Written Answers Nos. 754-774
754. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to explain the drivers of the increase in State Claims Agency billing to her Department from approximately €250,000 in 2021 to over €2 million in 2025 (details supplied); and the risk factors, service failures, or litigation trends that account for this escalation. [65241/25]
View answerThe Department is currently collating the information requested and a reply will issue directly to the Deputy on this matter as soon as possible.
755. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department receives claim-level reports from the State Claims Agency detailing the category, cause, and cost of claims for which it is liable; and if so, whether she will publish anonymised versions of these reports to allow transparency on the risks driving expenditure. [65242/25]
View answerThe Department is currently collating the information requested and a reply will issue directly to the Deputy on this matter as soon as possible.
756. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department conducts root-cause analysis on claims that give rise to State Claims Agency costs; to identify if they stem from preventable failures for example, health and safety, service provision, accommodation standards, or administrative errors; and the actions taken as a result. [65244/25]
View answerThe Department is currently collating the information requested and a reply will issue directly to the Deputy on this matter as soon as possible.
757. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the vacancy staff rate for Children's Disability Network Teams based in CHO9 as of 30 September 2025. [65271/25]
View answerAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
758. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of student placements, by discipline that were offered for CDNTs within CHO9 in 2024 and to-date in 2025, in tabular form. [65272/25]
View answerAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
759. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the status of the establishment of the new board of the Adoption Authority of Ireland; the expected timeline for its appointment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65293/25]
View answerThe vacancies for the appointment of a chairperson, deputy chairperson and five ordinary members to the board of the Adoption Authority of Ireland were advertised by the Public Appointments Service/StateBoards on 15 July 2025 and the closing date for receipt of applications was 28 August 2025. The Public Appointments Service/State Boards has now completed its shortlisting process and submitted recommendations to the department for consideration. I expect to be finalising appointments to the board of the Adoption Authority of Ireland in the coming week.
760. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her plans to address the childcare capacity shortage in Dungarvan, County Waterford given that a large number of children are missing out on early years education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65373/25]
View answerImproving access to quality and affordable Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare is a key priority of Government.
Early learning and childcare capacity is increasing. Data from the Annual Early Years Sector Profile 2023/24 shows that the estimated number of enrolments increased by approximately 19% from the 2021/22 programme year. However, it appears that demand for early learning and childcare remains higher than available supply in certain parts of the country, particularly for younger children.
A forward planning model is in development which will be central to the Department's plans to achieve the policy goals set out in the Programme for Government to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early childhood education and care system, with State-led facilities adding capacity.
The Department continues to support the ongoing development and resourcing of Core Funding which has given rise to a significant expansion of places since the scheme was first introduced. Core Funding, which is in its fourth programme year, funds services based on the number of places available.
This provides stability to services, and reduces the risk associated with opening a new service or expanding an already existing service. For the third programme year (2024/25), the allocation for Core Funding allowed for a 6% increase in capacity. Budget 2025 secured funding for the fourth programme year (2025/6) to facilitate a further 3.5% increase from September 2025. Budget 2026 has made provision for the fifth programme year (2026/7) for a further expansion in supply of 4.2%.
This increased investment will allow increases in the natural growth of the sector driven both by new services joining the sector and existing services offering more places and/or longer hours to families.
The total allocation for Core Funding in 2026/2027 programme year will increase to €437 million, an increase of 15% on the current full year allocation.
The Government is also supporting the expansion of capacity through capital funding. The Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme is designed to increase capacity in the 1–3-year-old, pre–Early Childhood Care and Education, age range for full day care. Core Funding Partner Services could apply for capital funding to physically extend their premises or to construct or purchase new premises.
Capital funding allocated to the early learning and childcare sector under the National Development Plan has enabled significant investment in early learning and childcare. This allows existing Core Funding Partner Services to extend their existing premises or, in the case of community services, to construct or purchase new premises. The Scheme will deliver up to 1,500 full-day care places for 1- to 3-year-olds which will come on stream over the course of 2026.
As announced in the context of Budget 2026, €36 million will be available in 2026 for early learning and childcare capital programmes. This will include acquisitions of new buildings through the State-led early learning and childcare programme, investment in expansion of existing early learning and childcare operators through the Building Blocks scheme and a number of quality initiatives including supports to childminders.
The Programme for Government commits for the first time to provide capital investment to build or purchase state-owned early learning and childcare facilities, to create additional capacity in areas where unmet need exists. State ownership of facilities is a very substantial and significant development and offers the potential for much greater scope to influence the nature and volume of provision available and to ensure better alignment with estimated demand.
