Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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389. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if she is aware of a news article (details supplied) highlighting that three children in danger could not be provided with special care; the action she will take to ensure there are sufficient places available for children in danger as required; if she will oversee a recruitment and retention drive to ensure that special care is fully staffed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22302/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I am advised by Tusla that, as of 6th May 2025 there are 15 young people in Special Care and that there are 3 young people who are currently the subject of a Special Care Order, in accordance with the Child Care Act 1991, who are not in Special Care owing to the absence of an available bed in a Special Care Unit.

I am fully aware of the significant challenges facing special care services, and I understand that the primary limiting factor in relation the availability of Special Care beds, is the availability of adequate numbers of staff in Special Care Units.

I share the Deputy’s concern that children in the care of the State, of whom those requiring special care are perhaps the most vulnerable, should have access to a special care place when they need it. I am assured that the Tusla CEO and Executive Management Team continue to ensure all possible mitigations are in place to manage the risks to the safety and welfare of young people who are awaiting a Special Care bed.

There remains significant challenges in relation to the recruitment and retention of specialised staff in special care and Tusla are currently progressing several initiatives to address this challenge.

Following extensive engagements with my Department and the Department of Public Expenditure NDP Delivery and Reform a new grade and pay scale for Special Care has been sanctioned in an effort to increase staff numbers and Tusla commenced advertisement of this new grade in January 2025.

This new Tusla Special Care Worker grade offers an improved salary scale, offering 19.4% higher pay at top-of-scale compared to the Tusla Social Care Worker grade.

I am advised that Tusla continues to prioritise recruitment initiatives for Special Care with a dedicated recruitment team carrying out engaging talent attraction processes across a number of targeted campaigns and through a variety of media outlets.

I understand Tusla has also made extensive efforts to address the challenge of staff retention including the establishment of a dedicated retention team to focus on key initiatives.

This includes the launch of a coaching network for both managers and staff to provide support in achieving goals and enhancing career progression opportunities.

Additionally, a Violence, Harassment, and Aggression taskforce has been established to ensure appropriate training and supports are available to staff working in challenging environments.

While financial resources are not understood to be a constraint on Tusla’s operation of the special care service, the Minister for Children secured a record investment of over €1.2 billion for Tusla in Budget 2025. This builds on a significant increase in Tusla’s allocation in 2024. An additional €1 million has been made available in Budget 2025 to support Tusla to address staffing issues in special care.

While the operation of special care and the provision of special care beds is the statutory responsibility of Tusla, my Department is actively engaging with Tusla in relation to the issues impacting on special care, and will continue to provide support to Tusla that is necessary to address the current very significant challenges impacting on this service.