Tusla to review 700 unaddressed case files

The Child and Family Agency says it is hopeful no other area of the country will reveal unaddressed files as was the case in Portlaoise, following a national audit of cases awaiting allocation.

Tusla said the national audit is completed and a report is in the process of being drafted for submission to the Department of Children, with the majority of the 17 areas having also been inspected by health watchdog Hiqa and “nothing of the nature of the Laois/Offaly issue has emerged”.

The reassurances came a day after Tusla revealed that approximately 700 previously unidentified files had been found in an office in Portlaoise, alongside 822 garda referrals.

Tusla said it was carrying out a comprehensive review of all 700 files, to be completed next Friday, to determine which needed social work attention, and that it was also reviewing the garda referrals to find out how many had been acted upon.

Separately, Tusla has been carrying out a national audit of cases awaiting allocation, which it said yesterday had been completed.

Some of the files found in Portlaoise are 10 years old, while others are more recent. An investigation into how they were misplaced is being held by Tusla’s director of quality assurance.

It is understood that, given issues with information and communications systems in the Midlands, files were typically paper-only affairs. In recent years, work has been continuing on the implementation nationally of the National Child Care Information System (NCCIS), an IT system for tracking and recording child welfare cases. It emerged two years ago that there had been a degree of internal wrangling over the system as far back as 2010.

However, a Tusla spokesman said yesterday: “In relation to NCCIS, this is currently being piloted in the Midwest and, pending review, will be rolled out nationally. Details in relation to the timeframe will be available once the pilot phase is complete.”

Jennifer Gargan, director of Epic (Empowering Young People In Care), said of the NCCIS: “That is something that needs to be done as a matter of urgency.”

Ms Gargan said Epic did not want to comment too much on the issue of the files until they have been reviewed, but said: “It is very concerning that any files would be unaccounted for and raises concerns regarding the statistics and data from Tusla when it did not know about these files.”

Any member of the public who has a concern about a child in Laois and Offaly can call 044 939 5020.

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