Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

20. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the action she has taken to hold Tusla, collectively and named persons, to account for the serious deficiencies and problems highlighted in the disclosures tribunal report. [45830/18]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Deputy will be aware that I strongly welcome the report of the Disclosures Tribunal that has fully vindicated Garda Sergeant Maurice McCabe.

I have been extremely disappointed by the findings in relation to Tusla. The Tribunal quite properly finds that the performance of Tusla and certain individuals within fell far short of the standard we should expect from a public body with such an important role.

I have raised the Tribunal's findings with the Board of Tusla and have asked for a formal response to the report.  I want the response to set out the evidence of change that will prevent a person's reputation being traduced in this way from ever happening again.

I have also secured funding in 2019 that will enable the fundamental changes needed, some of which I am informed are already underway.

Tusla has accepted that the practice and governance in this case was exceptionally poor and has commenced a HR process around the allegations of serious misconduct. It would not be appropriate for me to comment any further on this process prior to its completion.

The performance by named members of staff in the evidence before the Tribunal is a matter for Tusla to manage, utilising its internal disciplinary and performance management procedures.

I met with the Board of Tusla following the publication of the Disclosures Tribunal report, and expressed serious concerns about the Tribunal’s strong criticisms of what it saw as poor and inadequate co-operation by Tusla with its work.  The Board of Tusla has undertaken to communicate with the Tribunal in order to understand the nature of these findings and learn from them.

The original notification which concerned an allegation of abuse in this case concerned a person who was an adult at the time of notification. The case was therefore managed under the policy for retrospective cases.

This is a challenging area for Tusla, as social workers must balance child protection and fair procedures towards the person who is the subject of the allegation. A revised Tusla policy for such cases, which will replace the 2014 policy, will be published shortly.

I want to reiterate that a culture of openness and integrity is essential in order to learn from the grievous mistakes of the past. It is the duty of management and staff to correct mistakes when they happen, and the duty of the Board to hold management to account to ensure that this happens. It is my duty as Minister to hold the Board to account, and I will continue to do this.

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

21. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the steps she is taking to address the administrative incompetence at Tusla referred to by a person (details supplied) in the Disclosures Tribunal. [45831/18]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Once again, I can inform the Deputy at the outset that I strongly welcome the report of the Disclosures Tribunal that has fully vindicated Garda Sergeant Maurice McCabe, who has now retired.

There is no denying of the facts or findings in the report. The mishandling of the referral that related to Sergeant Maurice McCabe was properly described by Justice Charlton for what it was - administrative incompetence.

Many of the concerns to emerge from the Disclosures Tribunal report had already been identified in the recent report of HIQA's statutory investigation into the management of allegations of child sexual abuse against adults of concern.

The Deputy will be aware that, after I was briefed early in 2017 on the appalling handling of a referral made about Sergeant McCabe, I directed HIQA to provide me with this report which was published earlier this year.

Tusla has developed a comprehensive Action Plan in response to the HIQA report. The Action Plan was approved by the Board in September. Each action has a designated owner and a timeframe. The interim Chief Executive Officer, Mr Pat Smyth, has assumed responsibility for the implementation of the Tusla Action plan. I have established an independent Expert Assurance Group to oversee the implementation of this Action Plan. Work is ongoing in relation to this.

While the Action Plan addresses a range of themes, with appropriate actions under each theme, a number of actions in particular aim to address the factors that can be attributed to the administrative incompetence that occurred. These include:

the improved management of retrospective cases,

the development of robust systems to strengthen interagency working on child protection referrals,

the introduction of a formal performance management system,

ensuring consistent implementation and quality assurance of policies at local level,

and the implementation of secure and effective information management systems to support case work and best practice.

Record management is a particular area for reform. It will be underpinned by the new National Child Care Information System (NCCIS) that went live nationwide in July of this year.  For the first time, Tusla social workers are working off an integrated national IT system for child protection and welfare services. The system replaces all previous methods of record-keeping, which varied from area to area.

One of the findings of the Tribunal was that there were serious practice issues at local level. It is clear that while policies and procedures were in place, they were not followed in the instances which led to the horrendous allegations against Sergeant McCabe. Tusla has accepted that the practice and governance in this case was exceptionally poor and has commenced a HR process around the allegations of serious misconduct in this case. It would not be appropriate for me to comment any further on this process prior to its completion. However, I have raised my concerns with the Board of Tusla regarding these practice issues. Tusla is to provide me with a report outlining its planned actions in this area.

I recently announced a significant increase in the funding allocation to Tusla in Budget 2019. Tusla will have some €786 million in funding, representing an increase of €33 million over 2018. This will support the implementation of actions in the Action Plan. I will shortly issue my Performance Statement to Tusla setting out the issues I want to be addressed in its Business Plan for 2019. I can assure the Deputy that the issues arising from the Disclosures Tribunal and the HIQA statutory investigation will be appropriately prioritised.

In the interest of balance, I must note that there is also a recognition  for the good work of Tusla professionals in the report. I believe that the majority of Tusla front line social workers act in good faith, and do very important work, to the best of their abilities. The dedication demonstrated by these front line workers, on a daily basis, makes a real difference to the lives of children and young people in Ireland.