CONCERNS HAVE BEEN raised over the length of time Tusla has taken to deal with child welfare issues in parts of Dublin this year, based on figures published by the agency.

It comes after child referrals to Tusla reached a record high last year, with the figure expected to rise above 100,000 for the first time this year.

Child protection referrals see a screening process commenced by a social worker which determines if a child is at immediate risk of harm.

Data published on Tusla’s website reveals that the child and family agency received 2,168 in the Dublin South Central area during the first three months of the year, but that only 455 of these were the subject of a preliminary inquiry.

A Tusla spokesperson said that cases that are closed or not followed up still receive “appropriate screening and assessment” within 24 hours, in line with child welfare regulations.

Of the 2,168 cases in Dublin South Central, 1,317 (61%) were closed following an initial screening within 24 hours, including 228 cases which required no further action.

In some instances, cases were closed as they were deemed to involve children who were already in Tusla’s system and were therefore double-counted.

The figures also show that just 58 referrals – or just 2% of the number Tusla received in Dublin South Central – were followed up on within five working days.

There were also low figures on the number of referrals that were followed up in other parts of the capital and surrounding areas.

The follow-up figure was even lower in Dublin South West/Kildare/West Wicklow, where Tusla conducted inquiries into 460 out of 2,439 referrals in the first quarter of 2025.

Of those, just 14 were completed within five days.

Those figures were similar in Dublin North, where only 460 out of 2,399 referrals were followed up, including just 39 within a five-day time-frame.

And in Dublin North City, 318 out of 1,524 referrals were followed up by Tusla, 29 of which happened within five days. 

The figures were slightly better in Dublin South East/Wicklow, where around a third of referrals (311 out of 1,095) were followed up, including 75 within five days.

Responding to the figures, Social Democrats TD Aidan Farrelly said that the under-resourcing of Tusla was an issue that could no longer be ignored.

He told The Journal that the agency’s workload is continuing to grow, and that it’s “unacceptable to think that referrals are being not seen to in any sort of timely fashion”.

He also said that the number of referrals would continue to grow each year unless the government addressed wider societal issues such as employment and education in the areas where children were being referred.

A team of 1,700 social workers dealt with the referrals, and last year, the agency warned that Ireland is “not producing an adequate supply” of social workers and social care workers through third-level institutions to meet the existing and future requirements for the profession.

Clarification: This article was updated after Tusla provided further information about the nature of screening, closures and multiple referrals being made in relation to one child.