Tusla losing special care staff faster than it can recruit

Committee heard more than 200 staff were needed to safely staff Tusla's 36-bed special care system but the organisation was operating with a shortfall of about 100 employees.

Tusla has said it remains about 100 staff short of the number required to adequately operate its special care system and is losing employees faster than it can recruit them.

Kate Duggan, the chief executive of the child and family agency, told the Public Accounts Committee on Thursday Tusla was operating in a “very competitive marketplace” in attracting staff.

“It is a very challenging place to work, within the special care environment,” she said, noting the children in question were the “most complex” in society.

Special care is a secure and short-term detention service operated by Tusla for children aged 11-17 who may pose a real risk of harm to themselves.

The committee heard more than 200 staff were needed to safely staff Tusla's 36-bed special care system. Ms Duggan said the organisation was operating with a shortfall of about 100 employees.

Tusla national director of people and change Rosarii Mannion explained staff in the unit were “leaving almost as quickly as they are joining”.

She said exit interviews for those working in special care show they may suffer from “burnout, stress, family issues... a multiplicity of issues”.

"The environment in special care is extremely difficult to work in," she said.

She also noted, unlike some other professions, no national review of service needs had been commissioned.

Earlier, Ms Duggan had “sincerely” apologised that Tusla had been unable to match its statutory targets for special care provision, but said the agency remained “committed to increasing” its staffing levels.

Ms Duggan told the committee that, despite a range of hiring initiatives, including the establishment of a training school and an investment of €500,000 in recruitment measures, Tusla was still experiencing a “net loss of staff working in that environment”.

She noted 220 social workers graduated on an annual basis but “the need was for 1,000”.

Meanwhile, Ms Duggan expressed “hope” that after a year of cutbacks, Tusla’s funding would not be cut further, saying to do so would “significantly impact frontline services, and placements impacting directly on services to the most vulnerable children in the State”.

“It’s very serious,” she said of the situation. “Any reduction in budget would lead to consequences for frontline services.”

Ms Duggan said she had previously been told that spending cutbacks, as part of a Government drive for efficiencies, were expected to be introduced in next week's budget.

However, she said she had since received "no indication" the measures would affect services for the most vulnerable children.

She acknowledged she could not be certain until the budget was announced.

Tusla’s budget for 2026 stood at €1.46bn, up €188m on the previous year, an increase of 14%.

Ms Duggan told the PAC her agency had achieved cost savings of €112.7m in 2026 “as a result of decisions we have taken to achieve value for money”.

“This is equivalent to more than 8.5% of our annual funded allocation and reflects Tusla’s continued commitment to maximising the effective stewardship of public resources, and our commitment to ensuring that every euro spent by the agency delivers better,” Ms Duggan said.