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

While I welcome the Minister's assurance, these are the most vulnerable children in our communities and the findings of the inspection are unacceptable. The Louth-Meath area, which I represent, is one of the most deprived areas of the country. The unemployment rate and proportion of one parent families are above the national average. Unsafe and ineffective systems were in place to manage risks to children from adults of concern and this meant that risks to some children went unidentified and unmanaged. I am deeply concerned by this finding.

When I initially raised this issue by way of parliamentary questions after reading newspaper reports on this issue on 8 June, I was frustrated in getting a reply. When I contacted Tusla I was told nobody had responsibility for dealing with my questions. Last Friday I tried to insist on having somebody addressing the issues because the report was on the website.

However, there was nobody in Tusla to deal with the issues. Eventually the chief operations officer, Mr. Fred McBride, did speak to me and we had a conversation for about 20 minutes on the issues I raised. I acknowledge that he has taken direct line responsibility for the changes that are taking place.

I must express my deep concern again, however, and I ask the Minister to facilitate a meeting with me on this issue. I intend to meet with Tusla about it as well. With all the investment and resources, and all the concerns we have expressed in the Oireachtas, as well as public concern, it is not acceptable or good enough. We need much better outcomes than these, so I hope that will change radically.

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