Children at risk of neglect over Tusla funds shortage

Thousands of children are at risk of neglect and abuse due to consistent underfunding of the Child and Family Agency and support services, Barnardos has warned.

Lack of funding for frontline staff at Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, will see more children damaged by neglect — many severely and irreparably — Barnardos CEO Fergus Finlay has warned as figures show that there is a growing number of children in care.

Figures from Tusla show that at the end of January there were 6,371 children in care, with 426 (or 7%) not allocated a social worker.