The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has today published three inspection reports on children’s residential centres.

HIQA is authorised by the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth under Section 69 of the Child Care Act, 1991, as amended by Section 26 of the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2011, to inspect children’s residential care services provided by the Child and Family Agency (Tusla). HIQA monitors Tusla’s performance against the National Standards for Children’s Residential Centres and reports on its findings to the Minister. 

Announced inspections of two statutory children’s residential centres in the Tusla Dublin North East region were carried out between 9 and 10 March 2021. A third inspection was carried out in the Tusla West region between 18 and 19 March 2021. One centre was found to be compliant with each of the six national standards assessed and the two remaining centres required improvement in relation to two standards.

All three centres were well managed, and the systems in place to monitor practice and oversee the delivery of care to children were effective. Risks were managed well. Staffing resources were adequate and the teams were experienced and competent in their work. Although recruitment and vetting procedures were in place, staff records for two centres were not held centrally, and the centre managers did not hold a managerial qualification. 

Children who participated in these inspections were happy with their placements, got on well with the staff teams and felt that they had benefited from the care they received. One centre provided care to separated children seeking asylum in Ireland, and while these children were content and well cared for, they had some anxieties about their futures and their legal status. 

All of the children had an allocated social worker who worked well with the centre staff team and kept their plans up to date. The children participated in the development of their plans and felt listened to. They understood the processes in place to manage any concerns or complaints that they had and they were aware of their rights.