Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 January 2026
1911. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department monitors compliance with permanency planning timelines within Tusla at a national level; if so, the performance indicators used; and how breaches of those timelines are addressed as a matter of governance and accountability. [74390/25]
View answerThank you Deputy, for your question. This Department and Tusla, recognise the importance of placement stability, and permanency planning for children and young people in care.
The Department does not specifically monitor Tusla's compliance with internal Tusla policies or guidelines. Tusla, as an independent agency with statutory responsibility for the provision of alternative care, has developed national policy and guidelines around the process of permanency planning, which aims to provide high-quality, stable and safe care for children who require a care placement. This planning takes place as part of the individual care plan for each child or young person in care.
The Department works with Tusla, Government Colleagues, and Oireachtas Committees, to develop and monitor a set of performance metrics, in the context of the annual Revised Estimates Volume (REV). These include such metrics as percentage of children in care with a care plan, and the percentage of young people in care who are in full-time education. It also includes the percentage of children in care in a third or greater, placement, within the previous 12 months. This latter metric is a good indicator of overall placement stability within Tusla's alternative care services.
Tusla's alternative care services are also subject to internal Tusla inspections through the likes of the Practice Assurance and Service Monitoring team and the Alternative Care Inspection and Monitoring Service as well as reviews by the National Review Panel and comprehensive inspection by HIQA.
