Govt must investigate Tusla following RTÉ Investigates programme
Govt must investigate Tusla following RTÉ Investigates programme - The Labour Party
Labour’s children spokesperson Mark Wall TD has urged Government to launch an investigation into Tusla following the harrowing failures shown on RTÉ Investigates last night.
Questioning the Tánaiste in the Dáil today, Deputy Wall said:
“For months now, I have been raising the alarm about Special Emergency Arrangements and the serious safeguarding risks they pose to vulnerable children, and what we saw on RTÉ Investigates last night only confirms the scale of this failure.
“Listening to the CEO of Tusla speaking on Morning Ireland this morning will have provided no reassurances to people. It’s clear that Government must commence an investigation into Tusla to grasp the full depth and breadth of these failures.
“Just three weeks ago in the Dáil, I again highlighted these concerns. Yet Government continues to stand over a system that is failing children at their most vulnerable point.
“Tusla has handed out close to €240 million to 93 unregulated providers under these arrangements. This includes over €41 million to a single company. These are not care providers. These are hotels, taxi companies, retail outlets and driving schools.
“Government must explain how it is acceptable to hand over vast sums of public money to clearly unqualified companies to care for vulnerable young people. Where is the oversight, where is the governance, and where are the inspections? Are these facilities staffed by trained social care workers, and what safeguarding concerns have already been raised?
“We are told these are temporary arrangements, but that is simply not the reality.
“One young person spent close to three and a half years in this system. That is not temporary. Children in care need stability, consistency and safety. They need proper homes, not hotel rooms or makeshift accommodation that cannot meet their needs.
“These arrangements are a direct result of the chronic failures across our public services. We are seeing the consequences of the ongoing privatisation and outsourcing of care, the lack of workforce planning, and the wider housing and cost of living crisis.
“Tusla and the HSE are spending millions on agency workers and private providers when that money could and should be invested in public services.
“The scale of spending on Special Emergency Arrangements is staggering. The money handed to these providers could have funded nearly 150 new residential centres, providing proper care for up to 600 young people. Instead, it is being funnelled into a system that is unregulated, unsuitable and unsafe.
“We urgently need a workforce plan with clear targets to recruit and retain social workers and social care staff in the public system.
“Right now, we are losing skilled professionals because they cannot afford to live here. The housing crisis and rising cost of living are driving people out of essential roles, leading to a brain drain across social work and therapeutic services.
“Government cannot continue to ignore these warnings. Children in care deserve better. They deserve a system that is built around their needs, not one that treats them as an afterthought. We need immediate action to end the use of unregulated providers, to invest in public residential care, and to deliver a workforce plan that ensures children receive the care and protection they deserve.”