I propose to take Questions Nos. 537 to 540, inclusive, together.
Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, is required by law to be independent in its work as set out in Section 8 (11) of the Child and Family Agency Act. It would be inappropriate for the Department to interfere with the professional judgement of Tusla staff in specific cases, including relation to permanency planning. Tusla’s permanency planning in respect of children in the care of the State focuses on ensuring children have stable and secure environment to reside in.
While Tusla acts as the guardian of children in care, care orders under the Act are granted by the Courts. Court oversight of the granting of care orders is a key aspect of upholding the rights of parents and families, and ensuring that children are taken into care only where it is found that they are unlikely to receive the care or protection they need unless a Court makes a care order in respect of that child.
All children in the care of the state deserve a permanent home and certainty about their future. In relation to data and reporting on the length of time children may spend in care before attaining permanency, it is important to note that permanency may look different for each and every child. While for some children permanency can mean adoption or a guardianship arrangements, for most children permanency entails an alternative care placement within the care of Tusla. A majority of these children are placed in foster care, which provides a loving and stable family environment.
Tusla publishes annual data in relation to children in care on its website: www.tusla.ie/publications/review-of-adequacy-reports
This data includes information regarding the length of time children in care have spent in alternative care, at a given point in time. In addition, in 2022 the Department launched a research and data programme, Care Experiences: Journeys Through the Irish Care System, which is being run in close collaboration with the Child and Family Agency, Tusla. The Care Experiences Programme comprises a combination of primary research and administrative data analysis to examine and better understand the lives of children and young people in care and aftercare and adults who were in care as children, including permanency and their pathways through care more generally.
Tusla has advised that all placements of children in care are subject to review on a six-monthly basis for the first two years, and annually thereafter. These reviews consider and take account of the care plan for each child, including the permanency plan. Additionally, Tusla has developed a policy and operational document relating to permanency planning for children in care, the Pathways to Permanency Handbook. This document supports social work practitioners and decision makers in their aim to ensure stable and safe care placements for children.
Tusla has further advised that the objective of permanency planning is to provide children with the opportunity of reaching their full potential in a safe and secure base and secondly, to prevent drift in care when other more appropriate care solutions could be sought. A key component of permanency planning is concurrent planning which is an approach that involves social workers considering and pursuing all reasonable permanency options at the same time for children as soon as the children are admitted to care.
Where a child is in care for over two years on under a full care order and reunification is deemed unlikely then consideration is given to the various permanency options such as:
• placement with extended family under guardianship
• placement with relatives
• long term foster care
• fostering to adoption
On adoption, Tusla has advised the number of children adopted from foster care is small but continues to increase. The latest figures in this regard are as follows:
|
Year
|
Number of children adopted from foster care
|
|
2022
|
27
|
|
2023
|
29
|
|
2024
|
45
|
Tusla has advised that at the end of Q3 2025, 115 children in foster care had been referred for consideration for adoption, which represents an increase over 2024. Tusla has advised that it does not collate data centrally on enhanced or special guardianship or other permanent legal arrangements.
Bringing a child into the care of the State and maintaining them there is a significant matter, which requires careful consideration of the specific circumstances of a child and their family. This consideration, whether by the Child and Family Agency or the Courts in relation to orders under the Act, must also have regard to the constitutional rights of all parties as they arise in each individual case. Within this context, the Department is advancing proposals within the Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2025 to support permanency for children in alternative care. This includes proposals to impose a maximum duration on Interim Care Orders and amendments to clarify the criteria and purpose of Voluntary Care Arrangements, which will be subject to regular review.
