Ms Kate Duggan:

I might set the scene on unregulated accommodation and unaccompanied minors, and the Deputy might then have some further questions. On separated children and unaccompanied minors seeking international protection, according to the data we have as of 5 May, there has been an increase of almost 500% in the number of referrals to our service. This year to date, there have been 144 new referrals. As of 5 May, Tusla was caring for 223 unaccompanied minors or separated children, of whom 72 are from Ukraine.

The Deputy is talking about two things in the context of unregulated placement. We share his concern about both. Tusla has approximately 5,500 children in care. We are very proud that around 90% of those children are in foster care and some 7% are in residential care but we have a cohort of young people, 58 this week, who are in what we describe as special emergency arrangements. They are young people in unregulated placements where we have been unable to find a suitable placement for them. In about half of those cases, there has been a breakdown in an existing arrangement either in foster care or residential care. About one third of them have significant complex needs. When we talk about our concerns around the duty to co-operate, when we work with the OCO around teenagers at risk, it is that cohort that we are talking about.

That group of children is not homogenous. We have one young person in Cork today who is accessing education for the first time in their arrangement and for the first time is connected back into a network. This gives rise to two things. There is a concern and challenge in relation to the regulation of those placements but it also raises the very real conversation we need to have about the continuum of alternative care-type of residential arrangements. This is something we are engaging on with the Department in the context of having different models of residential services that meet the needs of those young people. We have received many representations from the Deputy or colleagues around the country on the accommodation either of the 3,000 children who are in homeless accommodation or homeless-type services or the almost 4,000 children who are in direct provision or International Protection Accommodation Services, IPAS, accommodation. Tusla does not have a role in respect of the inspection or regulation of those placements. There is a resource issue related to the scale of numbers of children we have seen in homeless services and in emergency accommodation but we do have a dedicated point of contact and dedicated resources available to support those families. These are children who are usually with their parents. Their parents love them and are caring for them and we are not concerned about any harm to those children but there is certainly concern about the environment in which they are living and the impact that environment has on their ability to thrive. We provide the level of family support we can. We do not have enough resources for the scale of referrals coming to us in that space. But we do not have a role in inspection or the regulation of those.