Tusla findings: A litany of malpractices

THE findings by Ombudsman Peter Tyndal of systemic failings by Tusla are both revealing and shocking. Revealing because of his forensic examination of the practices of the child and family agency, and shocking because his report unearths a litany of mistakes and malpractices.

Worst among them was the five-year wait to clear his name by a grandfather wrongly accused of child abuse. This is about as flagrant a denial of fundamental human rights as is possible to imagine. Most people in that man’s position would rather have been accused of murder.

The report also discloses instances of Tusla social workers lacking empathy. If anyone is supposed to have empathy, it is a social worker.