Child agency new start after years of failure: Kenny

Taoiseach Enda Kenny pledged that the Child and Family Agency would not be just be “going through the motions” but would transform the way Ireland treats vulnerable youngsters.

Launching the organisation, known as Tusla, Mr Kenny said it represented a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to reform child protection services.

However, Fianna Fáil said a lack of key personnel put children at risk as figures showed just 30% of posts for the child and adolescent mental health services have been filled, and more than 200 social work posts remain vacant even as child referrals rise.

Mr Kenny said the agency would co-ordinate regulation of pre-schools, family support, and child protection in one organisation.

The agency will have a budget of €600m and employ 4,000 people transferred from other bodies.

Following a raft of damning reports chronicling how the State had failed Irish children over decades, Mr Kenny said the agency marked a new beginning.

“This is not just another agency, it is proactive. It is not just going through the motions,” he said.

Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald said the move would create a “seamless integration of policy and service delivery”.

“For too long, our flawed approach treated child and family services like an adjunct of another agency, as an afterthought. But not anymore,” she said.

Ms Fitzgerald said the agency would, for the first time, bring together child and family social workers, social care workers, and education welfare officers.

Jennifer Gargan, director of Epic, a group promoting the well-being of children in care, welcomed the agency.

“We hope that the agency will bring a new era for children in Ireland,” said Ms Gargan. “We hope there will be a shift in culture that embeds the rights of all children, ensuring that their voices are heard and best interests ingrained into all decisions made that so critically affect their lives.”

Fianna Fáil spokesman on mental health Colm Keaveney expressed concern about the impact spending cuts are having on frontline child protection services.

“Our mental health services are stretched to the limit, with just 137 or 459 posts filled at the end of November last,” said Mr Keaveney. “At the end of September last, 413 children were over a year on a waiting list for a first appointment.

“The demand on Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services is running at 13% above the anticipated level.”

Q&A

Q. What is the Child And Family Agency?

A. Its chief executive officer, Gordon Jeyes, said it would be a “ferocious corporate parent” providing children with access to the best the State can give them.

Q. Who is involved?

A. The agency, to be known as Tusla, brings together family social workers, family support workers, social care workers and education welfare officers under one umbrella with a budget of €609m and a staff of 4,000.

It assumes responsibility from the HSE, national education welfare board, and several other bodies.

Q. What are its responsibilities?

A. Ensuring all children receive a proper education and attend school. It will also be charged with protecting children whose parents are unable or unlikely to care for their needs.

Q. How will it develop?

A. Though it has been set up for a number of weeks, some key aspects, such as public health nursing and child mental health, have yet to be transferred to the agency. Tusla will continue to share a large amount o resources with the HSE.

Q. Why is it needed?

A. Taoiseach Enda Kenny made co-ordinating child protection and support policies a key aim of the Government following highly critical reports into neglect by the State. Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald said there needed to be a “seamless integration of policy and service delivery” after the flawed experiences of the past.

Q. Does it have critics?

A. It has cross-party support, but opposition TDs have blamed recruitment cutbacks for hundreds of unfilled social worker posts.