A TUSLA TEAM that is reviewing cases that were closed off by the agency during the Covid-19 period is set to work with the department of education to check that over 23,000 children are still in school.

The steering group for the case review project is headed up by Tanya Ward, chief executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance. 

Ward today said that the Kyran Durnin and Daniel Aruebose cases “prompted this review”. 

Kyran, at eight-years-old, was reported missing alongside his mother from Drogheda, Co Louth, in August 2024. 

The inquiry into his disappearance has been upgraded to a murder probe, but no one has ever been charged, the case remains unsolved, and Kyran’s body has not been located. 

Tusla had engagement with the Durnin family and a review, which has not been released, found that there were practice weaknesses in how his case was handled. 

Last year it emerged that a young boy who was last seen in the apartment complex that he lived in Donabate, Dublin, had been missing for several years. 

In September of last year gardaí found his skeletal remains in an area of open ground in the locality.

Daniel Aruebose was last seen alive between the age of three and three-and-a-half, and he would be eight years old.

In the course of the search for Daniel, it emerged that he had been in foster care, and that Tusla services were engaged with him, but he was placed back in the care of his parents and engagement with Tusla ceased shortly thereafter. 

After Tusla’s involvement with Daniel was made public, Children’s Minister Norma Foley announced that she’d asked the agency to review all children’s cases that were closed during a set time period. 

Foley today shared an update on the work carried out by the group since it finalised its methodology in December. 

It was initially thought that the group would be reviewing around 42,000 children’s cases, but today Foley said that 18,000 cases will not be reviewed as the team has found that those children have since turned 18. 

When a child is over 18, the Child and Family Agency has no remit to carry out checks on them, a statement from the Department of Children said. 

The review is specifically focusing on children in respect of whom no new referrals were made and engagement with Tusla had ceased. 

Data on the 23,594 children whose cases are still being assessed by the review team is to be shared with the Department of Children. 

“If the child is not known to the school system, further checks will be carried out by the Department of Social Protection”, other government departments, and the HSE. 

“These checks will assist Tusla in identifying the whereabouts of these children,” a Department spokesperson said. 

If grounds for concern arise for any child in the course of a wellbeing check, they will be allocated to a dedicated team in Tusla’s social work service. 

Norma Foley today said that the project is making “real progress”. 

“These wellbeing checks add an important extra layer of assurance in the child protection space. Ultimately, our focus remains clear: making sure every child is safe, supported and protected,” she added.

Ward said that she was committed to carrying out every necessary wellbeing check, and that work needed to be done to prioritise child protection and to ensure no more “tragedies” happen akin to the cases of Kyran and Daniel.