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

I assure the Deputy and the House that all children who are known to be at immediate and urgent risk are seen immediately and have a social worker assigned to them by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. Comments about the HIQA report for the Cork area may have given the impression that these most vulnerable children known to Tusla were not being cared for. The children were described by some as having been abandoned, beaten or sexually abused. I am reliably informed that this is not the case.

The HIQA inspection report found a number of positives and noted the good quality of the service provided to children and families when they had an allocated social worker. The report stated that the service had clear lines of accountability. Managers and social workers used standard business processes, together with the national guidelines in Children First, to deliver a consistent service with clear oversight.

I am concerned that there were two findings that were classed as "significant risk" but I am able to report that these were addressed immediately. The action plan published with the inspection report stated that the 21 children who were identified as having complex problems had all been allocated a social worker in the course of the inspection. Risk management and monitoring by the duty social work team ensures that any change in a child’s circumstances are dealt with during a period when a child is waiting for the allocation of a social worker.

Improvements in the delivery of Tusla's resources and the efficient management of case loads are key priorities. Tusla is reviewing the cases awaiting allocation of a social worker to decide how best to meet existing and future service demands. Nationally, the list of high priority cases awaiting allocation for less than three months has decreased by almost 50% in 2014. In Cork alone, the total number of cases awaiting allocation has dropped by over a quarter in 2014, including a significant decrease of 66% in those listed as high priority. I am pleased to see the progress being made in this critical area since Tusla's establishment.

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