Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 7 November 2018
21. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the steps she is taking to address the administrative incompetence at Tusla referred to by a person (details supplied) in the Disclosures Tribunal. [45831/18]
View answerOnce again, I can inform the Deputy at the outset that I strongly welcome the report of the Disclosures Tribunal that has fully vindicated Garda Sergeant Maurice McCabe, who has now retired.
There is no denying of the facts or findings in the report. The mishandling of the referral that related to Sergeant Maurice McCabe was properly described by Justice Charlton for what it was - administrative incompetence.
Many of the concerns to emerge from the Disclosures Tribunal report had already been identified in the recent report of HIQA's statutory investigation into the management of allegations of child sexual abuse against adults of concern.
The Deputy will be aware that, after I was briefed early in 2017 on the appalling handling of a referral made about Sergeant McCabe, I directed HIQA to provide me with this report which was published earlier this year.
Tusla has developed a comprehensive Action Plan in response to the HIQA report. The Action Plan was approved by the Board in September. Each action has a designated owner and a timeframe. The interim Chief Executive Officer, Mr Pat Smyth, has assumed responsibility for the implementation of the Tusla Action plan. I have established an independent Expert Assurance Group to oversee the implementation of this Action Plan. Work is ongoing in relation to this.
While the Action Plan addresses a range of themes, with appropriate actions under each theme, a number of actions in particular aim to address the factors that can be attributed to the administrative incompetence that occurred. These include:
the improved management of retrospective cases,
the development of robust systems to strengthen interagency working on child protection referrals,
the introduction of a formal performance management system,
ensuring consistent implementation and quality assurance of policies at local level,
and the implementation of secure and effective information management systems to support case work and best practice.
Record management is a particular area for reform. It will be underpinned by the new National Child Care Information System (NCCIS) that went live nationwide in July of this year. For the first time, Tusla social workers are working off an integrated national IT system for child protection and welfare services. The system replaces all previous methods of record-keeping, which varied from area to area.
One of the findings of the Tribunal was that there were serious practice issues at local level. It is clear that while policies and procedures were in place, they were not followed in the instances which led to the horrendous allegations against Sergeant McCabe. Tusla has accepted that the practice and governance in this case was exceptionally poor and has commenced a HR process around the allegations of serious misconduct in this case. It would not be appropriate for me to comment any further on this process prior to its completion. However, I have raised my concerns with the Board of Tusla regarding these practice issues. Tusla is to provide me with a report outlining its planned actions in this area.
I recently announced a significant increase in the funding allocation to Tusla in Budget 2019. Tusla will have some €786 million in funding, representing an increase of €33 million over 2018. This will support the implementation of actions in the Action Plan. I will shortly issue my Performance Statement to Tusla setting out the issues I want to be addressed in its Business Plan for 2019. I can assure the Deputy that the issues arising from the Disclosures Tribunal and the HIQA statutory investigation will be appropriately prioritised.
In the interest of balance, I must note that there is also a recognition for the good work of Tusla professionals in the report. I believe that the majority of Tusla front line social workers act in good faith, and do very important work, to the best of their abilities. The dedication demonstrated by these front line workers, on a daily basis, makes a real difference to the lives of children and young people in Ireland.
