Written Answers Nos. 882-901
882. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if respite services for families of children with disabilities in rural areas such as Offaly will be increased in 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14539/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly.
883. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the progress on recruiting staff for children's disability network teams serving Offaly; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14540/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
884. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the efforts to recruit more foster carers in Offaly; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14541/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question relates to operational information held by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, the question has been referred to the Agency to reply directly to the Deputy.
885. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the status of Tusla staffing levels in the midlands for child welfare cases; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14542/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraStatutory and operational responsibility for the delivery of child protection and welfare services is a matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. The Deputy is seeking information in relation to an operational matter for Tusla. Consequently, I have referred the matter to Tusla, and requested that a direct response be provided to the Deputy.
886. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to detail the work undergone by her Department to investigate and prepare for the introduction of paid surrogacy leave for parents; when it is intended to introduce surrogacy leave; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14571/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to acknowledge the difficulties faced by couples pursuing surrogacy arrangements and reaffirm Government's commitment to recognising and supporting Irish families in all their diversity.
The Programme for Government 2025 - Securing Ireland's Future commits to introducing paid surrogacy leave and my officials are examining how best to implement this commitment. They are also engaging with officials from the Department of Social Protection as the Minister for Social Protection has responsibility for the payment of any associated benefits.
The Minister for Health leads on the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Act 2024, which includes provisions in relation to surrogacy which have implications for the introduction of surrogacy leave, while policy on parentage is a matter for the Minister for Justice. It is not possible to finalise provisions in relation to surrogacy leave in advance of the commencement of that Act as it will determine who is to be recognised as a parent when a child is born through a surrogacy arrangement.
Decisions on the date of commencement of the 2024 Act are matters for the Minister for Health. I can assure the Deputy that this Department will work closely with relevant Departments, once the 2024 Act has commenced, to progress proposals for surrogacy leave.
The Deputy may be interested to note that under the Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019 (as amended), working parents are entitled to nine weeks of paid Parents' Leave for each relevant parent, to be taken in the first two years after the birth or adoptive placement of a child. Intending parents from a surrogacy agreement may be entitled to Parents’ Leave, depending on their circumstances. The father of a child born through surrogacy can qualify for Parents’ Leave if he is the biological father of the child and declared to be the parent of the child. In these circumstances, the father's partner may qualify for Parents’ Leave if they are married to, or in a civil partnership with, the child’s biological father, or have cohabited with the child’s biological father for over 3 years.
The father of a child born through surrogacy can also qualify for Paternity Leave if he is the biological father of the child and declared to be the father of the child. The leave entitlement is for two weeks, to be taken within six months of the child's birth.
Both the biological father and the other parent can qualify for 26 weeks each of unpaid Parental Leave if acting in loco parentis in respect of a child under 12. This can be extended until a child reaches the age of 16 if they have a disability or long term illness.
887. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will develop a Traveller and Roma employment training and enterprise plan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14657/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy II 2024 – 2028 (NTRIS II) and accompanying first Action Plan 2024-2026 were launched by the then Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman T.D., on 31 July 2024.
The Strategy is arranged into nine key thematic areas, which were identified as priority areas for action during the extensive consultations on the development of the Strategy held with Traveller and Roma organisations, Government Departments and Agencies, and other key stakeholders.
Theme 5: Employment and Enterprise in the first NTRIS II Action Plan sets out a range of actions, including one on the development and implementation of a Traveller and Roma Training, Employment, and Enterprise Plan, which was a commitment from the previous 2020 Programme for Government.
It is intended that the new employment and enterprise actions to be proposed for the second NTRIS II Action Plan 2027-2028 will effectively deliver the new Plan. Those actions will be informed by the progress made on the employment actions to date under the present Action Plan, and through consultations with the NTRIS II Employment Subcommittee.
The existing NTRIS II employment actions are being implemented by the Departments involved in the area of training, employment and enterprise; these Departments provide updates on progress to the NTRIS II Employment Subcommittee and to the NTRIS II Steering Committee by reference to key performance indicators and deliverables specific to each action, as set out in the Action Plan. The Departments concerned are:
• Department of Children, Disability, and Equality;
• Department of Social Protection, which oversees and provides secretarial functions to the NTRIS II Employment Subcommittee;
• Department of Enterprise, Tourism, and Employment;
• Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation;
• Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht;
• Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation, and Science.
892. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department or Tusla maintains a data architecture capable of linking duration of time spent in State care with post-18 outcomes including housing stability, educational attainment, employment status and engagement with aftercare services; whether such linkage is currently operational; and if not, whether the absence of such linkage has been formally recorded as a governance or accountability gap. [14721/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra893. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether a unique identifier or integrated administrative dataset exists that would permit longitudinal tracking of care leavers across Departments and agencies; if not, whether legislative or policy changes are under consideration to enable such integration; and the timeline for any such proposal. [14722/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 892 and 893 together.
In 2022 the Department launched a research and data programme, Care Experiences: Journeys Through the Irish Care System, which is being run in close collaboration with the Child and Family Agency, Tusla.
The Care Experiences Programme comprises a combination of primary research and administrative data analysis to examine and better understand the lives of children and young people in care and aftercare and adults who were in care as children.
As part of the Programme the Department has commissioned two studies which specifically look at the experiences and outcomes of those who have left the care system. One study has undertaken research with care leavers and stakeholders to explore the educational and career journeys of young care leavers. A second study is looking at the experiences and outcomes of adults who left the care system ten to fifteen years ago. Reports from these studies will be finalised and published this year.
