Written Answers Nos. 1883-1902
1883. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the engagement there has been with Tusla to staff unfilled positions in the agency; the work being done to recruit for these positions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74024/25]
View answerI wish to inform the Deputy that my officials have asked Tusla to respond directly to you on this matter.
1884. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the engagement there has been with the community and voluntary sector, which deals with referrals from Tusla, to expand capacity in that sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74025/25]
View answerThank you Deputy, for your question. As this matter relates to the funding and provision of family support services by Tusla, I have referred your question to Tusla for a direct response.
1885. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding the implementation of the new model of care for complex family cases referred to Tusla; the timeline for the implementation of the new model; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74026/25]
View answerThank you Deputy for your question on this topic, your clarification on the matter has been helpful.
As you are aware from the Joint Committee on Children and Equality discussion on Child Protection Matters and Special Emergency Accommodation in late November, this work is progressing and a model is expected to be agreed in Q2 2026 with further work to implement subsequent to that.
The significance of interagency work to this model of care is noted and the Child Care (Amendment) Bill contains new measures to strengthen inter-agency co-operation and national coordination on child protection. Designated public bodies will be required to proactively share information and collaborate to deliver more coordinated and effective services.
The Child Care (Amendment) Bill has been published and will be brought forward to the Houses in the coming weeks.
1886. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the interactions her Department has had with the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration regarding the creation of an inter-agency response to complex family cases and complex behavioural issues with children in community and residential care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74027/25]
View answerThe Programme for Government 2025, Securing Ireland's Future, made a commitment to update the Child Care Act, 1991. The Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2025 has now been published and I intend to bring it to the Houses of the Oireachtas in the coming weeks.
The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration have had sight of the Bill prior to publication, and at other stages prior to finalisation of the text of the Bill.
The Bill contains new measures to strengthen inter-agency co-operation and national coordination on child protection and welfare. Designated public bodies will have a duty to cooperate on child protection matters, and be required to proactively share information and collaborate to deliver more coordinated and effective services. This will be facilitated through the establishment of a Child Care Implementation and Inter-Agency Committee which will bring together all Government Departments, including the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, and State agencies who deliver services to families and children known to Tusla.
It is intended that the Committee’s functions would include a focus on problem identification and resolution, making sure that access to relevant and timely intervention is available for children who come to the attention of the Child and Family Agency, and their families. The establishment of a Statutory committee at this level is an acknowledgement that national leadership is necessary to drive co-operation in child protection and welfare matters across the State.
The Implementation and Interagency Committee will play a significant role in identifying and addressing policy or service gaps for children in care with complex, intersectional needs.
In advance of the establishment of the Child Care Implementation and Inter-Agency Committee on a statutory basis through the Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2025, an Interagency Group on Vulnerable Children was set up in 2024 comprising members from the Department of Children, Disability and Equality, Department of Health, Tusla and the HSE.
The group was set up to identify and address a range of challenges in the delivery of State services to a cohort of vulnerable children and young people. The Group has engaged on issues impacting vulnerable children including mental health and disability services, and the Joint Protocol for Interagency Collaboration between the HSE and Tusla.
1887. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the direct engagement, which has taken place between her Department and survivors affected by the safeguarding failures identified in a report (details supplied) including when such engagement occurred; and the way in which survivors’ views were reflected in the State’s response; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74061/25]
View answer1888. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether she accepts that survivors are central stakeholders in safeguarding and accountability processes, rather than peripheral to governance, audit, or compliance structures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74062/25]
View answer1889. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason Departmental funding for the National Safeguarding Officer role recommended by a person (details supplied) to be independent has ended; and the way in which genuine independence is being safeguarded where that role is now retained directly by a service (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74063/25]
View answer1890. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether she will commit to establishing a formal, survivor-centred engagement and accountability framework to apply where serious safeguarding failures occur in independent, voluntary, or charitable organisations involving children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74064/25]
View answer1891. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether she is concerned that emphasising the organisational independence of a service (details supplied) in the context of serious safeguarding failures involving children, risks signalling to survivors of child sexual abuse that the State does not stand with them; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74065/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1887 to 1891, inclusive together.
I wish to acknowledge the trauma associated with sexual abuse in childhood that continues into adulthood, affecting many aspects of a victim’s survivor’s life.
