Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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I wish to raise a serious issue on the floor of the House. It is a complex issue, so I hope the Minister of State will be able to give it his attention, if possible. The case involves a seven-year-old child, who I am going to call "Patrick" for the purpose of this discussion. Patrick disclosed physical and sexual abuse by his father. These allegations were brought to the attention of Tusla by the child's mother in 2018. There was an ongoing court case whereby the father was seeking overnight access to the child. In light of the allegations, the court appointed a clinical child psychologist to carry out a section 32 report.

At a subsequent sitting of the court, a social worker informed a judge in writing that the psychologist had told her over the phone that she did not believe the allegations made by Patrick. In an email, the psychologist told the child's mother and solicitor that she had not made that assertion in the phone call to the social worker and that the social worker's account of the phone call, which was relayed to the court, was false. I have seen the email. In reality, the psychologist referred the child to Tusla and contacted the Garda, such was the gravity of the disclosures and her confidence in them.

The psychologist wrote a concerning report to Tusla. It goes into graphic detail about the child's behaviour and disclosures. She wrote that in her opinion, Patrick had been abused. Tusla, however, in its report to the court entirely omitted the contents of the psychologist's report and findings. This led to further injuries to Patrick by his father. In 2021, Patrick was referred to Temple Street hospital with injuries to his testicles.

Subsequently, Patrick was interviewed by a team leader from Tusla. He made further disclosures of what happened. The team leader gave the notes of that interview to the aforementioned social worker, who provided a letter to the court. Unbeknownst to the social worker and team leader, the family had recorded the interview. There exist major discrepancies between the letter to the court and the audio file. The court was told that Patrick had admitted telling a lie. It can be seen from a freedom of information request that the falsified interview report also prevented an investigation by An Garda Síochána into the alleged child sexual abuse. Tusla decided to take the child from his mother and place him in the custody of the person who he alleged was abusing him. The child remains in this arrangement three years later.

This week, a member of An Garda Síochána walked into my constituency office and said that he, along with six other gardaí, are deeply concerned about the way this case has been handled, the way the social workers lied to the judge and the fact that the child had been taken from his mother and placed with a man against whom he has alleged abuse. The garda stated in a letter to me that he has raised these questions with management over the case, including the Commissioner and the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC, and was reprimanded for doing so. He stated that his name was smeared with suggestions that he was doing something untoward in his relationship with the child's mother; a woman he barely knows.

I find these details shocking, especially the falsified interview with the child. The family can provide an audio recording that it is at odds with what Tusla supplied to the courts. I am extremely concerned that a psychologist appointed by the court is willing to supply an affidavit to state that her report of her interactions was altered and falsified by Tusla before being presented to the judge.

Given that there is a vulnerable boy at the centre of this case, we need a proper and independent investigation. We need to ensure this case is investigated for the sake of the child who I believe is in a shockingly dangerous situation. There is a problem at the heart of what is happening in Tusla if this is the case.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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I am responding on behalf of the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality. I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, and the Department of Children, Disability and Equality are committed to promoting safe and high-quality practices in areas of alternative care. The Child Care Act 1991 is the statutory framework for child welfare and protection in Ireland. The legislation places a statutory duty on Tusla to promote the welfare of children who are not receiving adequate care and protection. It sets the legislative provisions in respect of taking children into care and the responsibilities of the State in that regard, which aim to improve outcomes for looked-after children.

Bringing a child into the care of the State is a serious matter and the Act prescribes the different mechanisms by which Tusla can take a child into care. Importantly, the Act sets out clear thresholds under which an application for a care order can be brought to allow for a child to be taken into the care of the State. Where Tusla is required to make an application for a care order, this application is made to the courts, which provides an additional layer of oversight in respect of the child. The welfare and best interests of the child remain paramount throughout the process. Parents are legally represented in such matters and children may be appointed a guardian ad litem to represent the voice of the child in the court setting. In respect of the role of birth parents who may come into contact with Tusla in respect of a child protection matter, Tusla aims to work with parents to create safety for children so they can live at home.

Tusla interventions aim to be decisive, time-limited and goal-orientated to maintain children within their families of origin. Tusla works to reach agreement with the parents and their extended family about a safety goal for that child and to develop a safety plan containing steps to achieve safety for the child that is revisited at intervals over a prescribed timeline to evaluate whether the safety plan is working. This is called a "safety planning intervention". Parental assessments are carried out in every case where a child comes into care as Tusla must prove the threshold of harm was sufficient for the court to make a care order. Parents who feel aggrieved by their interactions with Tusla, including those related to the decision-making process around State care, have access to formal complaints processes. In respect of complaint management across all services, Tusla strives to resolve all complaints via prompt local resolution, in the first instance, and to proceed with an investigation if a local resolution is not possible.

In the case of Patrick, which the Deputy has raised, I am obviously not aware of the details. The Deputy, of course, is aware of the details and has referred to some of them. All I can do now is advise and encourage him to write to the Minister for justice, Deputy O'Callaghan, and the Minister for children, Deputy Foley, outlining the details and knowledge of the extent of the case he has raised. I am sure they will have the matter examined appropriately.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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I have already written to the former Minister for children, Deputy O'Gorman, the Minister for justice, Deputy O'Callaghan, the Minister for children, Deputy Foley, and Tusla in respect of this case. I understand that the Minister of State does not know the background to the case and, in many ways, I am throwing at him the details of a case that is hard to get one's head around in a short time.

It is impossible for the Minister of State to be able to respond to this in detail; I do understand that.

I acknowledge there are thousands of good people working in Tusla every single day doing a phenomenal job and they are under fierce pressure. There are 100,000 children annually who are being referred to Tusla, which is quite a shocking reflection of what is actually happening in the country. Approximately 35,000 more than are sitting the leaving certificate are getting referred to Tusla on an annual basis. I understand that it does not have enough staff and I understand how difficult it is to be able to adjudicate. A person would have to have the wisdom of Solomon to be able to understand who is right and who is wrong in some of these cases. However,this is a phenomenally serious case, and it is a case I want the Minister of State to take on board with regard to his Department. Rather than sending me to Ministers who are not here and who I already have contacted, I ask him to take this on as a personal responsibility to try to find a solution.

This is a young child who is currently, it is alleged, in the charge of a person who is abusing them. For any mother to see a child first of all abused is a heart-wrenching, mind-bending shock. I just cannot imagine how a person would get their head over that situation, let alone for that child to be left in that scenario. There is clear evidence here that Tusla has not done its job and that the staff within Tusla have done significantly wrong by this child. This is not the only case that is coming to me. A large number of cases that are similar are coming to me. I do not imagine all of them are true, but I do think there is a systemic problem. I want the Minister of State to take responsibility to see that there is an investigation into this. Further, I believe there should be an independent panel of experts who become the last opportunity for a family to seek justice in these cases.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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To be clear, the Deputy has told me that he has already written to the Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, and the Minister, Deputy Foley, with regard to this. Arising from today, I will speak to the relevant officials within our Department, and I will ensure that the correspondence and communication the Deputy has sent to the Department via the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan's office, is acted on promptly and that he is reverted to with its view with regard to it.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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I will email my transcript to the Minister of State as well.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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That is fine.