Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein)
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975. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the implementation actions as recommended under the implementation plan for Tusla actions arising from an audit (details supplied) that have been completed; the actions outstanding; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54332/18]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy for her question. I met with Dr. Shannon after the publication of his report to better understand the intent of the report recommendations and seek clarity on the measures that would be applied to assess the implementation of his recommendations. Following these discussions Dr, Shannon and I agreed to the measures outlined in the Action Plan.

I am pleased to report progress has been made on the recommendations. While many of the recommendations for Tusla are of an ongoing nature, I sought assurance at the start of this process that the issues identified are kept to the fore across child protection assessments and ongoing engagement with vulnerable families.

The ongoing implementation of Signs of Safety as the national approach to child protection provides an increased level of analysis and judgement, which will improve consistency in determining appropriate response pathways for children and families, ensuring they receive a proportionate and timely response.

Joint working between Tusla and An Garda Síochána has been enhanced on a number of levels. In relation to Tusla's engagement with An Garda Síochána, the Joint Working Protocol has been operational since Quarter 1, 2018. Work has now commenced on the joint auditing of its implementation.

The Tusla/An Garda Síochána Joint Data Sharing Agreement is expected to be signed off by Tusla's Interim CEO and the Garda Commissioner in Quarter 1, 2019.

The AGS has established the National Child Protection Unit which is now operational. In October 2018, Tusla assigned a senior staff member for secondment to this Unit with specific responsibility for the development of a joint working model. A draft Specialist Interviewing Protocol is under consultation, with a target launch date end of February 2019.

Progress has also been made on developing the out of hours social work service. A single national out of hours number went live on 3/12/18 and is available to members of An Garda Síochána, Out of Hours GP services and the Accident and Emergency service. This service provides access to an on-call social worker at regional /area level who can go the scene of an incident in specific cases of a serious nature.

You may also be interested to know that Dr. Shannon's findings on the way Section 12 events were managed by An Garda Síochána prompted me to request Tusla to commission research into how social workers made decisions when a child came into their custody, following the use by An Garda Síochána of Section 12 of the Child Care Act 1991. This research was undertaken by NUI Galway and a final report is expected early this year.

The focus of Dr. Shannon's audit of the application of Section 12 was An Garda Síochána, but the report also identified key areas for improvement in Tusla practice. The Action Plan I agreed with Dr. Shannon addressed these areas. While not all actions are not yet completed, I am confident that the changes that have been put in place are bringing about lasting improvements.