I am satisfied that Tusla is well resourced to meet its statutory obligations and address issues arising although I am aware of many areas of need that could benefit from additional resources.
For 2021, my Department increased the allocation to Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, to a total of €894m. This is an effective increase of €46m over the final equivalent allocation for 2020 (€848m). The additional resources allow Tusla to:
- Continue work to reduce the number of children awaiting the allocation of a social worker (reduce number of unallocated cases),
- Address significant demand led cost pressures in residential care,
- Provide care and protection through quality services for victims of domestic, sexual and gender based violence,
- Continue to improve organisational and service performance to achieve better outcomes for vulnerable children, young people and their families,
- Support Tusla to meet our commitments to transfer additional unaccompanied children in Greece to Ireland as quickly as possible,
- Manage and safeguard records following their transfer from the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes to the Child and Family Agency (Tusla),
- Improve and embed robust processes to adhere to GDPR regulations and address the Data Protection Commissioner’s concerns,
- Increase capital investment to support Tusla services, and advance the Agency’s Estates Strategy.
Tusla’s annual Business Plan 2021 has been published on its website. Tusla's Corporate Plan 2021-23 has recently been laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas. Both documents outline key priorities as well as resource allocation and challenges.
My officials are in contact with Tusla on a regular basis, both in regard to its financial position and its capacity to deliver front line services to children and families. I am satisfied that Tusla can deliver on its objectives in 2021. I will engage with Tusla over the coming weeks with regard to its budget profile for 2022, as part of the official Estimates process.