Alan Kelly
Question:738. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of WTE psychologists by grade posts filled at each CDNT within CHO3 as of 24 February 2026, in tabular form. [16497/26]
View answerHealth Services Staff
Questions (738)
Written answers
As this question refers to the service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
Health Services Staff
Questions (739)
Alan Kelly
Question:739. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the vacancy rate for CDNTs in CHO3 as of 31 December 2025. [16498/26]
View answerWritten answers
As this question refers to the service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
Departmental Schemes
Questions (740)
Albert Dolan
Question:740. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to list all schemes, funding programmes, capital funds, grant streams or other expenditure headings administered by her Department in 2025 and 2026 which result in allocations, awards, or spending that can be identified with a specific geographical location including county, district, town, or project site, to group these by funding stream or programme heading; to indicate, for each scheme, whether details of allocations or awards are published online; and if so, where such information may be accessed. [16544/26]
View answerWritten answers
The Department is currently collating the information requested and a reply will issue directly to the Deputy on this matter as soon as possible.
Departmental Data
Questions (741)
Albert Dolan
Question:741. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide the web link to her Department’s Q4 2025 published report of purchase orders/payments over €20,000, in line with the FOI model publication scheme requirements; the date on which this report was published; and if it has not yet been published, the planned publication date. [16562/26]
View answerWritten answers
The Department published our Q4 2025 report on purchase orders over €20,000 on 25 February 2026.
It is available on our website:
Departmental Data
Questions (742)
Albert Dolan
Question:742. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to confirm, in respect of her Department’s published quarterly reports of procurement-related payments or purchase orders over €20,000 (details supplied), where such reports are published in PDF format but originate from an Excel or similar spreadsheet file, that the underlying data was fully expanded and validated prior to conversion so that all columns including supplier names and descriptions are fully visible and readable in the published document; to clarify whether any quality assurance process is applied to ensure that data is not truncated or partially obscured in the PDF version; and where the source file exists in machine-readable format, whether her Department will make the original Excel or CSV file available alongside the PDF in the interest of transparency, accessibility and data re-use. [16579/26]
View answerWritten answers
The Department operates a quality control process to ensure that information such as supplier name and description is extracted from our finance system in full. This information is screened by Finance Unit officials and is confirmed by the relevant line unit prior to publication. The Department began publishing returns on Purchase Orders over €20,000 in Microsoft Excel format, as of Q2 2025. The Department will review and correct any truncated or obscured details in content published on our site prior to the enhancement of these quality control processes.
Health Services
Questions (743)
Ann Graves
Question:743. Deputy Ann Graves asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of people with intellectual difficulties awaiting residential services across the State, broken down by CHO region, in tabular form. [16600/26]
View answerWritten answers
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.
Maternity Leave
Questions (744, 745)
Emer Currie
Question:744. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the percentage and number of women that availed of their full entitlement of maternity leave in each of the years 2020 to 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16671/26]
View answerEmer Currie
Question:745. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the percentage and number of women that availed of their full entitlement of parents leave in each of the years 2020 to 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16672/26]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 744 and 745 together.
There have been significant developments in entitlements for parents of working families in recent years. The Government is committed to supporting workers, including by extending paid leave for parents to allow them to spend more time with their child during their earliest years.
The Maternity Protection Act 1994 and the Maternity Protection (Amendment) Act 2004 provide a pregnant employee with 26 weeks of paid maternity leave and an additional 16 weeks of unpaid leave, alongside other entitlements such as breastfeeding breaks after the return to work, which have been extended to two years following the birth of the child, through the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023. Furthermore, since 20 November 2024, employees can postpone their maternity leave if they require ongoing treatment for a serious health condition as set out in the Maternity Protection, Employment Equality and Preservation of Certain Records Act 2024.
