Claire Kerrane
Question:947. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of the recommendations made by the report into special care that have been implemented. [9911/26]
View answerTuesday, 10 February 2026
Questions (947)
Written answers
Special care units are secure, residential facilities for children in care aged between 11 and 17 years. They are detained under a High Court care order for a short-term period of stabilisation when their behaviour poses a real and substantial risk of harm to their life, health, safety, development or welfare. In line with Article 37 of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, such detention, which deprives a child of their liberty, is used only as a measure of last resort. The Child and Family Agency (Tusla) has statutory responsibility for the operation of Special Care in Ireland, and for the provision of Special Care beds.
The External Review Group was commissioned by Tusla and tasked with examining the operation of special care services in Ireland. The report details a number of recommendations for its future delivery. I am advised by Tusla that they are actively implementing several of these recommendations.
A number of these recommendations relate to staff remuneration, retention and recruitment. Officials from this Department continue to work with Tusla to support them in addressing these and the immediate challenges in Special Care.
Among the actions being progressed by Department officials and Tusla to address the issues and recommendations in the report are:
Significant pay enhancements have been made. A new grade and pay scale for Special Care has been sanctioned in an effort to increase staff numbers. The new grade provides additional opportunities and a higher career salary scale for both Social Care Workers and Social Care Leaders. The new Tusla Special Care Worker grade offers approximately 20% higher pay at top-of-scale compared to the Social Care Worker grade.
The establishment of three new Step Down units is in progress. Two are scheduled to be completed by Q4 2026 and one in 2027. These will have a capacity of three children each to accommodate children with more complex needs who need a higher level of support than the mainstream residential settings.
Tusla has been allocated €188m capital funding for 2026-2030. Reflecting the priorities in the National Development Plan, €17m is the indicative allocation for special care in Tusla’s Capital Plan for 2026-2030. This will support Tusla in upgrading, renovating or purchasing special care and step down units.
Officials in the Department, in collaboration with Tusla, has commissioned a Review of International Practice in Special Care, expected to be completed in Quarter 3 2026, which will provide insights into practice in other jurisdictions.
Officials in the Department of Children are currently developing a National Policy Framework for Alternative Care. This will deliver on a commitment in the Programme for Government to develop a national plan on alternative care, including articulating a long-term vision for alternative care in Ireland.
€26m has been allocated to special care in Budget 2026, an increase of over €6m on Budget 2025. This investment will facilitate an increase in capacity and enhanced provision by including funding for new special care staff grades, staff well-being initiatives and additional therapeutic supports. It includes €1.3m to provide an enhanced multi-disciplinary therapeutic service to children on the edge of special care, in special care, and transitioning from a special care environment.
Considerable work continues to be undertaken to address the complex challenges in the provision of special care. While the operation of special care and the provision of special care beds is the statutory responsibility of Tusla, officials in the Department are actively engaging with Tusla in relation to the issues impacting on special care. Officials in the Department will continue to provide support to Tusla that is necessary to address the current very significant challenges impacting on this service, and examine longer term actions for the future provision of special care, informed by the Report of the External Review Group on Special Care.