Mr. Seamus McCarthy:

The Child and Family Agency, also known as Tusla, was established in 2014. Its primary responsibility is to safeguard and improve the welfare of children. Prior to 2014, most of the agency's functions were undertaken by the HSE. Staff, assets and systems were transferred from the HSE to Tusla on its establishment, but the agency still relies on the HSE for support with certain functions, including procurement and ICT systems.

The agency's financial statements for 2020 record total income of around €870 million, almost all of which comes from the Vote for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. This includes €17 million provided to support the agency's capital investment. The agency's expenditure in 2020 was €858 million. Around one-third of the expenditure related to staff costs. The agency employed around 4,600 whole-time equivalent staff at the end of 2020.

Most of the remaining expenditure in 2020 comprised direct payments or grant funding for the provision of services to support children and families. This included €119 million spent on foster care and aftercare allowances; €142 million spent on independent placement provision, including residential care; and €182 million paid as grants to organisations delivering a wide range of child and family services. The agency incurred expenditure amounting to around €30 million on guardian ad litemcosts and legal fees. The agency's office and administration expenses were €36 million.

I issued a clear audit opinion in respect of the agency's financial statements for 2020, which I certified on 30 June 2021. However, I drew attention to two matters disclosed by the agency in its statement on internal control. First, the agency acknowledges that in excess of €6 million was spent on goods and services where the relevant public procurement rules were not complied with. Second, as members are aware, the HSE suffered a ransomware cyberattack on its ICT systems in May 2021 resulting in the shutdown of all its ICT systems, including those supporting Tusla's operations. In the statement on internal control, the agency outlines its plans to migrate its ICT systems away from the HSE network, except in respect of the HSE's integrated financial management system, IFMS, that is under development. While the disruption to the agency's operations was significant, it happened after the period of account and does not impact the financial statements for 2020.