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

I thank the Deputy for his important question. As the chairman of the tribunal, Mr. Justice Peter Charleton, noted in his report, this tribunal was about calling the Garda to account. The recommendations of the report are mainly a matter for An Garda Síochána. A relatively small portion of the report concerns Tusla. Although it does not make specific recommendations about Tusla, the report does identify some very serious issues that existed in a social work office in one area at the time.

Arising from the tribunal's report, I wrote to the chairperson of Tusla on 6 November last. In the letter, I noted the failures in the management of the referral made in respect of former Garda Sergeant Maurice McCabe. I asked the board to consider what steps it would take in terms of a management response, including training, performance management and leadership, and in terms of changing the culture of the organisation to ensure it learns from previous mistakes.

I received a response from the board on Tuesday last, 11 December. It addresses the issues raised in my letter, notes actions under way and provides the basis for further consideration of these serious matters.

The Deputy will be aware that a number of the issues were also identified in HIQA's statutory investigation into Tusla's management of allegations sexual abuse, which I established in 2017 and whose report I published in June of this year. These issues included poor record-keeping and management, and an inconsistent approach to the implementation of national policies and procedures. Following the publication of the HIQA report, Tusla committed to a strategic action plan, approved by its board.

Many of the issues relevant to Tusla that were raised in Mr. Justice Charleton's report are addressed in that plan. Others, which have not been covered to date, will be incorporated into the action plan, once agreed by the board. The strategic action plan has been submitted to my Department and to the expert assurance group I have established to monitor the implementation of the recommendations and advise Tusla and my Department. The group meets regularly to assess the status of the key actions under its remit and I expect that its first quarterly report will be submitted to me in the coming days.

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