Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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237. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of children currently in foster or other care in State or private institutions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29084/21]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The recent cyber attack has impaired access to and communication with public bodies including Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. Tusla's response to the incident continues to be focused on the primary goal of prioritising the well-being and protection of children.

Tusla regularly publishes data on it's data hub, available here:

data.tusla.ie/

Below you will find recently published information for January 2021 from Tusla in relation children in care.

The preference is always to place a child in a family environment. Ireland has consistently had in excess of 90% of children in care in foster care placements, with 91% of children in foster care placements in January 2021.

Recently available data from other jurisdictions indicate that Ireland compares favorably to other countries in the level of foster or family care placements. England Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland had between 62% and 78% of children in care in foster or family based care placements. Australia had 91% of children in foster or family care care placements.

There was a total of 5,872 children in care at the end of January 2021; 10 fewer than December 2020 (5,882) and the fewest number for the period December 2019 to January 2021. This is 99 fewer children in care at the end of January than the same time last year (5,971).

65% (3,815) of children in care are in general foster care, 26% (1,521) are in relative foster care, 7% (422) are in residential care and 2% (114) are in “other” care placements.

16 (4%) of the 422 children in residential placements are in special care

722 (12%) children in care at the end of January 2021 were in placements with private providers; seven fewer than December 2020 (729)and 33 (5%) more than January 2020 (689).

57% (413) of children in placements with private providers were in foster care, one more than December 2020 (412) and 11 more than January 2020 (402).

38% (269) of children in placements with private providers were in residential care, four fewer than December 2020 (273). This number (269) is up 15 on January 2020 (254).

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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238. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the degree to which the welfare of children continues to be provided for all circumstances whether in State or other care; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29085/21]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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240. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the obvious steps that can be most readily taken to ensure that individual cases referred to Tusla or other bodies are likely to receive urgent and ongoing attention of the highest quality; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29087/21]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 238 and 240 together.

All organisations including government departments, schools, health services, religious bodies, public sector agencies, clubs and leisure sector, funded organisations, private and voluntary bodies that are in contact with or providing services to children have an overall corporate duty and responsibility to be mindful of the welfare of children and it is expected they would actively be:

- promoting the general welfare, health, development and safety of children

- adopting and consistently applying a safe and clearly defined method of recruiting and selecting staff and volunteers

- developing tailored guidance and procedures, in accordance with Children First: National Guidance, for staff and volunteers who may have reasonable grounds for concern about the safety and welfare of children involved with the organisation

- identifying a designated liaison person to act as a liaison with outside agencies and a resource person to any staff member or volunteer who has child protection and welfare concerns. The designated liaison person is responsible for reporting allegations or concerns of child abuse to the Child and Family Agency or to An Garda Síochána

- ensuring that the organisation has clear written procedures on the action to be taken if allegations of abuse against employees/volunteers are made

- raising awareness within the organisation about potential risks to children’s safety and welfare

- developing effective procedures for responding to accidents and complaints

Organisations should contact Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, where they are concerned about a child’s welfare and co-operate with the statutory bodies in the ongoing assessment and management of the case.

In addition to the welfare work Tusla undertakes my Department also has numerous initiatives enacted to monitor and improve the welfare of children.

Such initiatives as Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures (BOBF) was the first overarching national policy framework for children and young people (aged 0-24 years). Almost all policy areas have a direct or indirect effect on children and young people’s lives. The purpose of this framework was to coordinate policy across Government to achieve better outcomes. A follow on to the good work of BOBF is being derived at the moment.

My Department also takes into account the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which sets out the basic human rights every child is entitled to. These include:

- Survival rights such as nutrition, shelter and access to medical services

- Development rights such as education, access to information and freedom of thought

- Protection rights such as protection from abuse, neglect and exploitation

- Participation rights such expression of opinions and taking part in social and cultural activities

The Convention protects these rights by setting minimum standards that governments must meet in providing healthcare, education and legal and social services to children in their countries.

My Department works closely with the Children’s Rights Alliance and other Departments in relation to the UNCRC, allowing for issues of concern relating to children in care to be raised and appropriately addressed.

Tusla is the dedicated State agency responsible for improving child welfare and protection outcomes for children. Since its establishment in 2014, it has led a comprehensive reform of child protection, early intervention and family support service. Tusla represents a fundamental shift in the provision of family support, child protection, educational welfare and alternative care services. Central to their vision is the development of services that ensure children are safe and achieving their full potential. Tusla also recognises from a rights perspective that children and families should be active participants in the development and delivery of Tusla services.

Tusla has a Child Protection and Welfare Strategy 2017-2022, it outlines their strategic vision to provide an appropriate, proportionate and timely response to children at risk or in need of support in Ireland. Similarly its business plan and corporate strategy are all orientated to improve services including those for children in care.

Services provided by Tusla are subject to internal reviews and audits and are also the subject of HIQA inspections in relation to Child Protection Services, Foster Care Services, Special Care and Tusla run Children's Residential Centres. This monitoring of provided services ensures issues that are identified can be addressed and the quality of service is maintained or improved. In addition the Ombudsman for Children and Tusla’s own National Review Panel will report on specific topics relating to the work of Tusla which prompts further improvements in Tusla services.

Throughout the pandemic and current effects of the cyber-attack of Friday 14 May 2021 Tusla continues to provide a frontline service to the vulnerable cohort of children in care.

The pandemic saw Tusla and my Department take numerous steps to respond to the public health crisis including:

- Increasing the number of foster carers through the implementation of emergency measures to allow swift recruitment and approval of foster carers.

- Liaising with stakeholders including HIQA and the Irish Foster Care Association regarding a potential amendment and temporary suspension of certain aspects of the regulations relating to the placement of children in foster care, to ensure that family based care remains as the main form of alternative care in Ireland.

- Supporting Tusla to draft a proposal outlining an alternative, remote assessment of potential foster carers to join an emergency panel of carers.

- Suspending a requirement to allow for more than two unrelated children to be placed with approved foster carers, if necessary.

- Redeploying Youth Workers into the Children’s Residential Care Sector in order to supply a potential shortfall in care staff. This will allow Youth Workers to voluntarily redeploy into the children’s residential care sector for the period of emergency measures.

- Maintaining contact between children in care and their families in line with HSE guidance and GDPR.

The recent cyber-attack on HSE IT systems has impacted on the operations of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency.

Tusla continues to provide their full range of services and supports, with social workers and social care workers around the country continuing their core work with children and families, supported by manual systems. Priority is being accorded to Child Protection and Children in Care Services (including assessment of risk). While the referrals portal for this service is impacted, referrals are being taken via phone and post and anyone with a concern is being asked to contact their local duty social work office. Contact details are available on Tusla's website at www.tusla.ie/about/ict-update/

The National Childcare Information System (NCCIS) remains unavailable and at this point. Tusla is continuing to examine the risks and challenges to all operating systems and databases. It is important to note that the investigation into the cyber attack is ongoing and will take some time.

Tusla is actively engaged with key partner agencies, including An Garda Siochana, the Courts Service and family support services and is providing guidance and information to all staff, service users and the public via the Tusla website homepage. Tusla continues to liaise with the HSE on the restoration of systems and have deployed significant ICT resources to enable safe access to internal systems as soon as possible.

My Department continues to work closely with Tusla in supporting their response to addressing the impact and implications of the Cyber-attack which has effected Tusla systems and operations.