The Department funds 30 City/County Childcare Committees, which provide support and assist families and early learning and childcare providers. The network of 30 City/County Childcare Committees across the country can assist in identifying vacant places in services for children and families who need them and engage proactively with services to explore possibilities for expansion among services, particularly where there is unmet need.
Parents experiencing difficulty in relation to their early learning and childcare needs should contact their local City/County Childcare Committee for assistance. Contact details for the Waterford County Childcare Committee may be found at https://cccw.ie.
Current data on childcare capacity at county level is available at www.pobal.ie/childcare/capacity/
761. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the percentage of sponsored CHICK's across community creche setting versus private operators.; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65378/25]
View answerThe National Childcare Scheme (NCS) provides financial support to help reduce the cost of early learning and childcare for parents. A component of the Scheme is a Sponsorship referral which makes special provision for vulnerable children.
The NCS Sponsorship arrangement allows designated bodies to refer children to the Scheme where childcare is needed on child welfare, protection, family support or other specified grounds. Where a referral is made by a Sponsor body, the family will automatically qualify for a subsidy without having to satisfy the Scheme’s eligibility, income or enhanced hours requirements. The Scheme will pay the full cost of the childcare for families referred to the Scheme by a Sponsor Body.
Year-to-date, a total of 10,302 children have received NCS Sponsorship. The majority of children availing of NCS Sponsorship attend Community services. The following table outlines the number of children in receipt of Sponsored Subsidies broken down by Service type (YTD).
|
Service Provider Type |
Number of Children |
% of Total |
|
Community |
6067 |
59% |
|
Private |
4465 |
43% |
|
*Total Distinct Children |
10302 |
|
*Please note the 'Total Distinct Children' may not equal to the individual totals according to Service Provider Type. This is because there may be children with multiple registrations across numerous providers. This is reflected in the % totals exceeding 100% of overall total.
762. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total funding allocated to early learning and school age care from 2011 to 2025, by year; and the percentage of that yearly funding by modified GNI. [65379/25]
View answerThe Department is currently collating the information requested and a reply will issue directly to the Deputy in due course
763. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the actions being taken by her Department to address shortfalls in child services identified by various working groups (details supplied). [65406/25]
View answerThank you for your question, Deputy. A response will be provided directly to you in the coming days.
765. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of WTE dietitians, by grade posts that were filled at north Tipperary children's disability network team in 2023, 2024 and to-date in 2025, in tabular form. [65456/25]
View answerAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
766. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her plans to introduce a pay gap portal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65475/25]
View answer767. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the way in which the invitation list for feedback on the pay gap portal was decided. [65476/25]
View answer768. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if an organisation (details supplied) will be included in her Department's review of their draft gender pay gap portal. [65477/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 766, 767 and 768 together.
The Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 introduced the legislative basis for annual gender pay gap reporting in Ireland.
The Regulations under the Act require organisations with over 250 employees to report on their gender pay gap across a range of metrics and publish a statement setting out, in the employers’ opinion, the reasons for the gender pay gap in their company and what measures are being taken, or proposed to be taken, to eliminate or reduce that pay gap. Organisations with over 150 employees were required to report from 2024, while those with over 50 employees are required to report this year, 2025.
The Department has developed a Gender Pay Gap Portal which launched on the 18th of November 2025 and is now available for employers to register an account and to report on their gender pay gap on a voluntary basis.
Gender Pay Gap reports that are submitted on a voluntary basis will be published and will become accessible for the public to see, compare, and review in 2026. They will remain on the Portal when it becomes mandatory for all employers in scope of the legislation in 2026.
Employers with over 50 employees must still publish their gender pay gap reports on their website or make it accessible to the public in some other manner where they do not have a website, by the deadline of 30 November 2025.
The Department is currently preparing the public side of the Gender Pay Gap Portal, and the Equality and Gender Equality Unit engaged with the Department's Research and Evaluation Unit, and the Data Analytics Unit, as well as an academic who officials previously engaged with in the context of the Pay Transparency Directive to discuss the visualisation of data on the Gender Pay Gap Portal.
769. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will review the administrative requirements under the national childcare scheme regarding hourly attendance checks, in cases where creches operate on a fixed-rate billing model; if she will ensure families and providers are not penalised for discrepancies between claimed hours and actual attendance (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65533/25]
View answerMany families avail of the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) as a way to reduce the cost of their early learning and childcare. NCS subsidies are awarded as an hourly rate, along with a maximum number of weekly hours that the subsidy will be paid for. It is between the parent and provider to agree on the hours of childcare based on the family's requirements and what sessions the provider can offer.
The accurate recording of a child’s attendance is a core obligation under the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016 for early years providers and is one of the conditions set out in the NCS funding agreement.
As a condition of the scheme, providers are required to maintain an attendance record for each child in the service and provide this record for inspection on request. The attendance record must show the time the child entered and left the service. It is important that these records are maintained both to ensure that Exchequer funding is being used for times the child is actually in care, and as a child safeguarding measure.
This said, the rules of the Scheme are designed to be very flexible and an under-attendance report does not mean that action is immediately taken. In fact, parents can under-attend services for a consecutive 12 weeks before action is taken. The Department recognises that there are many reasons why a child’s attendance may be occasionally less than their agreed hours. For instance, a parent may be able to collect their child earlier than usual because of changes in their work pattern. It is only if continual under-attendance is recorded for a consecutive 12 weeks that the award will be revised to reflect the child’s actual hours.
In full detail, if a child attends fewer than their agreed hours for a consecutive 8 week period, the provider must notify the scheme administrator and a warning will issue to the parent alerting them to the situation. At this point, if the child attends their agreed hours for a full week after this warning is issued, then no further action is taken. However, if the under-attendance continues for a further four consecutive weeks, the number of subsidised hours awarded under the Scheme will be revised to reflect the average number of hours that were actually attended by the child over the previous 12-week period.
770. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is aware of concerns among Tusla staff in relation to changes being brought in from January 2026 which will see social care workers completing assessments on children, which only social workers are qualified to carry out, if she is aware of issues being raised with these changes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65560/25]
View answerThe Tusla Integrated Reform Programme is a significant change initiative which aims to improve the way in which Tusla delivers services to children and families and improve Tusla’s staff experience. Regions and Areas will be more equitable in size and will ensure that the totality of resources are targeted to where they most needed. The workforce will be multidisciplinary ensuring there is a diverse knowledge and skills base to respond to the multifaceted needs of children and families in Ireland today.
Like other European agencies Tusla is experiencing significant difficulties in recruiting and retaining social work practitioners and Tusla areas currently have a significant number of social work vacancies that it cannot fill, creating an emergency situation in some teams.
This has resulted in a risk management approach being adopted leading to areas prioritising social work resources to children where their knowledge and skill is most required and then maximising the knowledge and skill of other professions where they can competently respond to children needs. All this work continues to be overseen by social work managers.
Tusla wants to ensure that all professions operate within their proficiencies and are supported to develop and enhance that knowledge and skills overtime through continued professional development. Social workers and social care leader/workers are highly trained professionals, and Tusla wants to ensure that the work assigned to them is consistently in line with that competence and is always supported by effective supervision and oversight by a competent manager.
Tusla have developed a draft case allocation framework that sets out consistent approach to the allocation of cases all of which remain under the governance of social work management. The framework will ensure all professional staff are supported within their level of competency while continuing to have social work management oversight in their work ensuring effective case management.
The draft framework is an initial step to support a nationally consistent and competency-based approach and is currently subject to review and consultation by Fórsa in line with agreed processes.
Budget 2026 saw Tusla receive increased funding of €165m to continue providing vital child welfare and family support services bringing its funding up by 14 per cent to €1.37 billion.
This money will ensure that Tusla can continue to manage over 100,000 referrals annually. This investment supports Tusla’s multipronged, sustained strategy to address the recruitment and retention of child protection staff. In total, Tusla is funded to have over 3,200 social workers and social care workers in 2026 to deal with this number of referrals. Tusla is faced with an ever increasing number of referrals with greater complexity, as well as issues relating to social worker recruitment and retention.
There are Programme for Government commitments to support Tusla and ensure their structures are robust, responsive and capable of safeguarding every child in need, and to ensure that Tusla is supported in recruiting and retaining vital front-line staff and foster carers. The Department has ensured that social worker staffing is included as a priority in Tusla's Performance Framework 2024-2026 and the Department is supporting Tusla with a number of initiatives to retain and recruit social workers, and other disciplines, to meet demand for services.
Budget 2026 includes funding for innovative “earn and learn” social work and social care work apprenticeship courses programmes and sponsorship. University College Cork introduced two new pathways into social work in 2024, which is expected to increase annual graduate output by 20%.
