1052. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the assessment that has been undertaken of the increasing reliance on private, for-profit care providers in the provision of residential services for children, including placements commissioned under section 38 or section 39 arrangements or external private commercial providers; the proportion of children in State care currently accommodated through such external providers; the average annual cost to the State of such placements compared with equivalent public or not-for-profit provision; and if an assessment has been conducted on whether expanding public capacity would deliver better service. [65255/26]

Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, has acknowledged its increased reliance on private providers in recent years, and has committed to incrementally reduce this. It also intends to increase its provision of statutory placements, as well as those provided by community and voluntary organisations.

Tusla has advised that there were 6,021 children in care at the end of July 2026. Of those children, 1,199, or 19.9%, were residing in private placements. This includes 119 children in care residing in disability centres, which may include section 38 and section 39 arrangements.

According to HSE data, as of June 2026, there were 300 children overall in specialist residential placements for people with disabilities, including HSE/Tusla 50/50 funded placements. 15 of these places are provided by Section 38 organisations, 39 places are provided by Section 39 organisations and private providers currently provide the remaining 246 places.

The HSE is committed to supporting children with disabilities to remain living at home with their families wherever possible. A range of national initiatives are being implemented to strengthen community-based supports, improve timely access to services and reduce the need for residential placements.

However, the HSE advise that where a residential placement arises, it is important to note that the admission of children into a residential disability service is often complex and arises from multiple interrelated factors. Decisions are based on comprehensive multidisciplinary assessments of the child's needs and are made in partnership with the child, their family and relevant statutory agencies. Under the Joint Working Protocol, places are agreed and funded by Tusla and the HSE.

Throughout 2026, the Department is undertaking research and progressing policy development across a range of areas which will set out an ambitious and far-reaching programme of reform to improve disability services over time and provide an opportunity to look at how to fund and deliver services in the future. It will set in place, a plan to reform services to create more effective governance and more efficient systems.

Policy development will also include developing a new policy framework for specialist disability residential services which will consider a wide range of matters including models of service. Engagement with stakeholders, particularly those in receipt of these services, will be an important part of the policy development process.

Tusla has advised that the average annual cost per private residential placement (excluding disability placements, which are funded on a 50/50 basis between Tusla and HSE) in 2025 was circa €415,000, compared with just over €489,000 for statutory or public residential placements, and over €394,000 for voluntary organisations.

It is a shared aim of the Department and Tusla to expand public provision of care placements. The Department of Children has resourced Tusla to maintain and expand its provision of services through significant additional funding across successive Budgets. In Budget 2026, an overall increase of €177 million was secured for Tusla, representing a 14% increase in Tusla’s budget over its 2025 allocation. This brings Tusla’s total funding to over €1.4 billion for 2026. This increase includes an additional €53 million for mainstream residential care. Tusla plans to invest a total of €286 million in expanding mainstream residential care in 2026, increasing the number of placements for children in need to over 800.

Work is also underway on The National Policy Framework for Alternative Care. The Framework will aim 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. This has included a robust consultation process, through which the views of members of the public, stakeholders, key workers and carers, and most importantly people with care experience were captured. The Framework will seek to address current issues in accessing a sufficient number of appropriate care places, and articulate a longer term vision for how the care system will operate into the future. The Framework is expected to be delivered in the coming months.