Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 February 2023
68. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he is satisfied that adequate support exists for all children insofar as is possible who might be subjected to a threat from any quarter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6130/23]
View answerThis particular question raises the issue of support for the protection of children in all circumstances, whether in the settled or immigration community or the courts. We have a duty to protect all children.
As the Deputy is aware, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, is the statutory body with responsibility for child protection and welfare services. If I or my officials become aware of a situation in which a child is considered to be at risk, that concern is communicated to Tusla as a matter of urgency.
The Children First Act 2015 places a number of statutory obligations on specific groups of professionals and particular organisations providing services to children. The Children First guidance 2017 includes information on the statutory obligations for those individuals and organisations under the Act. It also sets out the best practice procedures that should be in place for all organisations providing services to children.
Under the Act, mandated persons are required to report child protection concerns at or above a defined threshold to Tusla. Mandated persons are people who have contact with children and families and who, because of their qualifications, training or employment role, are in a key position to help protect children from harm. Organisations classed as providers of relevant services under the Act are required to undertake a risk assessment and develop a child safeguarding statement setting out the procedures in place to manage any risk identified.
The Children First Act operates side by side with the non-statutory obligations provided for in Children First, the national guidance for the protection and welfare of children. The guidance sets out how reports about reasonable concerns of child abuse or neglect should be made by the public and professionals to Tusla and what organisations need to do to keep children safe.
If a child appears to be at risk of harm or neglect, concerns should be reported to Tusla. Anyone can report concerns about a child to Tusla, and information on how to do so is available on its website. If a child is at immediate risk or in danger, An Garda Síochána should be alerted without delay
Tusla acts urgently on notification of an immediate risk to a child.
Children who are at immediate risk may be dealt with initially by An Garda Síochána or Tusla but, in the main, both agencies work together on such cases. Tusla has an out-of-hours emergency number that provides advice to An Garda Síochána based on the circumstances and can identify where a child is listed on the child protection notification system. A 24-7 out-of-hours social work team is available in Dublin, Wicklow, Kildare and Cork, and on-call social workers are available in other areas. Tusla has a network of emergency foster care placements for children in need of emergency care out of hours.
The concerns of a fairly considerable cohort of mothers whose children have been removed from them have been brought to my attention recently. Their children have been removed not because they had bad mothers or bad homes but for other reasons. These mothers are victims of referrals to the system and numerous hearings where attention is not brought to the concerns they brought to the attention of the appropriate authorities and their children are alienated from them. We do not seem to be able to come to grips with it. Will the Minister recognise this problem exists and that Tusla has an obligation to protect children? The Children First legislation is there for that purpose but it does not always apply.
The Deputy is correct. The protection of children is the primary obligation on Tusla. By and large, the removal of children from their families is a last resort and is undertaken in situations where the social worker or indeed An Garda Síochána feel there is a significant risk to the child and they have to intervene. Where that takes place, the response is as much as is possible to place a child with a foster family to ensure he or she is in as natural a family atmosphere as possible. A total of 90% of children in care in this country are in foster care, which is a much higher percentage than many other countries.
I recognise that where a child has been taken away from their family and particularly their mother, it creates incredible hardship for that family. We are looking at whether there are ways in which we can provide better advocacy and supports to parents, recognising that advocacy systems are in place for children in the care system. It is also important to recognise the needs of parents who have had children taken away from them.
I agree with the Minister that taking children away, especially from their mother, should be a last resort but, unfortunately, this is not the case. It is used as a first resort in a situation that is prevalent in this country and which I believe is alien to everything we stand for. I would like some investigation to be carried out in the shortest period of time into the number of such cases. Mothers have a legitimate claim that their case is not being heard adequately.
The Deputy is probably referring to specific cases of which he has direct experience. I know he has advocated on this issue. He understands that, as Minister, I am unable to involve myself directly in a case before the court due to the statutory independence of the Child and Family Agency.
Regarding whether there is a category of cases or we are just dealing with one or two, the Deputy seems to suggest there are a wider range of cases so I am happy to talk to him afterwards about this to get a better understanding of what we are trying to categorise. I have strong confidence in Tusla, notwithstanding the fact that not every social worker makes the right call every time. By and large, the right practices and policies are in place in Tusla to ensure we have a very consistent approach regarding taking a child away from a family. I am happy to discuss this directly with the Deputy.