Maternity Benefit claims registered and awarded, by year, for years 2020 to 2024, can be seen in the following table:
|
Year |
Claims Registered |
Claims Awarded |
|
2020 |
41,987 |
40,293 |
|
2021 |
45,938 |
43,283 |
|
2022 |
42,131 |
40,897 |
|
2023 |
43,253 |
40,657 |
|
2024 |
42,434 |
40,121 |
Under the Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019, working parents are now entitled to nine weeks of paid parent's leave for each relevant parent, to be taken in the first two years after the birth or adoptive placement of a child. Parent's Leave is an individual separate entitlement and is non-transferable between parents.
Parent's Benefit claims registered and awarded, by year, for years 2020 to 2025, can be seen in the following table. Please note that there is no disaggregated data available.
|
Year |
Claims Registered |
Claims Awarded |
|
2020 |
16,973 |
16,683 |
|
2021 |
51,972 |
51,395 |
|
2022 |
77,015 |
75,603 |
|
2023 |
76,935 |
78,189 |
|
2024 |
92,820 |
90,660 |
|
2025 |
93,671 |
95,721 |
The publication “Employment Analysis of Maternity and Paternity Benefits” was first published in June 2020 with a follow up release in May 2023 as part of the CSO’s Frontier Series Outputs. CSO Frontier Series may use new methods which are under development and / or data sources which may be incomplete, for example new administrative data sources. Details on this release can be found on the CSO website. The most recent publication covers the period 2019 to 2022 and relates to those who received a benefit payment from the Department of Social Protection in the reference year. This release is currently being updated, incorporating the latest data available. The exact release date will be added to the CSO release calendar prior to publication.
Question No. 745 answered with Question No. 744.
Parental Leave
Questions (746)
Pádraig Rice
Question:746. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her plans over the course of this Government to increase paid leave for new parents and the rate of payment they receive from her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16694/26]
View answerWritten answers
Significant improvements have been made in the entitlements to paid leaves in recent years, including by extending paid parent's leave for parents to allow them to spend more time with their baby during their earliest years. As the Deputy will be aware, the rate of benefit for Maternity, Paternity, Adoptive and Parents Leave is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Social Protection.
The Maternity Protection Act 1994 and the Maternity Protection (Amendment) Act 2004 provide a pregnant employee with 26 weeks leave for which maternity benefit is paid at a rate of €299 per week, and 16 weeks additional unpaid leave, giving 42 weeks in total. Expectant mothers are entitled to this leave alongside other entitlements such as breastfeeding breaks after the return to work, which have been extended to two years following the birth of the child through the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023. Maternity leave can now also be postponed in the case of serious illness, as set out in the Maternity Protection, Employment Equality and Preservation of Certain Records Act 2024.
The Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016 provides leave of 2 weeks for the relevant parent (other than the mother of the child), for which paternity benefit is paid at a rate of €299 per week.
Under the Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019, working parent's are entitled to 9 weeks of leave, for which parent's benefit is paid at a rate of €289, for each relevant parent of children under 2 years.
A key priority in First 5, the whole of Government Strategy for babies, young children and their families (2019-2028) is to support parents to look after their babies at home for the whole of their first year given the benefits of parental care in that first year for children’s outcomes. The Programme for Government sets out a commitment to examine the possible extension of parent's leave and benefit and additional flexibilities.
The next National Strategy for Women and Girls, which was launched November 2025, will consider ways to support working families in balancing the competing demands of family and work through its two dedicated Actions Plans, the first of which is due to be published in early 2026. The Programme for Government also includes commitments to introduce Pay-Related Parent’s Benefit and explore other payments where a similar model could be applied. Work is ongoing within the Department of Social Protection to examine potential models for a Pay-Related Parent’s Benefit.
Disability Services
Questions (747)
Richard Boyd Barrett
Question:747. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her attention has been drawn to the profound worry parents of children with intellectual and other disabilities face when they consider the future and what may happen to their children and who will care for them when they cannot, especially disabled children with no siblings or wider support network; the key aspects of the Disability Action Plan (2024-2026) in relation to the 900 additional places to address the demographic need by 2026 and, in addition, inform worried parents what will happen to their disabled children beyond this date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16860/26]
View answerWritten answers
I wish to recognise the vital work carried out by family carers of people with disabilities to support their loved ones.
