An unending string of damning reports has made it impossible to have full and unreserved trust in Tusla, and action must be taken to take children out of harm\u2019s way, according to Social Democrats children spokesperson Aidan Farrelly.<\/p>\n
Deputy Farrelly said:<\/p>\n
\u201cToday\u2019s report from the Health Information and Quality Authority, which found that children were engaging in regular illicit substance use at a Tusla residential centre, is shocking but not surprising.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe centre, which is in the south-west of the country, failed to meet all five standards it was assessed for – Hiqa has issued an urgent compliance plan to curb immediate risks to the safety, health and welfare of children living there.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has sadly gotten to the point that reports like these are to be expected every time the lid is lifted on our child and family agency – it\u2019s become normalised for Tusla to fail to run a service which complies with safeguarding standards for the children in its care.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe volume of social workers in Tusla who have gotten in touch and expressed their concern about the state of the agency is a cause for urgent concern, as is the number of judges who have voiced their frustration at the inaction surrounding court orders and the conditions in Special Emergency Arrangements.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast week, I asked Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin to commit to an independent review of Tusla. In response, the Taoiseach said that this would be a mistake as it would \u2018paralyse\u2019 the organisation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Government is choosing to look away when reports like Hiqa\u2019s are raised, preferring to ignore Tusla\u2019s problems and the risks they present rather than recognising the seriousness of the agency\u2019s condition and the problems which have developed under their watch.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that something as important as the care of Ireland\u2019s most vulnerable children is something that should be scrutinised to the utmost degree, and that if an organisation will be paralysed if it is subject to an independent review, then that organisation is not fit for purpose.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am once again urging the Government to stop sweeping Tusla\u2019s issues under the rug and commit to a thorough examination of its governance structure, capacity and standards by conducting an independent review at the nearest possible opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
May 7th, 2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" An unending string of damning reports has made it impossible to have full and unreserved trust in Tusla, and action must be taken to take children out of harm\u2019s way, according to Social Democrats children spokesperson Aidan Farrelly. Deputy Farrelly said: \u201cToday\u2019s report from the Health Information and Quality Authority, which found that children were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11557,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[396,540,7,693],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aidan-farrelly","category-children","category-press-release","category-tusla"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n