Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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157. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is satisfied with the level of service TUSLA is providing for the protection of children; if Tusla will be hiring more staff to deal with the significant caseloads and to ensure children get consistent follow-up; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50687/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Both Tusla and the Department are committed to promoting safe and high quality practice in all areas of child protection and welfare. The Child Care Act, 1991 is the statutory framework for child welfare and protection in Ireland.

Tusla is very much a demand led service and operates in a challenging environment. Tusla expects to handle some 105,000 referrals this year, up from 96,666 last year. I wish to acknowledge the work of Tusla in meeting these challenges.

The Department’s funding to Tusla has increased steadily year-on-year for the past five years. There has been almost a 50% increase in core funding levels over 2020-2025 (€817m to €1,200m). Tusla received over €144 million (14%) increase in funding in 2025, giving a total budget of more than €1.257 billion. This is the third consecutive year that total Tusla funding will be over one billion euro. Tusla also received funding of approximately €60m from the Department of Education in 2025. Since its inception in 2014, Tusla has effectively seen its budget more than double and has also expanded its workforce by approximately 57%.

By the end of May 2025, Tusla employed 5,409 whole-time equivalent staff, representing an increase of 330 (7.39%) Whole Time Equivalents over May 2024 levels.

This Department is supporting Tusla regarding a number of initiatives by the Agency to retain and recruit social workers and other disciplines to meet the demand for services. Staff retention and the increase in referrals are key factors contributing to the challenges.

To further boost staffing levels, several initiatives are underway:

• a new Special Care Worker grade, offering a top salary nearly 20% higher than the standard Social Care Worker grade and over 3% higher than the Social Care Leader grade;
• a Social Work apprenticeship programme, launched in partnership with the HSE and UCC in 2024, supporting earn-as-you-learn trainees on the path to qualification. Tusla welcomed 36 apprentices in 2024 and a further 77 in 2025 under this programme.
• To enable CORU accreditation and formal establishment of a Social Care apprenticeship in 2026, Tusla has recently launched a work-based learning programme, leading to a BA in Social Care, which will act as a pilot for an apprenticeship scheme. Tusla has welcomed 18 work-based learners to this programme in 2025.