Hundreds of children neglected as ‘urgent’ files found

At least 127 children have been identified as requiring “urgent attention” following an emergency review by the Child and Family Agency of case files recently discovered in Laois and Offaly.

Tusla confirmed that an audit of 743 case files had found that 660 required the allocation of a social worker — including 127 that require immediate action.

The review had been prompted by the discovery at the end of April of hundreds of files by a recently appointed principal social worker in Tusla’s Portlaoise office. The discovery of the files — as well as another 822 files where gardaí had made referrals to either Tusla or to the HSE — had sparked concerns for the welfare of the children mentioned in the previously unattended-to files.