Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 April 2025
108. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of children currently residing in special care placements; and to seek the number of children, subject to a special care order of the High Court, where there is no placement available in special care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20985/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by Tusla that, as of 25th April 2025 there are 15 young people in Special Care and that there are 3 young people who are currently the subject of a Special Care Order, in accordance with the Child Care Act 1991, who are not in special care owing to the absence of an available bed in a Special Care Unit.
I understand that the Tusla CEO and Executive Management Team continue to ensure all possible mitigations are in place to manage the risks to the safety and welfare of young people who are awaiting a special care bed.
I am also aware of the significant challenges facing special care services, and I understand that the primary limiting factor in relation to the availability of special care beds, is the availability of adequate numbers of staff in Special Care Units.
Tusla are experiencing significant challenges in relation to the recruitment and retention of specialised staff in special care and are currently progressing several initiatives in an effort to address this challenge.
Following extensive engagements with my Department and the Department of Public Expenditure NDP Delivery and Reform a new grade and pay scale for Special Care has been sanctioned in an effort to increase staff numbers and Tusla commenced advertisement of this new grade in January 2025.
This new Tusla Special Care Worker grade offers an improved salary scale, offering 19.4% higher pay at top-of-scale compared to the Tusla Social Care Worker grade.
In addition to the establishment of the new grade in Special Care a record investment of over €1.2 billion has been secured by my Department for Tusla in Budget 2025. This builds on a significant increase in Tusla’s allocation in 2024. An additional €1 million has been made available in Budget 2025 to support Tusla to specifically address staffing issues in special care.
While the operation of special care and the provision of special care beds is the statutory responsibility of Tusla, my Department is actively engaging with Tusla in relation to the issues impacting on special care, and will continue to provide support to Tusla that is necessary to address the current very significant challenges impacting on this service.
