Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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525. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of reports of various forms of child abuse reported to or through her Department in each of the past five years to date; the extent to which a rapid response followed and corrective measures were put in place in all cases; the number of cases in respect of which an adequate response did not follow; the action taken or pending in respect of any such cases; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33834/16]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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528. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which her Department continues to analyse and report on the number, location and circumstances of children at risk; the action pending; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33838/16]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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530. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the total number of children reported to her Department as being at risk in each of the past five years to date; the degree to which adequate protective measures have been put in place to address the issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33840/16]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 525, 528 and 530 together.

Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, holds the statutory responsibility for child welfare and protection, and is the appropriate body to receive reports of concerns relating to children at risk. I wish to assure the Deputy that Tusla deals immediately with emergency cases, including for instance, if a child has been abandoned or is in immediate physical danger or at risk of sexual abuse.

At the end of Quarter 1 2016, Tusla reported that 60% of referrals received were of a child welfare concern with the remaining 40% related to child protection concerns. The number of referrals reported over the last five years is detailed in the table categorised by child welfare or child protection concerns.

Referrals can come from a number of sources so there are some duplicates in these totals, and some will be more appropriate for universal services, such as those provided in the education or health sectors. Also, not all referrals will result in a need for a social work service or in a child being received into care.

Each referral received by the Agency is assessed and dealt with on an individual basis by the relevant social work team. Preliminary screening is aimed at establishing the appropriateness of the referral to Tusla services and, if necessary, is followed by an initial assessment of the concern to determine the best course of action for the child and their family. As a result, every year, approximately 50% of referrals can be expected to proceed from preliminary enquiry to the initial assessment stage.

Tusla's policy is to refer child welfare referrals to relevant family and community support services. At any stage, if a determination is made that there is abuse, whether physical, emotional, sexual or neglect, from which there is an ongoing risk of significant harm, the child protection pathway is followed. In a minority of cases this may lead to the child being placed on the Child Protection Notification System (CPNS) or the child being received into care.

At the end of August 2016, the number of cases awaiting allocation to a social worker stood at 4,727, a 30% decrease since December 2015. The priority or category of high, medium or low given to the case after a preliminary enquiry, is based on information received. It is important to note that "high priority" should not simply be equated with immediate risk. Examples of cases categorised as high priority would include cases relating to a child subject to a child protection plan, a child in care living with non-approved relative carers, a child in care in an unstable placement or a young person at high risk. At the end of August 2016, the number of high priority cases awaiting allocation was 639, a 36% decrease on December 2015. Social work duty teams keep unallocated cases under review by regular checking to ascertain risk to the child, and where necessary will reprioritise the case.

My Department has a range of systems in place to ensure it is informed of risk to children and families. Tusla, within its national office, has a dedicated Quality Assurance Team. This team produces monthly, quarterly and annual reports in respect of Tusla's functions, and includes detailed reporting on key performance indicators on waiting times for cases to be allocated. Tusla also provides me with information on children in care, their placement type, care status and allocation of social workers. My officials use information provided by Tusla to monitor the current status of service provision and the effect as reforms to services take effect. Activity indicators allow for attention to be focussed on areas where further improvement is required. In addition to regular reports, Tusla also provides occasional or special topic reports, as needed, which can then be used for budget and resource planning.

As required under Section 8 of the Child Care Act 1991, my Department also receives the annual 'Review of Adequacy' report compiled and published by the Tusla, which reviews the adequacy of the child and family services provided by the Agency.

The additional funding of €37 million which has been secured for Tusla in 2017 will provide increased resources to meet identified risks and service demands. Key to reducing the number of cases awaiting allocation to a social worker, and the associated risk, is the recruitment of staff, including additional social workers and support personnel.