Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, tries to ensure the best outcome for children, families, individuals and communities by listening to feedback and complaints through its Tell Us portal, which is available to all. In 2021, there were 598 complaints, in 2022, there were 749 and in 2023 to date, there have been 201 complaints. To note, in 2021, Tusla received 73,000 referrals and in 2022, it received 82,000 referrals. Tusla provides this data publicly in its annual reports, including a breakdown of the number and categories of complaints.

The complaint process has four stages. At stage 1, Tusla aims for a local resolution, where at all possible. Key performance indicator targets in its current corporate plan aim to improve the complaints resolved in this way by 15%. Tusla has met and exceeded these targets for 2021 and 2022 and is on target to exceed the 2023 target. In 2021, 49% of complaints were resolved at stage 1 and 62% were resolved during 2022. At stage 2, unresolved complaints are referred to a complaints officer who informally investigates. The complainant is given a report with the decision and recommendations. At stage 3, the complainant can seek a review by a complaint review officer who, if unsatisfied, will review and can provide any amendments or additions to the recommendations, if indicated by the review findings. If a complainant remains dissatisfied at stage 4, he or she can seek an independent review from the Office of the Ombudsman or the Ombudsman for Children's Office at that stage or at that point during the complaint process. Tusla promotes the constant improvement of its complaint handling and has developed specific training for staff in that regard, and monitors complaint data on a monthly basis.

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