The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has today published an inspection report on the Child and Family Agency’s (Tusla’s) foster care service in the Dublin South West Kildare West Wicklow service area.

HIQA conducted an inspection of the foster care service in the Dublin South West Kildare West Wicklow service area between 6 and 8 October 2025. The service was previously inspected in February 2024. This inspection examined the progress made with implementing the service improvement plan which focused on reducing the number of children in care that did not have an allocated social worker. This plan was based on Tusla’s national compliance plan for foster care developed following HIQA’s 2024 programme of foster care inspections. This inspection also considered whether the actions in the national compliance plan had impacted on the service. 

The inspection focused on the standards relating to the allocation of social workers to children in foster care, the care planning process, including the participation of children and their families in the preparation of the child’s care plan, and child-in-care reviews. The inspection assessed how children are protected and safeguarded from abuse and how the governance and management structures support the delivery of a consistent, high-quality, safe and effective foster care service.
Of the five national standards assessed, HIQA found two standards were compliant and three standards were substantially compliant.

Overall, HIQA found that the good practice identified in the last inspection had been maintained and improved upon. Children in foster care in the Dublin South West Kildare West Wicklow service area received a service that valued their contribution and participation, met their individual needs and kept them safe. The inspection found strengthened governance in many areas of the foster care service, which should  support positive outcomes for children. The service was well-led by experienced managers who were committed to continuous quality improvement. The service area had not benefitted from additional posts included in the 2025 National Compliance Plan, and had effectively used existing resources to effect improvements in the service.

All children in foster care should have an allocated social worker to coordinate their care. This area had achieved the national objective of having 25% or less children in foster care without an allocated social worker. The area had effective contingencies in place for children who did not have an allocated social worker. There were systems in place to provide oversight of statutory requirements for care plans so that children without an allocated social worker had care plans, which were regularly reviewed and updated in line with the standard. Overall however, 20% of children in foster care did not have an up-to-date written care plan at the time of the inspection.

The safety and welfare of children in foster care were promoted and protected. Concerns about children in foster care were managed in line with Tusla policies and procedures. There were a number of mechanisms in place to support effective managerial oversight of the safety of children in foster care. The national issue in relation to transfers of cases between service areas had not been addressed since the 2024 inspection, and this had an impact on the Dublin South West Kildare West Wicklow service area, which continued to provide services to children placed in other service areas. 
There is a national shortage of general foster carers, and the service prioritised placing children within their own family networks.

The service had effective structures in place for the management and monitoring of foster care services. There were effective monitoring and quality assurance systems in place. Managers demonstrated strong leadership and maximised the use of available resources to provide the best possible service both to children in foster care and foster carers. Strategic plans and good information systems supported the delivery of a good-quality foster care service. The service area had an established approach to the identification and management of organisational risk and prioritised staff retention and support.

Note:

• HIQA is authorised by the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality under Section 69 of the Child Care Act, 1991 as amended by Section 26 of the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2011 to inspect foster care services provided by Tusla and to report on its findings to the Minister. HIQA monitors the performance of Tusla against the National Standards for Foster Care (2003) and advises the Minister and Tusla.