Almost 1,500 children referred to Tusla each week

There were 20,109 referrals made by Gardaí, followed by almost 6,000 reports by social workers. File picture

Nearly 1,500 children are being referred to child protection services each week suspected of having been abused or neglected.

In the first nine months of last year, 53,489 children were referred to Tusla's child protection and welfare services.

From January to September 2021, 4,513 children were referred for suspected physical abuse, 7,929 for suspected emotional abuse, 3,172 for suspected sexual abuse and 2,676 for suspected neglect.

There were 20,109 referrals made by Gardaí, followed by almost 6,000 reports made by social workers. A total of 57 referrals were made by managers of direct provision centres, and 1,121 were made by managers of domestic violence shelters.

Thirteen of the referrals were made by members of the clergy and 1,547 by medical practitioners. The rest of the referrals came from childcare staff, while 117 children referred themselves.

There were 3,811 reports made by teachers.

In 2020, the agency managed 69,712 referrals to Child Protection and Welfare Services and the 2021 figures look likely to be around the same total, given the number of referrals for the first nine months of the year. 

Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín, who received the figures via a parliamentary question, said the numbers concerning.

“When we do the maths we see that nearly one and a half thousand children are being referred to Tusla each week suspected of having been abused or neglected,” he said.

"The figures would suggest that the final total for 2021 is likely to be in excess of 70,000 - that's more than the number of children to start primary school in any given year.

Mr Tóibín said he was struck by the details regarding these referrals "most notably 1,547 were referred by medical practitioners, while 96 were referred by probation officers, 1,121 by managers of domestic violence shelters and 57 by managers of direct provision centres.

“There is a serious problem when it comes to human trafficking in this State, and the Government aren't taking it seriously - the probation officer referrals and the direct provision referrals may be indicative of this problem. We need to ensure that people working in healthcare, childcare and indeed in hospitality, along with Gardaí, are properly trained on how to identify victims of abuse - and in particular human trafficking".

A spokesperson for Tusla previously told the Irish Examiner: “The organisation has substantially improved counting methodology to more accurately account for all children for whom they receive a referral.

“When full 2021 data is available, a comparative analysis will be done.