as of the latest available date; whether her Department monitors the size of this cohort as an indicator of care drift; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50651/26]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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422. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 474 of 14 May 2026, to confirm whether the Tusla Board receives any aggregate metric relating to time-to-permanency, placement drift, placement instability or repeat care episodes; and if no such metric is reported to the Board, whether she will direct that Board-level reporting on these matters be established. [50652/26]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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423. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 1604 of 9 June 2026, in which it was stated that the number of children who have experienced more than five placement changes is not centrally collated, whether Tusla measures placement stability by any national metric; whether her Department will direct that data on placement changes be centrally collated; and the timeframe for same. [50653/26]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 419, 420, 421, 422 and 423 together.

I would like to thank the Deputy for this question regarding permanency and stability for children in the care of the State.

Tusla has developed a policy and operational document relating to permanency planning for children in care, the Pathways to Permanency Handbook. This document supports social work practitioners and decision makers in their aim to ensure stable and safe care placements for children.

Detailed information in relation to permanency and placements for children in care is available through Tusla’s annual Review of Adequacy report, available on the Tusla website: www.tusla.ie/publications/review-of-adequacy-reports/. Tusla also publishes data through its Data Hub, available online at: .

Officials within the Department are currently progressing the development of a National Policy Framework for Alternative Care. Matters pertaining to permanency will form part of the deliberative process preceding the publication of the Framework.

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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424. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 1546 of 9 June 2026, which did not provide the information sought, the number of children who remained in a special emergency arrangement for periods exceeding three, six, and 12 months respectively, in each of the years 2022 to 2025; and if the data is not held in that form, to state same explicitly. [50654/26]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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425. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children currently in a special emergency arrangement for longer than the 45-day maximum provided for in State policy; the longest single current duration; and in each such case whether the placement has been registered as a children's residential centre, has ceased operating, or has been designated to operate under Section 59(a) of the Child Care Act 1991. [50655/26]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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426. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality in respect of special emergency arrangements operating under Section 59(a) of the Child Care Act 1991, the number currently so designated; whether the Health Information and Quality Authority has been notified of each; and the number inspected by the Authority in 2025 and to date in 2026. [50656/26]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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441. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 841 of 19 May 2026, the average duration of a special emergency arrangement placement for mainstream children in each year since 2022; and the number of such placements that were in unregistered settings. [50771/26]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 424, 425, 426 and 441 together.

I would like to thank the Deputy for this question regarding Special Emergency Arrangements (SEAs) for children in the care of the State.

While Tusla, supported by the Department, is working to reduce reliance on SEAs, the Agency is facing significant and ongoing challenges in sourcing appropriate placements for children in the care of the State. This is due to a number of factors, including difficulties in recruiting staff, the complexity of the presentation of some children, and the unprecedented increase in the number of Separated Children Seeking International Protection (SCSIP) requiring Tusla services.

Both Tusla and the Department share a common aim to meet the needs of all children in mainstream alternative care placements, and to reduce Tusla's operation of SEAs.

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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427. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 1639 of 9 June 2026, whether her Department will direct Tusla to centrally record and analyse the proportion of Emergency Care Order applications that progress to Interim Care Orders, Care Orders or Supervision Orders; and the reasons this information is not currently collated, given its relevance to oversight of emergency child-protection interventions. [50657/26]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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428. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 1640 of 9 June 2026, to confirm whether any key performance indicator, governance metric or audit measure of any kind exists in respect of the use of Emergency Care Orders under Section 13 of the Child Care Act 1991; and if none exists, whether she will direct that such oversight arrangements be put in place. [50659/26]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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432. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 876 of 19 May 2026, whether Tusla will commence collection of data on the number of children under one year of age subject to an emergency care order who are subsequently returned to parental care; and the timeframe for same. [50663/26]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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433. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 499 of 28 May 2026, whether the absence of a national guidance, benchmark or threshold framework governing emergency care order applications under section 13 of the Child Care Act 1991 has been assessed as a risk; and whether her Department intends to develop such a framework. [50664/26]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 427, 428, 432 and 433 together.

I would like to thank the Deputy for this question regarding urgent entry into care for children at risk in the community.

Tusla is statutorily independent in the performance of its functions under Section 8(11) of the Child and Family Agency Act 2013. Accordingly, the Department does not issue directions in relation to operational decision-making around applications for Emergency Care Orders under Sections 13 of the Child Care Act 1991.

Tusla is engaged in a digital transformation and data management strategy. This strategy is delivering a joined up digital and data environment that provides modern, secure, integrated systems to support the delivery of all Tusla services and improve data insights and metric development.

Further detailed information in relation to care orders is available through Tusla’s annual Review of Adequacy report, available on the Tusla website: www.tusla.ie/publications/review-of-adequacy-reports/. Tusla also publishes data through its Data Hub, available online at: .