Tusla's main database had to be rebuilt from  back-up – but  no evidence  information  taken 

Tusla chief executive Bernard Gloster described Tusla's ICT systems as now being in a 'recovery phase', with most of its platforms now operational. File picture

The Child and Family Agency has said it will be another month before its online referral portal is back up and running, and it admitted its central information system was badly damaged due to the recent cyberattack.

Tusla chief executive Bernard Gloster told the Joint Committee on Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth that there was no evidence of any information having been exported from its National Childcare Information System (NCCIS), which he said had to be rebuilt from a back-up due to the extent of the damage caused by the ransomware attack.

He described Tusla's ICT systems as now being in a "recovery phase", with most of its platforms now operational "with some intermittent challenges", and with 5,000 separate devices having been "cleaned" to ensure they are in no way corrupted.

He told the committee the biggest concern had been around the NCCIS, which he said had been "badly damaged and that's why it took that long to get it back".

We rebuilt it from a back-up and our own ICT team and the HSE ICT team, they literally worked night and day. The original database we were using was damaged by encryption attack.

"We don't have any evidence of exportation of information from it."

The NCCIS has been operational for the past fortnight but the online referral portal is still offline. Mr Gloster said this would not be available until the start of August, at the earliest.