Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this issue. I also welcome the Minister.

Tusla is a very important organisation and the investigation into its work is carried out independently by HIQA which verifies its capacity to "promote the welfare of children and protect those deemed to be at risk of harm". These children need a proactive service which acts decisively to assess and meet their needs in order to promote their safety and welfare. When HIQA inspected the child protection services and the welfare of children in the Meath and Louth area, it found that, of the 27 standards assessed, the services met only one and that significant improvements were needed in the case of at least eight others.

That is entirely unacceptable. Tusla is a well resourced organisation, with a working budget of more than €600 million and over 4,000 staff. In light of the poor outcome of the inspections, I ask the Minister, Deputy Reilly, to meet with Tusla urgently to address the issues arising.

The inspection identified significant risks resulting from ineffective and unsafe information systems, inconsistent allocation of social workers to children on the child protection and notification system and inadequate and unsafe systems to review, monitor and manage waiting lists across the service. According to a working document I have in my possession, HIQA is satisfied that an action plan is now in place but it found that while staff in the centre valued the safety of children and endeavoured to keep children safe and meet their needs, this was not always possible. Aspects of the service were unsafe and although children's cases were prioritised for social worker intervention, this did not always ensure that children who were at greatest risk and had highest levels of need received a timely service. The capacity of the service to meet the needs of all children was compromised by delays in allocating social workers. I am particularly concerned by the finding that unsafe or ineffective systems were in place to assess and manage actual or potential risks to children from adults living in the community. This meant risks to some children went unidentified and unmanaged. I ask the Minister to clarify these matters because it is unacceptable to read such findings in this day and age, given the significant investment we have made in the care and welfare of children.

There is no shortage of money or staff in Tusla. Although the inspectors acknowledged the impact of limited resources, service managers did not always demonstrate the level of leadership required to deliver an effective service. I was unhappy with answers I received to parliamentary questions on this issue, although I accept the Minister is not to blame because my questions were addressed by Tusla. However, when I contacted Tusla to speak with an official in the section responsible for parliamentary questions I was told there was no such section.

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