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

I assure the House that the action plan includes steps to address the management of the intake of cases; engage in liaison with An Garda Síochána; use external child care expertise to ensure appropriate management and prioritisation of the backlog of cases; and put in place the resources needed to support the process. Tusla has in place a mechanism to monitor the progress of the action plan and I have required regular updates in this matter. I have met Tusla management for updates on progress on three occasions and will meet it again later today.

Independent of my involvement, the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, has formally written to Tusla. In a similar way to my requests to Tusla, the authority has asked for an update on the steps being taken to mitigate risks to children and provide adequate oversight and to outline the mechanism that will provide assurance that no similar risks are being experienced elsewhere. I appreciate the speedy response from Tusla and the plans to ensure that any other areas with potentially similar issues are speedily identified and an appropriate action plan put in place.

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