Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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1871. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the outcomes that Tusla is hoping to achieve from changes occurring regarding the Integrated Reform Programme; the underlying evidence or rationale for the changes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19877/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I am advised by Tusla that the proposed Tusla Integrated Reform Programme is an initiative being considered and prepared to improve the way that Tusla deliver services to children and families. It also aims to improve the staff experience. The programme aims to implement key improvements based on detailed and considered evidence and consultations.

The Programme intends to:

1. Design and implement strengthened regional supports and structures to ensure well led, robustly governed and consistent service delivery across the country, addressing the current evidence that inequity currently exists across such structures.
2. Move to greater local integrated service delivery in communities by moving from 17 areas to 30 networks. Tusla maintain this should provide greater access to the wide range of responses provided by it and could provide improved connection with other services in those communities. This should lead to a greater balance of child populations in each of the proposed new network areas. To illustrate the point, currently the largest of Tusla’s 17 areas is over five times larger (in terms of child population) than the smallest existing area.
3. Increase and enhance support in the provision of foster care, residential care and aftercare to children to resolve inequity across the country and to reduce over-reliance on costly care types.
4. Improve the retention of staff, maximise staff recruitment and ensure a well-trained and skilled workforce to meet the needs of children and families now and into the future.

• Greater equity, capacity and quality in each region with more consistent structures and spans of control and an open and transparent approach to more equitable resource allocation, both internal and external. It will ensure that resources are targeted to where they are most needed, increase service capacity in line with demand and ensure evidence-based data will support service planning in response to the needs of children and families.
• Consistent, integrated and digitally enabled services, leaner business processes, a multidisciplinary workforce who are empowered to work as part of high performing teams with a focus on increasing face-to-face contact time and to better respond to the needs of children, young people, families, and communities.
• Better outcomes for children and families receiving the right support at the right time, supported through child-centred & family-led practice interventions with shared ownership & risk-sensible decision and plans. Children and families will find it easier to access local community and voluntary services in their area enabling a better connection to their community.