There are currently a number of supports available to assist ageing parents in supporting their adult children with disabilities. These supports include day services, respite services, home support services, personal assistance and residential supports.
These supports are aimed at supporting people with disabilities to remain in their family homes for as long as they and their families wish. However, the Department acknowledges that in many cases, a person with an intellectual disability will require full-time residential care once their main carers are no longer in a position to do so.
The Programme for Government commits to developing a multi-year capital plan for investment in residential and independent living options for both adults and children, and to tackle waiting lists for specialist disability services by implementation of the Action Plan for Disability Services 2024-6, and resourcing and delivering on its targets.
The Department of Children, Disability and Equality, alongside the HSE, is continuing to work to increase provision in order to assist those who are most vulnerable in our society, and who urgently require services.
The HSE, together with approximately 90 service providers are currently providing 8,911 residential places to people with disabilities. From 2020 to 2025, 955 new residential places have been provided to people with disabilities, including 246 places provided in 2025 alone.
As the Deputy may be aware, Budget 2026 provided funding of approximately €3.9 billion to Specialist Disability Services.
In addition to funding ongoing residential placements, €65million has been allocated to Disability Residential Services in 2026 for new developments, which includes €40million of funding that will provide in the region of 199 residential responses.
This includes 72 new planned placements and 80 new unplanned, urgent placements, a total of 152 new placements, as outlined in the HSE’s National Service Plan for 2026, which includes details of a move towards a more planned and responsive system of service provision and an increased emphasis on longer term planning for residential placements, with strengthened operational processes being put in place to respond to the current high demand. It will also support new residents in existing placements that have become vacant and require enhancement and in limited circumstances, placements in nursing home settings.
Generally, the majority of people with disabilities who receive new residential placements are currently living with their parent(s) or carer(s) and it should be expected that a number of the new planned places and unplanned urgent places funded in 2026, will be provided to people with disabilities, living with older parents.
Funding of €25million has been provided in 2026 in order to increase the provision of respite services, including 10,000 additional respite overnights, and 25,000 additional day-only respite sessions.
In 2026, €12.09million has been provided in order to increase the provision of Home support and Personal assistance hours for people with disabilities.
Funding for these measures will help to assist people with disabilities who have ageing parents and require supports in order to have more independence in the daily lives of their choosing.
Departmental Data
Questions (748)
Barry Heneghan
Question:748. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of job placements and sustained employment outcomes achieved in each of the past three years by organisations funded through her Department to support autistic adults, including an organisation (details supplied), in tabular form; the level of funding provided to each such organisation over the same period; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16868/26]
View answerWritten answers
The Department has no information about the number of job placements provided by private organisations or their resulting employment outcomes. Responsibility for issues related to employment opportunities for persons with disabilities rests with the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment and the Department of Social Protection.
Child and Family Agency
Questions (749)
Niamh Smyth
Question:749. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on a Tusla application (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16873/26]
View answerWritten answers
As the subject matter of the Deputy's question relates to an operational matter for Tusla, I have referred the matter to them for a direct reply.
Disability Services
Questions (750)
Aengus Ó Snodaigh
Question:750. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when a child (details supplied) on a waiting list for the disability network team for occupational therapy will receive an appointment. [16884/26]
View answerWritten answers
As this question refers to the service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
Disability Services
Questions (751)
Aengus Ó Snodaigh
Question:751. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the supports available for parents/children while awaiting disability network team services given the length of time before they can be seen. [16885/26]
View answerWritten answers
As this question refers to the service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
Departmental Data
Questions (752)
Cormac Devlin
Question:752. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is aware of the ongoing case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16894/26]
View answerWritten answers
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.
