Tusla boss ‘sympathetic’ to concerns of social workers

The head of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, said he is “sympathetic” to points of concern raised by social workers in relation to proposed procedures for dealing with allegations of child abuse and neglect.

The procedures, outlined in a draft document posted on the Irish Examiner website, include a provision for an alleged abuser to quiz the victim about the allegations.

The document, ‘Policy and Procedures for Responding to Allegations of Child Abuse and Neglect’, caused uproar among social workers who believe it is too weighted in the alleged perpetrator’s favour and are concerned it compromises them ethically because their first duty of care is to the child.

Social workers highlighted their concerns in yesterday’s Irish Examiner, claiming that Tusla had so far failed to take them on board.

A working group is currently examining issues arising from the implementation of the new policy and is due to report back shortly.

However Tusla has said it is “aware of the onerous nature of these obligations but as they are required by legislation, Tusla is not in a position to modify requirements nor can the agency negotiate an alternative approach to investigations without jeopardising future court proceedings”.

Tusla says the new policy rose from a number court judgments and investigations from the Ombudsman where it was considered that fair procedures were not adequately followed and where cases subsequently had fallen.

Tusla chief Gordon Jeyes told RTÉ yesterday that the flaw was “in the legislation” and not the new Tusla policy.

“I’m very sympathetic to the point social workers and the Irish Association of Social Workers (IASW) are raising, but the flaw here is not in our guidance, the flaw is in the legislation”.

In relation to the possibility of the alleged perpetrator questioning the alleged victim, Mr Jeyes said even if they were to “withdraw the part of our guidance which said consideration should be given to an interview with the perpetrator and victim” it would “still be a matter for the courts and there would be a challenge”.

Separately it has emerged that Tusla managed to trim almost €2.6m from its legal spend last year compared to the amount spent in 2013.

In its first year of operation, Tusla’s legal spend was €19,675,000, down from €22,268,000 the previous year and including what a spokesperson described as “significant legacy cost”.

Tusla expects to further reduce the amount of money spent in legal cases this year, building on measures introduced last year.

Those include the development of an in-house legal team to reduce dependency on external support for corporate matters and on childcare specific issues, and increased competition.

The engagement of senior or junior counsel now needs the authorisation of the chief executive or executive manager, while general legal advice can only be commissioned by a member of the management team.

Solicitors are not required when engaging with another state agency such as the Adoption Authority or when in court as an expert witness in some family matters.

READ MORE: Social workers concerned document tips the balance of rights in favour of sex abuse accused