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

I reiterate what I said in response to the earlier question from Deputy McLellan, 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 Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, report for the Cork area may have given the impression that these most vulnerable children known to Tusla were not being cared for, but that is not the case. The children were described by some as having been abandoned, beaten or sexually abused. That is not the case. The point cannot be repeated often enough. That is not to say there is no need for huge improvements in the area, and more investment, but as I said previously to Deputy Healy, we wish to ensure that the money we spend now and in the future will result in the best outcome for children. That is the reason an interdepartmental group has been set up to examine child care and why Tusla is doing further work on those who do not have an allocated social worker to ensure that the required resources can be identified and that we can apply for them.

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