Health Services
Questions (753)
Pádraig O'Sullivan
Question:753. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when a child (details supplied) in Cork will receive a device; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16897/26]
View answerWritten answers
As this question refers to the service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
Early Childhood Care and Education
Questions (754)
Robert O'Donoghue
Question:754. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether providers delivering the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme only, are liable for commercial rates; to indicate if any assessment has been undertaken regarding the financial sustainability of ECCE-only services in light of commercial rates and other overhead costs; to clarify whether services who are permitted to charge parents for an additional 30 minutes outside of the ECCE session are also liable for commercial rates; if she considers the current funding model adequate to ensure the viability of such services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16914/26]
View answerWritten answers
Commercial rates payments for early learning and childcare providers do not fall under the remit of the Department of Children, Disability and Equality and the Department has no role in determining which properties are rateable.
The making of valuations for rating purposes is the sole responsibility of Tailte Éireann, formerly the Commissioner of Valuation. Tailte Éireann falls under the aegis of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH).
I recently met with my cabinet colleague, Minister Browne, in order to discuss this issue. Additionally, officials in the Department are engaging with their colleagues in DHLGH to seek clarification on the issue of rates for ECCE-only providers and will revert once this clarification is received.
On the issue of funding to the sector to support viability, that is one of the objectives of the Core Funding Scheme.
Core Funding has increased annually, rising from €259 million in year 1 of the scheme to over €390 million for the current and fourth year of the scheme. This is an increase of over 50% since the scheme began in September 2022.
I was delighted to announce further investment in Core Funding in Budget 2026. The additional funding being made available in 2026 will see the allocation for Core Funding in the next programme year which begins in September 2026 increase to €482 million. The allocation model for the Core Funding Scheme 2026/2027 will be informed by a range of data, including data on providers income and expenditure and will be made available to the sector in the coming months.
In addition to the increased level of Core Funding for year 4 of the scheme and in Budget 2026, there are wider financial supports available from the Department where a service is experiencing financial difficulty or has concerns about their viability, which can be accessed while remaining within Core Funding.
The Department offers Sustainability Funding to services where issue/s have been identified through the Case Management process that have the potential to have serious consequences for their viability. As part of the Case Management process, in which local City or County Childcare Committees (CCCs) assist services with issues and difficulties that arise, the CCC may refer Core Funding Partner Services facing difficulties to Pobal and the Department to be considered for Sustainability Funding.
Sustainability Funding is intended to prevent significant issues that threaten the viability of a service from occurring in first instance, and any service seeking these supports should contact their City or County Childcare Committee.
Disability Services
Questions (755)
Peter 'Chap' Cleere
Question:755. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of respite hours currently available to adults in County Kilkenny; the type of respite provided; the number who availed of this service in the years of 2024 and 2025; the number of persons on the waiting list to access this service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16916/26]
View answerWritten answers
As this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly.
Disabilities Assessments
Questions (756)
Peter 'Chap' Cleere
Question:756. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of persons aged under 18 who are on an autism assessment waiting list in County Carlow; the length of time they have been on the waiting list in 2023 to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16922/26]
View answerWritten answers
As this question refers to the service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
Early Childhood Care and Education
Questions (757)
Mattie McGrath
Question:757. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the capital funding supports currently available to early years providers and crèches seeking to expand their premises in order to accommodate additional childcare places; and whether any funding streams exist to assist with the purchase or provision of temporary accommodation while permanent structures are being planned or constructed. [16961/26]
View answerWritten answers
The Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme is currently operating to support extensions to existing premises and, in the case of community operators, the purchase or construction of new buildings, enabling expansion of provision for full day services for 1–3-year-olds which is where supply deficits have been identified. Successful projects under the scheme are now beginning their works.
A further Building Blocks scheme will open for applications in 2026, with this round focusing on funding extensions to existing premises to allow for increased numbers of children to be offered places on a full day basis. I expect to announce the details of this scheme in the coming weeks.
Separately, the Department is embarking on programme of capital investment in State-led early learning and childcare which will make investment in buildings to support the expansion of full day places, particularly for young children. This investment will constitute purchase and/or fit out of buildings depending on the specifics of particular projects. Details of this programme were announced by the Department on 21st January.