Tusla's stark lack of resources is leaving our most vulnerable children at risk

Tusla contempt of court ruling by High Court highlights lack of resources and staffing issues, says Ann Murphy

Tusla said that it ‘apologises unreservedly’ for the delay in granting these vulnerable children access to special care beds.

Sleepless nights, endless panic, and feeling that she had lost a son. That is what enveloped a mother whose son has come under the influence of a drug trafficker, who groomed him into becoming involved while in the State’s care.

The boy’s brother wants him to “come to be the brother I know he can” and “wants us to become a family again without fear, threats, or danger”.

The boy, known as Conor, is one of three children whose case has resulted in Tusla being found in contempt of court for failure to provide each of them with a safe, secure court-ordered placement. The ruling is believed to be the first time that a State body has been found in contempt.

The 66-page ruling outlined the difficulties faced by Conor, and the other two children, Luke and Laura, in their lives — including criminal and sexual exploitation.

The children were each the subject of special care orders granted by the courts, but two of the three had to wait for three months before such a placement became available, while the third was waiting for two months. The special care order was made on October 30 last year for Conor, but he did not secure a placement until January 28, because none was available prior to then.

Contempt of court proceedings were brought by legal representatives of Conor, Luke, and Laura, during which evidence was heard from Conor’s brother whose view was that Conor “needs to be taken away from the current environment he is in so that he can break free from the people influencing him”.

Conor went into voluntary care in January 2025 “because of serious concerns for both his safety and that of his family”.

The special care order was made in October after a number of placements broke down — including one that had been attacked by youths believed to be targeting Conor.

The ruling outlined that the youth absconded from care “almost daily”, and could be missing for a number of days at a time.

It added: “Garda evidence indicated that he was under the coercive control of an older drug trafficker who was using financial pressure and grooming tactics to direct his involvement in drug dealing. Although involved in criminal activity, gardaí regarded Conor as both an offender and a vulnerable victim.”

The court was told that by the time the special care order was made, he already had drug convictions. Even after the special care order was made, Conor was arrested a number of times for drug offences, dangerous driving, and breaches of bail conditions.

However, by the time he entered special care, he was ready to change his life, telling social workers on his case that the “material rewards of his lifestyle were ‘not worth it’.”

Children 'exposed to exploitation'

Luke’s life is also chaotic, even though he has not yet become a teenager. He has been in care since last October, with the special care order being granted the following month.

He secured a placement in one of the country’s three special care units in mid January — the same month as Conor.

Having been exposed to domestic issues since birth, Luke also is suspected of having ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder.

According to the ruling, since going into care, Luke has “displayed extremely challenging behaviour, including assaults on staff, threats of self-harm, attempts to jump from moving vehicles, severe sleep deprivation, and sexualised language and behaviour.

“His guardian ad litem reported that there were approximately 110 garda incidents involving him, including thefts, attempted vehicle break-ins, and an attempted assault on a garda.”

The ruling said that, in the period between the special care order being granted and a placement being secured, Luke had been found with cannabis, vapes, and cigarettes, “raising serious concerns that he was being exposed to criminal exploitation and possibly sexual exploitation”.

The ruling also said: “Professionals agreed that Luke was living a chaotic and dangerous existence characterised by trauma, sleep deprivation, substance misuse, emotional dysregulation, educational disengagement, and untreated developmental difficulties.”

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Laura has lived in State care since she was an infant, and was found a special care placement in March — three months after a special care order was made.

Five staff members at one of her placements resigned because “they could no longer cope with her conduct,” the ruling stated.

It also said: “Every placement available to Laura broke down because of her behaviour, which included assaults on staff and gardaí, absconding, criminal behaviour, property destruction, and serious threats of violence.”

Her guardian ad litem told the court prior to the ruling that she sometimes used weapons. In the three months between the special care order being granted and her placement secured, Laura came to garda attention 25 times in a two-week period, and the ruling outlined: “Even highly staffed placements with security personnel proved incapable of managing her needs safely.”

Laura’s exposure to sexual exploitation has been highlighted in the ruling, which noted: “While absent from care she had been offered money for sexual favours, had contact with older men involved in criminality and was regularly seen leaving placements with unknown adult males.

Professionals considered her unable to recognise or protect herself from these risks.

In the ruling, Ms Justice Emily Egan said: “These three cases reveal children facing profound vulnerability, exploitation, trauma, and risk. In each case, the Court determined that special care was urgently required, yet each child was left waiting for the protection that the law had already deemed necessary.”

She said there has been no opportunity for the parties to the case to update her on the progress of the three children since they secured their special care placements.

However, one of the solicitors who has been working on Conor’s case told the Irish Examiner that Conor’s life is now much improved and that he remains in care.

Donagh Bradley of Keenan and Company said: “His life was really spiralling out of control with addiction issues. His life really was at risk. His family were targeted and they were having a very difficult time. He is doing much better since he went in. He was being made to sell drugs and would frequently be absconding from his care home.

“We could really see a decline and he was in some very dangerous situations. He was essentially under the control of a criminal gang.

“The special care was an absolute game changer for the family. They are delighted how well he is doing. He is back exercising and engaging with social care workers.”

'Significant' ruling

Mr Bradley described the contempt of court finding against Tusla as “significant”, adding: “What we would be hoping for is that it will bring about change in a system that has been failing the most vulnerable children in the country for a long time.

“It remains to be seen what action is taken but we would hope that it will bring about a push of further resources. Staffing seems to be the major issue in terms of having the beds up and running and it was clear from the evidence that was given that the resources that were being put towards filling the gaps in staffing just weren’t enough,” he said.

“It is a systemic issue. It really is a resource and staffing issue. We would be very hopeful now that this finding would put pressure on the State and everyone involved to get this up and running now.”

Tusla said it noted the High Court judgement and said: “We sincerely regret that we have been unable to meet our statutory obligation to immediately provide a special care placement for a young person when a High Court order has been granted. We know the impact this can have on those young people affected and apologise unreservedly for this.

“We have been open and honest in communicating our severe staffing challenges in special care, and the impact this has on bed capacity.

“We have been making every effort to increase the overall number of special care beds, while maintaining a high-quality service for young people in special care.”

It said it continues to review staffing ratios, introduce additional supervisory posts, and prioritise staffing for special care through targeted national and international recruitment campaigns.

“We have also established an internal Training School to enhance the onboarding and development of new staff within our residential and special care services.”