Minister Foley must act on clear failures in emergency accommodation for vulnerable children
Minister Foley must act on clear failures in emergency accommodation for vulnerable children - The Labour Party
- Built-for-purpose care settings urgently needed
Labour’s spokesperson on children Mark Wall TD has expressed his deep concern following news that more than 1,100 children in Tusla’s care were placed in unregulated Special Emergency Arrangements throughout the last year.
Figures released to Deputy Wall shows that the State paid €199.6 million to 31 providers of Special Emergency Arrangements between 2021 and 2024. This amount of funding could have been used to develop nearly 150 public residential care centres, accommodating nearly 600 young people.
The highest amount paid to a provider was €39,743,509. This provider also received €17,564,503 in 2024 according to these figures.
Deputy Wall called out the Government’s failure to invest in building fit-for-purpose accommodation for children who need it most.
Deputy Wall said:
“As a State we are failing to protect the most vulnerable children entrusted into our care through Tusla. Figures reported on by RTÉ today indicate that over 1,100 children have been placed into inappropriate accommodation settings which are not subject to inspections by HIQA. This is an issue that the Ombudsman for Children has raised and it is deeply concerning that the Minister for Children has failed to act.
“These are largely unregulated and private providers and do not meet the care needs of vulnerable young people. The facilities themselves are, in the main, not fit for purpose as they can range in accommodation type from hotel rooms to apartments.
“Just last month under questioning from me in the Dáil last month, the Minister could not define how regularly these emergency accommodation settings are reviewed. This is deeply concerning.
“Minister Foley has ultimate responsibility for the governance and management arrangements for Tusla which is responsible for providing the safe and effective care for these children. The Minister and her Department must come forward now and address the harrowing testimony provided to RTÉ by those who have come through Special Emergency Arrangements.
“The State’s provision of residential capacity and the privatisation of residential care of vulnerable children is declining. In 2020, the number of Tusla centres was 127, according to the latest figures there are only 114. Putting these children into inappropriate care settings will only serve to further traumatise a young person who is already in a very vulnerable state.
“The privatisation of the care of vulnerable young people is an issue of growing concern. I have called for Dáil debates on this matter in the past, and today’s figures highlight the need for real Dáil oversight on this. As a State, we should be facilitating the development of more public residential care beds to ensure that we can accommodate all children when they are in a crisis.”
ENDS
To ask the Minister for Children; Equality; Disability; Integration and Youth for a list of providers of special emergency arrangements for children in the past four years; and the funding provided to each provider in each year, in tabular form. 10575 25: https://press.labour.ie/assets/files/pdf/10575_25_providers_of_seas_in_past_four_years_mark_wall_td_020525.pdf