+34
Retention remains a problem in units where 10 staff members per child can be required
The State’s child and family agency, Tusla , is again in breach of a High Court direction to provide special care to a teenager because it does not currently have the capacity to meet the child’s needs, the organisation’s chief executive, Kate Duggan, told the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee on Thursday.
Children aged between 11 and 17 may be detained by the High Court in one of three special care units when their behaviour or circumstances pose a risk to their life, safety or welfare or that of others. Duggan made the admission during an appearance by senior members of the organisation before the committee, which heard the number of special care beds being operated by Tusla, already well below the 26 that are potentially available, recently dropped to 13 because of staffing issues at one of its facilities.
“Just to be open and honest, we have one person today that is subject to a High Court direction that we won’t be able to facilitate in the placement until at least next week,” Duggan said. The committee heard the beds are effectively licensed by Hiqa once it is satisfied Tusla has the personnel to fully staff them. Special care involves the provision of round-the-clock care, with 10 staff members required for each child.
It costs about €750,000 to provide such care for a year in each instance. Tusla is currently licensed to operate 14 such beds, down from 15 a few months ago, but is currently able to operate just 13 because it has had to close another at the north Dublin centre where the rate of staff absences due to certified sick leave had recently increased from 22 per cent to 33 per cent.
The committee heard the introduction of a new grade of staff, special care worker, combined with related changes to supervisory roles, a move to assess staff-to-child ratios on a case-by-case basis and changes of management had resulted in some dissatisfaction among staff at the facility, where there are 46 “reportable incidents” a week.
“It’s a very complex matter,” said the organisation’s national director of people and change Rosarii Mannion. “But it’s a difficult place to work,” she said. “We have engaged an external mediator to see can we get a pathway through this and we’re committed to doing that. ” To operate the 13 beds, Tusla relies on almost 100 directly employed staff and between 25 and 35 agency staff.
To open all of its 26 beds would require between 200 and 210 staff, the committee’s members were told. The most it has ever managed to open was 18, Duggan said, “and that was only for a couple of months”. Overall, the agency is said to be between 300 and 400 staff members short and it told the politicians it expects to take between three to five years to bridge the gap.
Retention rates generally run at 92 per cent, Mannion said, but these drop to the 70s in the most intensive frontline roles, “where people are leaving almost as fast as we can recruit them”. Some €500,000 had been spent on recruitment initiatives and work done on retention but “still we are seeing a net loss of staff in that service,” added Duggan.
Recruitment is so challenging because of shortages across the care sector, the committee heard, with Duggan suggesting that 200 special care workers had graduated last year when 1,000 were required. Tusla is now operating an apprenticeship system intended to bring staff directly into the organisation.
Among the challenges it is facing, its officials said, is a 500 per cent increase since 2022 in the number of unaccompanied children arriving into the State and needing to be placed in care or found accommodation.
Public-Accounts-Committee High-Court Hiqa
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
EU’s top judges to rule on Dublin Airport passenger cap in two weeksDecision will answer questions raised by airlines’ legal challenge in High Court here
Read more »
Tusla Warns Further Cost Cuts Will Harm Vulnerable ChildrenTusla CEO Kate Duggan will tell the Dáil committee that while the agency aims to save €112 million this year, any additional cost-containment measures beyond the current plan would significantly impact frontline services for at-risk children due to high demand for placements.
Read more »
Health Insurers' High-Tech Hospital Restrictions Need Greater ClarityA retired orthopaedic surgeon criticizes health insurance plans that restrict coverage for routine procedures performed in high-tech hospitals, arguing that premiums and copayments should reflect the complexity of the procedure rather than the hospital designation.
Read more »
High Court Orders In-Person Baby Visit in Northern Ireland Amid Abduction DisputeA High Court judge has mandated that a toddler currently in Northern Ireland be brought to the UK for face‑to‑face contact with her father, amid ongoing child abduction proceedings. The order includes extensive safeguards and travel restrictions aimed at protecting the child's welfare while addressing the father's request for in‑person access.
Read more »