James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The establishment of the Child and Family Agency, or Tusla, in January saw the delivery of a key programme for Government commitment involving the integration of services previously delivered by three organisations - the HSE, the National Educational Welfare Board and the Family Support Agency. In and of itself, this is a significant challenge, even more so when we consider that the agency is currently providing social work services for almost 20,000 children, of whom some 6,500 are in care - 93% with foster parents - while over 1,600 are young people benefiting from aftercare services. The staff and board of Tusla, with staff in my Department, are to be commended for the professional manner in which they have risen to this challenge with limited resources. I appreciate the high level of commitment they have demonstrated to building a better service, from which all children and families benefit. Consequently, increasing the operational budget for Tusla was a key priority for my Department in this year's Estimates process.

See this speech in context