The Department continues to take the issue of child sexual abuse very seriously hence the Department's support to St. John Ambulance Ireland for the specific piece of work relating to the post of the National Safeguarding Officer. In June 2024, the Department took the initiative to fund the appointment of a National Safeguarding Officer for a specified period, on a once off basis, to ensure that the recommendations of Dr. Geoffrey Shannon’s report were fully implemented. This was to ensure that there is an extra layer of oversight and governance and to further strengthen the safeguarding regime in the organisation relating to safeguarding and child protection.
It is important to note that St John Ambulance Ireland is not a body under the aegis of the Department. It is an independent registered charity, and the Department has no role in the governance of the organisation. However, I have been very clear that all recommendations in the Shannon report should be complied with as soon as practicable by St. John Ambulance Ireland.
Officials in the Department, including the Social Work Specialist, met with the Commissioner of St. John Ambulance Ireland and the National Safeguarding Officer on 17th July last, to discuss the Service Level Agreement (SLA) in place between the Department and St. John Ambulance Ireland. This SLA covered the funding allocated to St. John Ambulance Ireland for the work of the National Safeguarding Officer and ran from June 2024 to June 2025.
At the meeting discussions were held on the governance and oversight of the SLA process as well as discussions on the implementation of Dr. Shannon’s recommendations, including the work of the National Safeguarding Officer. The SLA period between the Department and St. John Ambulance Ireland has now concluded, and it is the view of the Department that good progress has been made on the implementation of the Shannon recommendations and the work carried out by the National Safeguarding Officer.
The National Safeguarding Officer has reviewed the organisation’s Child Safeguarding Statement and its Child Safeguarding Policy and Procedures and changes to the safeguarding policies and procedures across the organisation have been implemented. This review was further informed by the outcome of an audit, undertaken by the National Safeguarding Officer, of all 22 St. John Ambulance Ireland branches around the country in respect of the implementation of Children First.
At the recent meeting in July, St. John Ambulance Ireland informed the Department that it was retaining the services of the National Safeguarding Officer on a consultancy and contractual basis. This post is being now funded by the organisation, rather than the Department. St. John Ambulance Ireland has advised the Department that the National Safeguarding Officer will continue to be independent of St. John Ambulance Ireland in his work and will report to the St. John Ambulance Ireland Board directly, at each Board meeting. Safeguarding is now a standing item at each Board meeting.
The National Safeguarding Officer has confirmed that they will produce an Annual Safeguarding Audit Report, and that these reports will be published. The update report provided for the Department (March 2025) and the Branch Audit Report on Cadet Divisions (August 2025) are published and available on the St. John Ambulance Ireland website.
The concerns and associated trauma which affects any victim – survivor, is of utmost importance. Following the publication of the Dr. Geoffrey Shannon Report, my predecessor Minister Roderic O’Gorman, met with a victim-survivor to discuss the implementation of the Shannon recommendations and the Safeguarding issues related to this organisation. The Department has also corresponded directly with some of the victim-survivors on a regular basis about their concerns.
The Children First Act 2015 provides for a number of key child protection measures, including raising awareness of child abuse and neglect, providing for mandated reporting of child protection concerns and improving child protection arrangements in organisations providing services to children. The Act places specific obligations on organisations (including independent, voluntary, or charitable organisations) that provide ‘relevant services’ to children and young people, including a requirement to keep children safe from harm while they are using the service, to carry out a risk assessment and to develop a Child Safeguarding Statement. This is a written statement that sets out the service provided and the principles and procedures in place to ensure, as much as possible, that a child or young person using the service is safe from harm.
1892. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide a list of AI pilot projects which have taken place in her Department within the past 12 months; the expenditure associated with those projects; and whether they are still ongoing, in tabular form. [74127/25]
View answerThe information sought by the Deputy is set out in the table below.
|
AI Pilot Project |
Status |
Cost |
|
Microsoft Copilot in Teams |
Currently enabled for all staff |
€0 |
|
HubSpot AI Assistant |
Currently enabled for a specific business team |
€0 |
1893. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when the allocation of funding to support a pay deal for early years educators and managers will be announced; when representative bodies for this sector will receive notification of same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74233/25]
View answerPay is one of a number of challenges 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.
