The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has today published an inspection report on the child protection and welfare service provided by the Child and Family Agency (Tusla) in the Louth Meath service area. 

This monitoring inspection was carried out between 6 and 9 May 2025 to assess the progress the service had made to address actions and non-compliances since the previous inspection in April 2024. On this inspection, four out of the five standards assessed were deemed not compliant and one standard was deemed substantially compliant. 

HIQA found that while there were improvements in some practices, such as the consideration of cumulative harm within assessments and the notification of referrals to An Garda Síochána, some deficits identified in 2024 remained. These included issues with the monitoring and review of safety plans and information management systems within the service. Gaps in staffing persisted and this remained a high risk within the service. 

Issues with staff retention remained which impacted the continuity of the service provided to children and families and, while retention initiatives were in place, further improvement was required. New staff were on boarding to teams where there were critical vacancies in management roles on those teams. Staff spoke positively about their experience of joining the service; however, they also indicated there was an element of burnout on teams and that they were overstretched to meet the demands of the service.

In addition to staffing deficits, there was also an increase in the number of children awaiting allocation to a worker since the previous inspection. As a result, children and families were receiving an inconsistent service from staff managing waiting lists and these children were not receiving an adequate child protection and welfare service in line with national standards.

While the majority of referrals were screened in a timely manner, children were waiting long periods to be assessed. This meant that the risks facing children could have increased while they were waiting assessment, and the impact of their specific circumstances could potentially be more significant on them over time as a result. Once completed, the majority of preliminary enquiries and assessments were of good quality, with child-centred practice and consideration of cumulative harm within assessments clearly demonstrated.

There was a skilled and experienced management team in place in the service, with staff doing their best to meets the needs of children. There was a clear focus on service improvement and staff were striving to ensure a good level of oversight of cases awaiting allocation in line with national policy and best practice. A number of audits had been completed within the service, and while some improvements were noted in practice, some deficits were also identified.

Some management systems in place, such as risk management and information governance, required improvement. HIQA found these systems were not effective in addressing significant risks within the service, which impacted service improvement. Data was not consistent or accurate in assisting the service to improve efficiency and, in particular, there was a lack of timely recording of case notes which impacted the oversight and monitoring of the service. 

HIQA escalated 11 cases which raised concerns about the service’s oversight of cases and the service provided appropriate assurances with respect to escalated cases. The area manager responded to HIQA with satisfactory assurances that a practice improvement plan outlining specific actions that would be taken to address the deficits within the service.  

Note:

• HIQA is authorised by the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality under Section 8(1) (c) of the Health Act 2007 to monitor the quality of services provided by the Child and Family Agency (Tusla) to protect children and promote their welfare. HIQA monitors Tusla’s performance against the National Standards for the Protection and Welfare of Children (2012) and advises the Minister and Tusla.