The Care Experiences Programme also involves the establishment of a national longitudinal study following young people as they transition out of care and into adulthood. Planning is underway for the study and data collection is expected to commence in 2027.
In addition to the Care Experiences Programme, the Department works with the Central Statistics Office, Tusla, and other relevant Departments on the Educational Attendance, Attainment and Other Outcomes of Children in Care Frontier Series. This Frontiers Series provides insights in relation to outcomes of children in care and children who left care since April 2018 and compares them with all children and young people in the same age group by analysing school, further and higher education, and employment outcomes for both groups. The 2025 release is based on administrative data provided to the CSO from Tusla, the Department of Education and Youth, the Department of Social Protection, SOLAS, Quality and Qualifications Ireland, the Higher Education Authority, POBAL, the State Examinations Commission, Student Universal Support Ireland and the Revenue Commissioners.
The findings and evidence generated by these research studies and statistical outputs will inform future services provision to the care population and the development of the National Policy Framework for Alternative Care.
The National Policy Framework for Alternative Care aims to articulate a future and Whole of Government vision of alternative care in Ireland and will also deliver on a Programme for Government commitment in this regard. A robust consultation process is currently underway to support the development of the National Policy Framework, through which the views of members of the public, stakeholders, key workers and carers, and people with care experience will be captured.
894. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department intends to publish an annual outcomes dashboard for young people leaving State care, including cohort-based analysis by length of time spent in care; and if not, the reason such reporting is not currently provided. [14723/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question relates to operational information held by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, the question has been referred to the Agency to reply directly to the Deputy.
895. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will act in relation to a recent High Court ruling (details supplied) and add Temple Hill and St. Joseph’s to the list of institutions under the mother and baby institutions payment scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14768/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI note the decision by the High Court in respect of the Judicial Review applications by Mr. John Duncan Morris and Ms. Marie Thornton and will carefully consider the judgement. In his judgement, Mr Justice Owens stated that he will arrange a sitting to dispose of any outstanding issues at a time which is convenient to the parties.
The judgement does not direct the inclusion of any institution but, rather, provides some guidance in interpreting the criteria for the addition of institutions to the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme. The Department needs time to review and consider the extent and implications of this guidance.
896. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will extend an aftercare allowance for an additional year for a third level student in Kildare south (details supplied). [14844/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question relates to operational information held by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, the question has been referred to the Agency to reply directly to the Deputy.
897. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children who have died while either in the care of Tusla, or while on the child protection notification system, in each year since the establishment of the Child and Family Agency, including cause of death, in tabular form. [14872/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question relates to operational information held by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, the question has been referred to the Agency to reply directly to the Deputy.
898. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of persons that were murdered or died under suspicious circumstances over the past ten years in the State that had previously engaged with Tusla or who Tusla had previously identified as at risk. [14873/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question relates to operational information held by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, the question has been referred to the Agency to reply directly to the Deputy.
900. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason support services provided to foster carers by an organisation (details supplied) located in Fethard has been terminated by Tusla without any consultation with the stakeholders; if she will insist that the services be continued while all concerned are consulted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14964/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question relates to operational information held by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, the question has been referred to the Agency to reply directly to the Deputy.
901. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 1093 of 17 February 2026, if she will consider a public consultation plan regarding the Action Plan for the National Strategy to allow parents to share parental leave allocations between each other; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14983/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe new National Strategy for Women and Girls 2025-2030 was launched on the 18th November 2025, and sets out a broad range of objectives aimed at reducing inequalities between men and women, including the disparities in caring responsibilities.
This whole-of-government plan aims to level the playing field for women and girls of all ages and backgrounds by eliminating all forms of discrimination against them, building upon the progress made by its predecessor strategy.
Implementation of the Strategy will be guided by two Action Plans, the first of which will be adopted by Government in early 2026 and will cover the period 2026-2028. Work on the first of these two Action Plans is nearing completion. The work on this action plan is over seen by an Inter Departmental Committee.
As part of the development of the National Strategy for Women and Girls, the Department undertook a thorough consultation process. The consultation included an online survey, public in-person consultations, online consultations with marginalised and hard to reach groups, and a National Youth Assembly on Gender Equality – ‘What does Equality look like in the lives of Girls and Boys’.
The first Action Plan will include actions to support working families in balancing the competing demands of family and work. It will examine the extension of Parent’s Leave and Benefit and additional flexibilities.
There have been significant developments in entitlements for parents of working families in recent years.
Under the Parental Leave Acts, 26 weeks unpaid leave can be taken by an employee who is a relevant parent to take care of a child. The upper age limit of the eligible child has been increased in 2019 to the age of 12 or of 16, where the child has a disability or long-term illness which allows a parent more time in which to avail of the extended leave entitlement. A relevant parent is a parent, an adoptive parent, or a person acting in ‘loco parentis’.
It should be noted that the legislation only sets out the minimum entitlement to parental leave. Depending on an individual’s contract of employment, they may have more extensive rights to parental leave, as employers have the option to offer more than the entitlement set out in the legislation.
Both parents have an equal, separate entitlement to parental leave. Where both parents work for the same employer and the employer agrees, one parent can transfer 14 weeks of their parental leave entitlement to the other parent.
