Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to raise this issue and I thank the Minister for coming into the House to deal with it.

As he will know, on Monday, the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, published its annual report on the regulatory activity of children's services for 2014. That report covers statutory children's residential centres, statutory foster care services, child protection and welfare services, designated centres for children with disabilities and the country's detention schools. While I must acknowledge that the report highlights findings of excellent child-centred practice, the HIQA inspection raises significant ongoing concerns about the performance and operation of Tusla. The HIQA review highlights that: "Significant variation in the performance of the Child and Family Agency services have been found in the Health Information and Quality Authority analysis of its regulation and oversight of children's services during 2014." As the Minister and I know, Tusla has a statutory responsibility to promote the welfare of children and protect those deemed to be at risk of harm. We have a duty of obligation to ensure that happens. We have seen coverage on the news of the historical abuse inquiry taking place in the North into the activities of the most notorious sexual predator that probably ever walked the face of this earth, or that we have had in this country, and how a blind eye was turned to his activities and how people in positions did not do their job. We have a responsibility in this area and the Government has a responsibility to ensure that the agency that is tasked with the responsibility to protect our children gets the necessary supports and resources.

There are serious concerns about inconsistencies in the safety and quality of children's services nationally. The management systems are not adequate in providing assurance on consistent, safe, good quality services, robust quality assurance systems, effective information systems and effective risk management processes.In some areas, children waited for significant periods of time before the level of risk to which they were exposed was assessed or until their cases were allocated to a social worker. As result of the lack of social workers, medium and lower priority cases are being put on the long finger and those children have to wait very lengthy periods to be allocated a social worker.

This report comes on the back of previous reports. A HIQA report published earlier this year into the social services in Cork showed that more than 230 children assessed as being at high risk of harm did not have an allocated social worker. HIQA states that, "children...deemed to have a high level of need...[were placed at risk by the failure to allocate social workers to them or to give them] timely access to child protection and welfare interventions". We also know what happened in Laois and Offaly but I acknowledge that when it came to our attention and the Minister's attention quick action was taken.

This is a new agency. There should be no issue with its governance or management structure. The main issue in question is that it is not adequately resourced.

The Government and the Minister cannot shirk their responsibility for the stark shortcomings in the child protection and welfare services across the country. Internal documents show the agency's board was told that a budget of less than €650 million in 2015 would lead to serious reductions in several areas. There is a clear shortfall there. I look forward to hearing the Minister's response to how he will deal with this to ensure that no child, regardless or their geographical location, will be left vulnerable to sexual predators, neglect and abuse in future.

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