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.
In October last year, new Employment Regulation Orders for Early Years Educators and School-Age Practitioners 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 saw their wages increase as a result of the new minimum pay rates.
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.
The Government remains committed to ‘continue to implement Employment Regulation Orders to attract and retain early years educators’ . I recently announced , as part of launch of Shaping the Future: Early Years Action Plan in December, another allocation of up to €15m of ring-fenced funding from September 2026, which amounts up to €45m for the full programme year, to support service providers with costs associated with possible increases in minimum rates of pay negotiated via the independent Joint Labour Committee process.
1894. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department will consider bringing the early years sector under the remit of the Ombudsman for Children's Office [74234/25]
View answerThe Ombudsman for Children's Office was established under the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002 as an independent statutory body whose mandate includes examining complaints from or on behalf of children on the actions of public bodies and on promoting the rights of children and young people in Ireland. It makes a positive contribution to the lives of children.
In respect of the Early Years Sector, the Ombudsman can already investigate complaints about the administration of public funding schemes, including actions undertaken by Pobal, the funding scheme administrator. In addition, the Ombudsman investigates complaints relating to community-based early learning and care (ELC), and school-age childcare (SAC) services. A challenge in considering the extension of the OCO’s powers to investigate complaints relating to private ELC/SAC services is that those services are private businesses and the State’s role is primarily one of the funder of services.
The early years sector consists of early learning and care (ELC), childminding and school-age childcare (SAC). Quality assurance of ELC settings currently includes inspections carried out by both the Tusla Early Years Inspectorate and the Department of Education and Youth Inspectorate, while inspection of childminding and SAC settings is undertaken by the Tusla Early Years Inspectorate only. In addition, financial compliance checks are carried out by Pobal, and inspections may be carried out by environmental health officers.
The Tusla Early Years Inspectorate is the independent statutory regulator for the early years sector under Part VIIA of the Child Care Act 1991. Tusla are committed to ensuring that children attending ELC, childminding and SAC services are safe, that they receive appropriate care and have a positive experience where they can develop and learn in a quality service. The sector is governed by a number of regulations which set the standards for registration, inspection and enforcement by Tusla. While Tusla do not carry out investigations of complaints, they have a “feedback and concerns” mechanism by which the public may make complaints about services, which will inform risk-based decision-making by Tusla on the prioritisation of inspections.
The Department of Education and Youth Inspectorate conducts education-focused inspections of ELC services that receive funding from the Department. These inspections evaluate the quality of the nature, range and appropriateness of the early educational experiences for children participating in ELC services. The Minister for Education and Youth is responsible for the oversight of the education inspections at the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality’s request.
Pobal, more specifically Pobal Compliance, Audit and Risk (CAR), are responsible for carrying out compliance inspections on providers in the ELC and SAC sector. These inspections are separate to the quality assurance inspections and are there to ensure that beneficiary scheme monies are being used appropriately and that risks to Exchequer funding are detected and minimised.
It should also be noted that every early years service is required under regulation to have a complaints policy and procedure. The complaints policy must specify how the complaint will be dealt with and the procedures in place for keeping the complainant informed regarding how the complaint is being managed. If the complaint has not been satisfactorily addressed through the service’s complaints policy and procedures or if the concern cannot be resolved, parents can contact the Tusla Early Years Inspectorate. Where the complaint relates to a breach of the Regulations, the Tusla Early Years Inspectorate will respond accordingly.
1895. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number on assessment of needs waiting lists by county in tabular form including how many are waiting more than 6 months; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74243/25]
View answerThe delivery of an effective, efficient Assessment of Need system is a priority for the Government. There has been intensive work by the Department of Children, Disability and Equality and the HSE to address delays in the provision of Assessments of Need.
Under the Disability Act, an Assessment of Need is an assessment process carried out by the HSE where a person is of the opinion that he/she may have a disability, for anyone born after 1st June 2002. It first establishes whether the person has a disability (as defined within the Act). It then identifies the health and education needs of the person with a disability and the services required to meet those needs.
It is important to note that children do not require an Assessment of Need to access health services, including Primary Care, Children’s Disability Network Teams or Mental Health Services.
