Big rise in number of children placed in out-of-hours service by Tusla 

Out-of-hours service is a crisis intervention and Tusla is focusing on retaining a panel of foster carers in different parts of the country so they can respond to children who quickly need a special type of foster placement. File picture: Alamy/PA

The number of children placed in out-of-hours service by Tusla jumped 22% in the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2020.

The latest figures, contained in the Child and Family Agency's quarterly report for the period April to June, shows 179 children were placed by the national out-of-hours service in that period, bringing the number of children placed for the first six months of 2021 to 319, compared to 262 in the same period last year.