131. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality in respect of children in disability residential placements, the total expenditure attributable to agency staffing and directly employed staffing in 2025 and to date in 2026 (details supplied); the proportion of total staffing expenditure represented by agency staffing in each provider category; whether the HSE requires providers of commissioned residential placements to report the level and cost of agency staffing; and, if this information is not collected centrally, how the HSE assesses workforce stability, continuity of care and value for money in these high cost placements. [65601/26]

I wish to thank the Deputy for raising this question. As this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly.