Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 June 2016
27. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her proposals to identify and provide the necessary back up for children at risk, whether from physical or mental abuse, neglect or other failure; if she is satisfied that the existing structures will meet the challenges of the future; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14820/16]
View answerThe Child and Family Agency, Tusla, holds the statutory responsibility for child welfare and protection, and is the appropriate body to receive reports of concerns relating to children at risk.
Each referral received by the Agency is assessed and dealt with on an individual basis by the relevant social work team. Preliminary screening is aimed at establishing the appropriateness of the referral to Tusla services and, if necessary, is followed by an initial assessment of the concern to determine the best course of action for the child and their family. Over half of all referrals received by Tusla are welfare concerns and Tusla's policy is to refer these to relevant family and community support services.
At any stage, if a determination is made that there is abuse or the risk of abuse, whether physical, emotional, sexual or neglect, the child protection pathway is followed. A social worker works with the parent/s to support them to provide safe care for their child. In a minority of cases this may lead to the child being placed on the Child Protection Notification System (CPNS) or the child being received into care. I wish to assure the Deputy that Tusla deals immediately with emergency cases, including for instance, if a child has been abandoned or is in immediate physical danger or at immediate risk of sexual abuse. Social work duty teams keep high priority cases under review by regularly checking to ascertain risk to the child, and where necessary will reprioritise the case.
Provisional figures for 2015 show that there were 25,361 child welfare concerns and 18,235 child protection concerns received by Tusla. Referrals come from a number of sources so there are some duplicates in these figures, and some will be more appropriate for universal services, such as those provided in the community or health sectors.
