Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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36. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the resources in place to deal with allegations of child abuse; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43440/17]

Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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I am conscious that there is some overlap between my question and some previous questions. Many deal with Tusla, which underlines its important role and how important it is that we provide it with the necessary resources. I want to acknowledge that the Minister secured extra funding in the budget.

I wish to ask the Minister about the resources which are in place to deal with allegations of abuse of children and make a statement on the matter, in particular in light of the One In Four report.

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I expected several questions on Tusla. It is a primary focus and I feel very confident that we are moving in the right direction.

I am pleased to inform the Deputy I have secured an additional €40 million for Tusla. This is the third year in succession that Tusla has received an increase in its funding, which now amounts to over €753 million. It has embarked on a significant recruitment programme to deliver the necessary assessments, family supports and care to all children being referred for welfare or child protection reasons.

I wish to assure the Deputy that with the current available staff all urgent and emergency cases are dealt with immediately. These include situations of abandonment or parental ill-health and the need to find an immediate placement or a threat to the safety or life of a child by a third party.

I am very aware of the need for Tusla to recruit more social workers, social care workers and family support workers to deal with the number of cases which cannot currently be allocated. The additional investment of €40 million in 2018 will allow Tusla to recruit a mix of staff to respond to areas of identified risk and to meet increased demand for services. This includes resources for responding to expected increases in referrals following the introduction of mandatory reporting, as well as the management of unallocated cases and the further development of aftercare services.

Tusla will also recruit administrative staff to support social workers in their child protection duties. The extra funding will also be used to establish a single national out-of-hours social work service, providing enhanced joint working with An Garda Síochána, additional on-call social work capacity and a new out-of-hours service for foster carers.

I strongly support the work of Tusla. I am committed to providing resources to meet the growing needs of children and families. The higher increase I have secured for Tusla in budget 2018 means that resources are available to meet the priorities in the years ahead.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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I again acknowledge the increase in funding for Tusla and welcome, in particular, the out-of-hours support for foster families and children who are absolutely in need. I know that Tusla operates in an uncertain environment and that its personnel can be uncertain about what has happened previously to children and the impact of further trauma on them. It is sometimes difficult to get a child to speak to a social worker. I acknowledge the great work being done by social workers around the country. The One in Four report referred to particular cases in 2016 where clients chose not to meet social workers. It is very difficult, however, to carry out a full investigation without statements. This support for young people must be absolutely and readily available. I have spoken to a number of abuse survivors who often tell about how difficult it is to make a complaint and continue through the process. Many of them regretted it, which is very much borne out by the figures given to us by One in Four. It is very important, therefore, that extra support be given to the social workers in place. Will the Minister confirm that Tusla will thoroughly investigate all 47,399 referrals received in 2016?

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I will address the One in Four report to which a couple of Deputies have referred. There is a key aspect that was most controversial. It is that the report makes it clear that Tusla could not proceed with 79 of 91 cases brought because the victim declined to meet a Tusla social worker. That is implicit in some of the Deputy's comments. Legally and in keeping with fair procedures, Tusla social workers are obliged to meet directly with a victim to validate a statement and they must then provide the alleged abuser with the allegation and the identity of the victim and invite the alleged abuser to meet them. One in Four reported that 12 of its clients had made a statement to a Tusla social worker. As the Deputy states, I acknowledge that this is not easy to do. In three of the cases Tusla was assessing whether the alleged abuser posed a current risk to children. One case was founded, while five were unfounded. The remaining three were closed without an assessment of risk. This can occur where a person cannot be located or has died. This provides a view of the very complicated process that is followed when a referral takes place and the focus of Tusla in the assessment of the current risk to children.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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I accept that the process can be very difficult for everybody involved. The Minister mentioned the report. Eight of the 12 allegations made were not investigated or were deemed to be unfounded. There were 91 cases originally. Only one case came back having been found to be founded. That means that in only one case is the sex offender being monitored from the time of referral. That is a concern because Tusla has a legal responsibility to assess the likelihood of a current or potential risk to children. We all need to be sure the resources are in place to ensure safety will be absolutely paramount. I appreciate that things may be better, but will there be a unit in place to examine historical cases? It is very important that there be capacity to allow a bond to be built between a child and a social worker. This is very important in all of the work done by Tusla. It would allow for better co-operation when proceeding with a full investigation.

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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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.