Child Protection Services Provision

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 July 2018

Tuesday, 3 July 2018

Questions (486)

Mattie McGrath

Question:

486. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of children listed as being active on the child protection notification system for each of the past four years; the location of the children by county in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29268/18]

Written answers

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs

The Child Protection Notification System (CPNS), in accordance with Children First: National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children, 2011, is a national record of all children who are the subject of a child protection plan agreed at a child protection conference. The CPNS is accessible to named professional groups subject to strict protocols.

Each referral received by Tusla is assessed and dealt with on an individual basis by the relevant social work team. Approximately 60% of referrals to Tusla are of a child welfare concern with the remaining 40% related to child protection concerns. Tusla's policy is to refer child welfare referrals to relevant family and community support services. At any stage, if a determination is made that there is abuse, whether physical, emotional, sexual or neglect, from which there is an ongoing risk of harm, the child protection pathway is followed. 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.

Using the most recent data available, I can inform the deputy that, as of March 2018, there was 1,250 children active on the CPNS. Tusla does not collate data by county but by administrative area. The following table details the number of children listed as active at the end of each year from Q4 2014 to Q1 2018.

Table: The total number of children at the end of the reporting period who were listed as active on the CPNS

Administrative Area	Q4 2014	Q4 2015	Q4 2016	Q4 2017	Q1 2018
Dublin South Central	146	181	109	63	59
Dublin South East/West Wicklow	18	16	26	52	46
Dublin South West/Kildare/Wicklow	64	54	60	52	49
Midlands	82	94	86	83	92
Dublin City North	101	90	78	78	81
Dublin North	24	56	93	73	77
Louth/Meath	121	92	106	115	97
Cavan/Monaghan	39	43	15	23	23
Cork	81	71	63	126	114
Kerry	32	34	23	48	46
Carlow/Kilkenny/South Tipperary	121	97	83	88	76
Waterford/Wexford	97	65	100	110	125
Midwest	153	161	182	169	153
Galway/Roscommon	109	102	94	88	97
Mayo	78	77	62	52	48
Donegal	71	74	50	60	51
Sligo/Leitrim/West Cavan	63	47	42	24	16
National Total	1,400	1,354	1,272	1,304	1,250

Please note that data for Q4 2015 - Q1 2018 is from the National Child Protection Notification System (CPNS) which was introduced in 2015. Data for Q4 2014 is collated from systems held locally. Also, data prior to Q4 2017 may include children visiting from another jurisdiction who were on a similar system in that jurisdiction at the time of their arrival and who were placed on the National CPNS for the duration of their stay.