NO ACTION WAS taken around some cases of alleged physical abuse in child protection and welfare services operated by Tusla in the Cork service area.  

The issue came to light following a recent HIQA inspection in the Cork service area to assess progress being made in relation to previous non-compliances which were identified.

HIQA today released inspection reports which identified non-compliances at three Tusla child protection services which were inspected to assess progress being made in relation to previous non-compliances.

The inspections were carried out in child protection and welfare services operated by Tusla in the Waterford Wexford, Dublin South West Kildare West Wicklow, and Cork service areas.

In the Cork service area, one standard was substantially compliant and four were not compliant.

Following the inspection, HIQA identified new risks and escalated these to the area manager and has sought assurances on how these risks would be addressed in order for the area to be brought into compliance.

These risks included cases where physical abuse was alleged, where children were either not seen immediately or action was not taken following a visit, and a lack of accountability for the monitoring and review of intake records assigned to child-in-care teams. 

For one child with a disability, where there were concerns for physical abuse, it took two months for the child to be seen by a social worker.

Another child, who had reported violence in the home, had not been seen by a social worker.

In addition to this, in a case for a child with an intellectual disability where there was uncertainty of accommodation for them, they were not met with by a social worker.

Meanwhile, HIQA said the Cork service area had experienced staffing challenges and a “significant” increase in referrals that has impacted on its ability to “consistently deliver a safe and effective service throughout 2024”.

Inspectors found that while management tried to ensure resources were deployed effectively, they faced challenges in improving service provision.

HIQA said management and staff continued to be “stretched beyond their capacity” to mitigate against risks posed to the service, meaning that not all children received a timely service.

However, HIQA said improvements had been made since the previous inspection in 2024 to strengthen governance and oversight.

In the Waterford Wexford service area, two standards were compliant, two were substantially compliant and one was not compliant.

Over the previous 12 months, the service area had focused on examining their data in relation to waiting lists and oversight of the cases awaiting allocation.

The service was working to minimise the length of time children and families stayed on waiting lists and to provide them with a service as quickly as possible.

But despite significant efforts on behalf of the management team, the service area continued to be unable to deliver a timely service to all children.

HIQA inspectors remarked that while there was a “clear strategic plan in place” and “staff were doing everything within their power to use the resources available to them”.

However, inspectors found that the service did not have sufficient staffing to meet the needs of all children in a timely manner. 

In the Dublin South West Kildare West Wicklow service area, one standard was compliant, one was substantially compliant and three were not compliant.

HIQA found that the service area did not have sufficient staff to fulfil its statutory obligations to deliver timely and consistent services to all children.

Inspectors added that “despite the best efforts of management, there was a high number of children on waiting lists who did not have an allocated social worker”.

There was also a lack of appropriate alternative care placements for some children who required State care and HIQA identified risks in the service that it said could not be mitigated without “significant additional resources”.

However, HIQA found that all new referrals were screened according to Tusla policy despite resourcing challenges, increasing numbers of new referrals and increased complexity of cases.

The service was also deemed to be “rigorously managed to maximise the safety and welfare of all children referred to it”.

“The governance systems in place supported a safe and effective service for many children, despite insufficient resources to meet the consistently increasing demand,” said HIQA.

HIQA added that staff demonstrated “care and concern for the children using the service, and when children were allocated they received a good quality service”.

Tusla is planning a national reform programme which will involve restructuring itself from 17 service areas into 30 networks.

It is hoped that this will provide consistent, quality and integrated responses to those who use Tusla services.

HIQA said it recognises that the service areas were waiting for Tusla’s national integrated reform programme to come into place to help alleviate the pressures they were facing.