Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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254. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which her Department continues to monitor the welfare of children in the various forms of State care; if she continues to be satisfied that adequate safety measures remain in place to deal with the situation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40414/16]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, has a statutory duty under the Child Care Act 1991 to promote the welfare of children who are not receiving adequate care and protection and, if necessary, to receive a child into the care of the State. I am satisfied that Tusla takes its responsibility very seriously regarding the welfare of children in care and that there is a robust framework of regulations and standards, to ensure that children are placed in safe and caring settings.

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 child safety and protection services. Tusla also provides me with information on children in care, their placement type, care status and allocation of social workers. Within my Department there is a Unit which scrutinises these reports and briefs me and senior officials on issues of note. The reports also provide statistical evidence of improvements to child welfare and protection services and highlights challenges and areas where further improvement is required such as the recruitment of additional social workers including link workers. The additional funding of €37 million which has been secured for Tusla in 2017 will provide increased resources for this extra recruitment.

All foster care organisations and statutory residential centres are inspected by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), and private and voluntary residential centres are inspected by Tusla against national standards. These inspection reports of children's residential centres, fostering services and child protection services are also reviewed and analysed by my officials. The overview from these reports provides me with a level of assurance on the overall capacity of Tusla to identify and provide services to families and children at risk.

Additional information is gleaned from the National Review Panel reports on individual cases and findings from investigations conducted by the Ombudsman for Children. Officials meet Tusla management on a regular basis to review the overall level of service provision, including areas in need of improvement. I meet on a regular basis with the CEO and Chair of Tusla. Contact is maintained with the non-governmental bodies on issues within the sector, including, for example, the Children's Rights Alliance, EPIC and the Irish Foster Care Association.