In relating to the difficulties in recruiting additional social workers, there is a commitment in the programme for Government to double the number of college places for social workers. In June the Government approved an expansion in training places for a range of health and social care professionals. This will provide up to 361 additional student places by 2028, including college places for social workers.
771. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when transitional respite arrangements will be put in place for a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65572/25]
View answerAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly.
772. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will take steps to improve the working conditions of early years workers, recognising the valuable contribution they make to the lives of our youngest children and acknowledging the retention crisis facing the sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65868/25]
View answerFirst 5, the whole-of-Government strategy for babies, young children and their families, recognises that the Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare Workforce is at the heart of high-quality early learning and care.
The role of the early years educator and school-age childcare practitioner are valuable ones and they play an important part in supporting children's development, learning and care. It is acknowledged that those working in the early learning and care and school-age childcare sector do not receive the recognition they deserve.
Pay is one of a number of issues impacting the early learning and care and school-age childcare workforce. The level of pay for early years educators and school-age childcare practitioners does not reflect the value of their work for children, families, society and the economy.
Although the Government is the primary funder of the sector, it is not the employer and cannot directly set wages or conditions.
Improvement in pay is certainly key to improving recruitment and retention rates, as is the full implementation of Nurturing Skills.
The Joint Labour Committee is the formal mechanism established by which employer and employee representatives can negotiate minimum pay rates, which are set down in Employment Regulation Orders.
Outcomes from the Joint Labour Committee process are supported by Government through Core Funding. In this programme year 2025/26 Core Funding has increased by 6% to €350 million with an additional €45 million in ring-fenced Core Funding provided to support early learning and care services in meeting the increased cost of minimum pay rates in the sector.
As recently announced, the Minister of State for Employment, Small Business and Retail Alan Dillon has signed new Employment Regulation Orders for Early Years Educators and School-Age Practitioners.
The Orders commenced on 13th October 2025. They provide for an average of 10% increase to minimum hourly rates of pay. It is estimated that 67% of those working in the sector will see their wages increase as a result of the new minimum pay rates.
The Government remains committed to ‘continue to implement Employment Regulation Orders to attract and retain early years educators’ and to making available a similar sum in 2026 to support a further future round of pay improvements negotiations through the JLC process.
Staff in this sector play a key role in supporting children’s development and well-being. Recognising their central importance for the quality of provision, the Department continues to deliver on the workforce plan for the sector, Nurturing Skills.
Nurturing Skills aims to support the professional development of the workforce and sets out plans to raise the profile of careers in the sector, establish role profiles, career pathways, qualification requirements, along with leadership development opportunities.
To support the development of career pathways, the role profiles of educator, lead educator and manager, which were set out in Nurturing Skills, were given legal meaning when used as the basis for the Employment Regulations Orders for the sector. These Orders now embed a career structure by setting different rates of pay for the different role
773. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of WTE social workers, by grade posts, that were filled at north Kildare CDNT in the years 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form. [65880/25]
View answerAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible
774. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the 2025 and 2026 capital budget allocation for her Department, in tabular form. [65881/25]
View answerCapital Allocation 2025
Following a transfer of functions and a Further Revised Estimates for Public Service 2025, a Capital Allocation of €99.50 million was provided in respect of my Department for 2025. Please see table below for a detailed breakdown.
|
- |
2025 Further Revised Estimates (FREV) |
|
€000's |
€000's |
|
Capital Allocation |
€99,500 |
|
A.3 - CHILD AND FAMILY AGENCY |
€28,750 |
|
A.4 - YOUTH JUSTICE - INCLUDING OBERSTOWN CHILDREN DETENTION CAMPUS |
€2,250 |
|
B.5 - CHILDCARE PROGRAMMES: DELIVERY SUPPORTS AND OTHER INITIATIVES |
€30,000 |
|
B.6 - PLAY AND RECREATION |
€500 |
|
C.7 OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN FOR CHILDREN |
€350 |
|
C.8 RESPONSE TO LEGACY OF MOTHER AND BABY INSTITUTIONS |
€10,000 |
|
D.3 NATIONAL DISABILITY AUTHORITY |
€650 |
|
D.11 SPECIALIST DISABILITY SERVICES |
€27,000 |
Capital Allocation 2026
The Capital Allocation for this Department for 2026 will be set out in the forthcoming REV 2026.
