Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I pay tribute to the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, for its hard-hitting and uncompromising report on Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, set up by the Government four years ago. Its conclusions, which follow the investigation which was necessitated by the false allegations pertaining to Maurice McCabe, are serious and damning and call for a fundamental review of the agency and whether it is fit for purpose. The report is alarming in that it says that, as a State, we are not dealing with current child sex abuse allegations properly or with the necessary level of capacity. Despite all of the inquiries into child sexual abuse in the past and all of the huge outrage in terms of what happened, it is extraordinary that in this day and age the Government and its agencies are simply not in a position to deal with sex abuse allegations. In fact, the report states that the systems failures within Tusla had the potential to put children at risk, which is a very worrying conclusion.

There is a list of issues. Some 165 sex abuse allegations await assessment. In the course of its review, HIQA escalated 65 cases to regional managers at Tusla where it was concerned about a potential risk to a child. The investigating team found cases which were inappropriately closed, inadequate managerial oversight, a gap between Tusla's national policies and what is happening on the ground, a lack of timeliness in responding to referrals and poor record keeping. It found actual cases of systems failures that, as I said, placed children at risk. Alarmingly, it found no standardised approach to direct and guide staff in the management of retrospective allegations.

There are the huge deficiencies in the working arrangements between Tusla and the Garda Síochána. There are no electronic transfer mechanisms. There is no electronic data transfer system between them and, instead, notifications of child sexual abuse are notified between the two agencies by fax or by phone. In this day and age it is extraordinary that both agencies do not have the capacity to notify each other electronically of suspected child abuse.

Does the Taoiseach have confidence in the Tusla agency, its board and its management? Does he accept it has a systemic problem which is putting children at risk? How does he account for the lack of any proper relationship between An Garda Síochána and Tusla at a formal level? Does the Government accept its failings in this regard and the need for a comprehensive reassessment of Tusla? It was set up in great haste and with great fanfare but it seems that huge deficiencies are still evident.