However, demand for Assessments of Need has increased significantly in recent years, reflecting both the increase in population and the number of families exploring all options to access services for their child. The impact of this increased demand has contributed to there being over 18,000 applications overdue for completion nationwide at the end of September 2025 according to the most recently available HSE data.
More positively, there has been continued improvement in the number of completed assessment of need reports. Over 4,500 reports were completed in the first nine months of 2025 – a 57% increase compared to the same period in 2024.
The HSE provides Assessment of Need data on a quarterly basis but has advised this data is not available on a county level. In 2025, the HSE moved from reporting on Assessment of Need data at CHO level to Regional Health Area (RHA) level.
The following table- sets out the requested data by RHA for the first nine months of 2025, which is the latest data available. The “number of applications overdue for completion” column includes all assessment reports that were not completed within 6 months of receipt of an application.
|
AON Data by RHA |
Number of applications overdue for completion at the end of Q3 2025 |
|
HSE Dublin & North East |
5577 |
|
HSE Dublin & Midlands |
6585 |
|
HSE Dublin & South East |
2752 |
|
HSE South West |
1569 |
|
HSE Mid West |
482 |
|
HSE West & North West |
1132 |
|
TOTAL |
18097 |
In December 2025, Government announced a series of reforms to the Assessment of Need process which will make the process more effective and efficient for children and families. Over time, this should lead to a reduction in the waiting time to receive an assessment.
This reform includes changes to Part 2 of the Disability Act, 2005, which provides for Assessments of Need. The General Scheme of the Disability (Amendment) Bill 2025 which outlines these proposed changes was approved by Government on 9 December and will be published on the Department’s website shortly.
Any proposed legislative changes will not remove any rights for parents to apply for an Assessment of Need for their child, nor will they alter the statutory six-month timeline set out in the Disability Act.
Other aspects of the reform include:
• The development of statutory guidelines to ensure that Assessments of Need focus on identifying a child’s needs, engaging in more intensive assessments only where required to identify need. This should help reduce delays and allow therapists to spend more time delivering services.
• The establishment by the HSE of eleven new teams, initially, to support HSE assessment processes, including Assessments of Need. Each team will include a psychologist, a speech and language therapist, an occupational therapist, and an administrator, providing clinical guidance throughout the process.
The provision of an effective and efficient Assessment of Need system continues to be a priority for the Government.
1896. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether standards or service-level targets exist for her Department or bodies under the aegis of her Department, in responding to correspondence from members of local authorities; if compliance with such standards is monitored; the reasons for delays or failures to respond to correspondence from elected members; and the measures being taken to ensure more consistent and timely communication going forward. [74268/25]
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.
1897. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her plans to reform the national childcare scheme to cover children with complex medical needs who are deemed unsuitable for group childcare settings due to their circumstances; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74272/25]
View answerThe National Childcare Scheme (NCS) provides financial support to help parents reduce the cost of early learning and childcare in the form of a subsidy paid directly to a provider. Subsidies are available for children between 24 weeks and 15 years of age at a minimum rate of 2.14 per hour, available for up to 45 weekly hours. Additional income-assessed subsidies are available for families whose reckonable income is under €60,000.
All Tusla-registered providers are eligible to offer both the ECCE Programme and the National Childcare Scheme. This ensures that public funding is provided where there is assurance of the quality of provision. Only early years providers who are registered with Tusla can offer the ECCE Programme or the National Childcare Scheme to families that avail of their services. Under the Childcare Support Act 2018, which provides the statutory basis for the National Childcare Scheme, the Scheme is only open to Tusla-registered early years providers, which includes pre-schools, school age services, and childminders.
All paid, non-relative childminders who work in their own homes can register with Tusla and access the National Childcare Scheme. Childminders are a hugely important part of early learning and care and school-age childcare provision, and they continue to be the option of choice for many families.
Each childminder may mind between 1 and 6 children at once, subject to certain restrictions.
A key element of the legislative scheme for registration and regulation of early years services, including childminding services, is that minimum legal standards of care are met in such services and, further, that services which are publicly funded or subsidised (including through the NCS) meet those standards.
