Oireachtas committee calls for at least 10 more centres to help child sex abuse victims

The Oireachtas Children’s Committee said that children who have experienced trauma 'must have timely access' to Barnahus support and 'must not be left on waiting lists'.

The Oireachtas Children’s Committee has called on the Government to set up “a minimum” of 10 centres for children who have been sexually abused.

This is compared to the one centre in Galway that is operational, a second one that has begun working “virtually” in Cork, and a third centre planned for Dublin.

The committee made the call in a letter sent to the ministers of children, health and justice as well as the garda commissioner and the chief executive of the HSE and Children’s Health Ireland.

‘Barnahus’ model

The letter follows a lengthy hearing the committee held with Tusla, An Garda Síochána, the Department of Children, the HSE and CHI to discuss the ‘Barnahus’ model.

This model brings together all the services children who have been sexually abused require — forensic, medical, child protection, therapeutic and policing — under one roof.

Barnahus West was set up as a pilot in Galway in September 2019, with subsequent plans to establish a Barnahus South in Cork and a Barnahus East in Dublin. The centre in Cork is operating remotely since this year with a site earmarked for construction of a facility, once funding is approved.

Barnahus East is due to take in, and expand, the existing service at The Alder’s Unit (formerly St Louise’s) in Tallaght Hospital. The charity CARI also provides therapeutic services in Limerick and Dublin but has very long waiting lists.

The committee heard of a range of issues affecting Barnahus including ongoing problems such as funding delays, “significant waiting lists” for therapy, continuing problems in sharing data between Gardaí and Tusla and ongoing difficulties with joint interviews by gardaí and social workers of children.

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The committee heard that Tusla was looking for €1.2m in Budget 2025 this October to expand Barnahus West and establish Barnahus South properly.

Tusla told the committee that it received 5,467 referrals related to child sexual abuse in 2023.

The Oireachtas committee letter said: “The initial centres ought to become fully staffed and functional as soon as possible.” It said that children who have experienced trauma “must have timely access” to Barnahus support and “must not be left on waiting lists”.

It said that once the first three Barnahus centres are fully operational, other suitable locations need to be identified around the country to ensure access is not hindered by geography or localised demand.

'Continuity of care'

“There should be a minimum of 10 centres established around the country, to reduce the distance children and families must travel to access the necessary supports and to prevent the services from being oversubscribed,” it said.

The letter also stressed the need for “continuity of care” for its staff and said tailored therapeutic plans for children should include long-term continuity of care.

The committee said that specialist interviews of children, where appropriate, should be conducted jointly between Tusla and Gardaí to prevent “retraumatisation” of victims by separate interviews.

It said that meaningful “multi-year” funding should be provided and that the funding should be ringfenced.