Tusla, the Child and Family Agency holds statutory responsibility under the Child Care Act 1991 and other legislation to safeguard children who are not receiving adequate care and protection. This means assisting children, who have been, or are at risk of being abused, neglected or otherwise harmed, or whose parents are unable to provide adequate care or protection. The aim is to intervene early to provide a timely response that is appropriate and proportionate to the identified need. Tusla conducts this work in partnership with other statutory services, such as health, education, An Garda Síochána, local authorities, the voluntary sector and most importantly families and their communities.
Section 13 of the Child Care Act allows the District Court to grant an emergency care order to Tusla if there is reasonable cause to believe a child faces immediate and serious risk to their health or welfare.
In practice, this means that where a child is believed to have been subjected to harm where the impact of that harm has posed an immediate and serious risk to the child, and that no other measure could be established that removes the likelihood of a such a risk of future harm occurring, the Agency has a statutory duty to make an application to the court under Section 13 of the Act. Section 13(1) of the Act sets out the thresholds that need to be met before the District Court can grant an emergency care order.
Court oversight of the granting of care orders, including emergency 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.
Tusla publishes annual data in relation to the legal status of children in its care: https://www.tusla.ie/publications/review-of-adequacy-reports/. These reports outline the number of children coming into care for the first time under a section 13 emergency care order, in a given year. This information is not broken down by age.
Both Tusla and the Department are committed to promoting safe and high-quality practice in all areas of Alternative Care. This is achieved through the thorough application of regulations and standards that govern Alternative Care on behalf of the State, and is underpinned by the provisions of the Child Care Act 1991.
The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) monitors the quality of service provided by the Child and Family Agency to protect children and to promote the welfare of children. The Authority monitors the performance of the Child and Family Agency against the National Standards for the Protection and Welfare of Children and advises the Minister and Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. The National Standards state that in safe and effective services, social workers are supported in making appropriate evidence-based assessments and decisions and managing risk to provide interventions and supports that are more likely to protect children not receiving adequate care and protection.
HIQA submits its Inspection Reports to the Department, and where necessary the Reports are analysed and escalated within the Department to Senior Management. The Department engages with Tusla on the implementation of compliance plans when deemed necessary.
Under the provisions of the Child and Family Agency Act 2013, Tusla is independent in the performance of its functions. The Department does not direct the day to day operations of Tusla. In keeping with the provisions of the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies, the Department’s governance of Tusla is captured within its Oversight Agreement.
The Oversight Agreement includes references to
• the reporting arrangements between the Department and Tusla,
• the roles and responsibilities of key parties including the role of the Board of Tusla, its Audit and Risk Committee, its Chief Executive Officer and Executive Management team,
• how Tusla’s annual business plan and longer term strategy are aligned with the priorities of the Minister and of the Government,
• the monitoring arrangements including the formal engagements and different meetings between senior Departmental Official and staff in Tusla to ensure that its actions are properly aligned.
The Department’s oversight of Tusla extends to the control environment it has in place including the work of its Audit and Risk committee which, in turn, is responsible for the oversight of the identification and management of risks in the organisation.
The Department also works with the Board of Tusla in ensuring that it is in compliance with the provisions of the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies and seeks corroborating evidence on the controls it operates in providing effective leadership and direction to the organisation.
Under the Programme for Government 2025, Securing Ireland's Future, the Government has made a number of commitments with a view to strengthening the Child and Family Agency, Tusla, and protecting children, which include updating the Child Care Act, 1991, to ensure it reflects our current child protection environment.
Within this context, I am advancing proposals within the Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2025, which is awaiting Committee Stage in Dáil Éireann, to establish principles to guide the Child and Family Agency in the performance of its obligations and duties under the 1991 Act and under subsection 8(1) of the Child and Family Agency Act 2013. These principles include that Tusla shall regard the best interests of the child as the paramount consideration.
