Tusla ‘consistently underfunded’ and in crisis, Ombudsman for Children warns

'Children in care have already overcome so much in their short lives, so when the State steps into the role of parent, it is incumbent on them to make sure it does so, knowing with absolute certainty, that it can make those lives better,' Ombdusman for Children Niall Muldoon said. File picture: Maxwells

Ireland’s care system for children is in crisis and the Government must seize the chance to make a once-in-a-generation change for the nearly 6,000 kids in State care, the Ombudsman for Children’s Office has said.

It has published a new report laying bare a system that is “consistently underfunded and in which some of the most profound breaches of children’s rights occur”.