As part of the scheme standards must therefore be met by the premises in which the service is to be provided. The regulations governing the registration and regulation of early years services (SI 221 of 2016, SI 575 of 2018 and SI 494 of 2024) are extensive and set out these minimum standards. They include requirements for, garda vetting, fire safety standards, adequate space provided for children, requirements in relation to food and drink and other matters. Government funding is only available for duly registered services which meet these minimum requirements as set out in the relevant regulations. This Department is committed to supporting children with complex needs to participate in regulated early learning and care.
The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) was introduced in 2016 to ensure that children with a disability can access and participate in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme. AIM provides both universal supports to pre-school settings and targeted supports tailored to individual children’s needs, without requiring a formal diagnosis.
AIM also provides supports for children with complex healthcare needs in the ECCE programme through an extension of the HSE (Health Service Executive) Paediatric Home Care Package (PHCP), which enables their attendance at preschool. This Complex Healthcare Needs (CHN) trial is being undertaken in a collaboration between this Department, the Department of Health, and the Health Service Executive (HSE).
AIM is now being extended on a phased basis. Since September 2024, targeted AIM supports have been available to ECCE-eligible children outside of ECCE hours—both during term time and in holiday periods. Children can now access up to three additional hours per day during the ECCE term and up to six hours per day outside of term, through the National Childcare Scheme (NCS). The Programme for Government commits to ‘examine and expand the Access and Inclusion Model and make it available to younger children.’ Work is underway on a tailored model to extend AIM to children under three years of age, to enable their participation in early learning and care within Tusla-registered early years settings.
An evaluation of the NCS is due to start in early 2026. This evaluation will review how the Scheme has performed to date and identify any potential enhancements that could be made to better support diverse families with their early learning and childcare costs within Tusla-registered settings, and will be a key input to Phase 2 of the Shaping the Future Early Years Action Plan. The process will include extensive stakeholder consultation with parents, providers, and representative groups, as well as a comprehensive review of national and international research and best practice.
1898. Deputy Aisling Dempsey asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when the national policy of the rights of children living in informal kinship care will be published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74295/25]
View answer1899. Deputy Aisling Dempsey asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if all informal kinship care arrangements will be recognised in Ireland as they are internationally as a form of alternative care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74296/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1898 and 1899 together.
The Programme for Government contains a commitment with regard to kinship carers. Accordingly, the Department is in the process of developing a national policy on the rights of children living in informal kinship care. Considerable work is already underway with the intention to finalise the policy by autumn 2026.
To date, as part of the development of the national policy the Department:
• is in the process of finalising the scoping exercise on informal kinship care in Ireland. This exercise covers a review of:
• the existing relevant legislation;
• the current reality for families in informal kinship care arrangements including their current access to supports;
• national and international literature and international perspectives and examples of best practice;
• is ensuring that the voice of the child is present from the earliest possible stage. Accordingly, children and young people with experience of informal kinship care arrangements have been consulted and this concluded in September 2025.
• This approach is aligned with Article 12 of the UNCRC and the requirement that the child's views must be considered and taken into account, in all matters affecting him or her;
• is concluding research to better understand the experiences of kinship carers, which will be finalised in early 2026;
• is concluding a consultation, via survey, with parents of children with experience of informal kinship care, which will also be completed in early 2026.
This is a very sensitive and complex issue and the Department is working closely with stakeholders such as Kinship Care Ireland. With regards to the recognition of all informal kinship arrangements, as the policy development is ongoing, it would not be possible at this time to confirm whether this will be a recommendation of the policy or not. However, the Programme for Government gives a commitment to improve support for informal kinship care and to enhance outcomes for informal kinship families and the Department and I are committed to this.
Once the actions detailed above are completed and considered, the Department expects to be in a position to draft preliminary policy recommendations, based on the findings from the consultations and research pieces I have detailed already, for consideration by the Steering and Advisory Groups for the development of the national policy, and myself, before the summer and to finalise the policy in autumn 2026. Of course, this timeline is dependent on the engagement and agreement of other Departments and Cabinet colleagues.
1900. Deputy Aisling Dempsey asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if all formal kinship carers are paid the same allowances as foster carers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74315/25]
View answerFoster carers play a vital and valued role in the care of the most vulnerable children in our society. Foster care is the preferred option for children who cannot live with their family of origin, and foster carers provide a safe, secure and stable home environment for these vulnerable children and young people.
