Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the Deputy's comments, but, with earlier questions in mind, I want to make it absolutely and perfectly clear with regard to the report that Tusla followed proper procedures. In following the law it must be fair to all parties. That is why we saw such a result. It followed proper procedures according to law.

Much of the Deputy's questioning concerns how Tusla responds to allegations of abuse. In the first quarter of 2017 it received 13,629 referrals. The duty social worker carries out preliminary inquiries on all referrals. This involves checking to see if a child already receives a service or is known to child protection services. It also involves clarifying the nature of the concern, contacting key professionals such as public health nurses or teachers for an input and opening a case record. Over half of the cases that are subject to a preliminary inquiry do not proceed to a child protection initial assessment as the threshold is not met. A really thorough initial piece of work is done. Although there are concerns and there are many ways to seek prevention and intervention, Tusla believes the work is carried out in that context.

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