Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 June 2019
845. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the status of the response of Tusla to the findings of the HIQA investigation into the way in which it manages child sexual abuse referrals against adults of concern, published in June 2018 (details supplied). [24201/19]
View answerIn 2018, HIQA published a report that was carried out at my direction, namely the "Report of the investigation into the management of child sexual abuse against adults of concern by the Child and Family Agency (Tusla) upon the direction of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs".
The report included a recommendation that Tusla would review the findings of the report and, produce an action plan. Tusla’s strategic action plan contains 46 proposed discrete initiatives under nine themes to support the operational outcomes. This plan was approved by the Tusla Board and it was published on its website in November 2018. The current version, updated in line with the recommendation, represents the position as at April 2019 and includes comments on more recent achievements. Tusla's 2019 business plan includes key deliverables from the strategic action plan.
I established an Expert Assurance Group (EAG) to, amongst other things, monitor the progress of Tusla's action plan. I receive reports from the EAG which are published on my Department's website. The EAG has noted that Tusla has expended a considerable amount of time and resources responding to the key issues from the report. I have been advised by the Expert Assurance Group that the actions addressing the findings of the report and to improve services are well underway, and Tusla has the requisite mechanisms in place to monitor their implementation. The next meeting of the EAG is scheduled to take place on 12th June 2019.