This Department has overseen record investment in foster carers, including a 21% increase to the foster care allowance over the past two years, resulting in the current weekly allowance for children in foster care of €400 per week for children aged under 12, and €425 per week for those over 12.
I can confirm that both general foster carers and relative foster carers are paid the same rates of the foster carer allowance when a child is placed with them by Tusla.
1901. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the status of the proposal to enshrine discrimination on the basis of socio-economic status as a non-discrimination ground, as outlined in the general scheme of the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024; the next steps her Department is taking on this issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74366/25]
View answer1952. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when her Department will complete its assessment of the potential costs for the Exchequer, and an enhanced SME test, of the General Scheme of the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [75032/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1901 and 1952 together.
In November 2024, Government approved the publication of the General Scheme of the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, which includes a number of legislative provisions arising from a review of Ireland’s equality legislation.
At the same time, approval was granted, in principle, for the introduction of a new equality ground of socio-economic disadvantage in Ireland’s equality legislation, subject to the completion of an assessment of the potential costs for the Exchequer and of the Enhanced SME test examining the potential impact on SMEs of the introduction of such an equality ground.
Detailed work has already been undertaken on assessing these and other impacts, including through consultation with relevant stakeholders, and drawing on
• academic studies from Ireland and abroad,
• submissions relating to this topic received as part of the Review of the Equality Acts,
• recent Private Member’s Bills, and
• the legislation of other jurisdictions, and rulings made in these jurisdictions on equality cases.
The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Equality undertook pre-legislative scrutiny of the General Scheme and issued its report in October 2025. Officials in my Department are considering the recommendations of the report, including those relating to the introduction of a socio-economic disadvantage ground, before finalising this work.
1902. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether she has assessed the risk of serious unintended consequences arising from her reform proposals (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74367/25]
View answerThe Child Care (Amendment) Act 2022 establishes a statutory framework for the Guardian ad litem role, ensuring that children’s voices are heard in court proceedings and recommendations on their best interests are provided to the Court. This reform strengthens children’s rights by embedding a statutory, regulated Guardian ad litem system that ensures their voices are heard in public child care proceedings. The Child Care (Amendment) Act 2022 aligns with Article 42A of the Constitution, reinforcing the child’s right to have their views considered in decisions affecting them.
The Act explicitly safeguards the independence of Guardians ad litem role under Section 35E, which states that Guardians ad litem role shall perform their functions independently of all parties, including the State. This independence is reinforced through clear governance structures, professional codes, and statutory safeguards within the operational model of the Guardian ad litem National Service.
The Act, under Section 35D, also explicitly outlines that Guardians ad litem will have routine access to legal advice and, where necessary, legal representation to support their role effectively. All advice sought remains legally privileged. Operational procedures are being finalised to ensure Guardians ad litem can request representation where necessary, strengthening their ability to advocate for the child’s best interests and ensuring fairness in proceedings.
The Department remains committed to protecting Guardian ad litem independence through statutory safeguards, ensuring legal representation for Guardians ad litem where necessary, publishing operational policies and maintaining transparency, preventing waiting lists and safeguarding workforce stability.
The Guardian ad litem National Service has developed a comprehensive implementation plan to establish this new service and is available on www.gov.ie/GAL. Detailed operational policies are currently being finalised in consultation with stakeholders, including AGALI. The recruitment process for Guardians ad litem is being phased to ensure the continuity of the service and to avoid disruption to the current service provided for children. The Department recognises the reform programme workforce challenges and have proposed a grade structure prioritising existing Guardians ad litem to minimise impact on Tusla’s current child protection roles. Recruitment will focus on professionals who are already working as Guardians ad litem, ensuring continuity and avoiding destabilisation of frontline services. The implementation plan includes capacity planning and resourcing measures to prevent waiting lists. Budget 2026 allocates €12 million to the Guardian ad litem National Service to ensure adequate staffing and infrastructures are in place. The Department is committed to maintaining timely access to Guardians ad litem for all children.
The Department remains committed to transparency, safeguarding workforce stability, and ensuring timely access to Guardians ad litem for all children. I can confirm that the Guardian ad litem National Service will continue their engagement with AGALI in preparation for the commencement of the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2022.
