The Dáil has heard calls for an end to Tusla emergency placements, following last night’s RTÉ Investigates report.
The programme detailed how children in State care are being placed in unregulated emergency placements, with trafficking and multiple deaths of children known to the State. TD Peadar Tóibín asked Tánaiste Simon Harris for a commitment and a date to end emergency placements.
Speaking in the chamber this afternoon, the Meath TD described the report as “obscene.”
“Young children are being taken from very difficult backgrounds, from their parents, and they’re being placed into special emergency arrangements. These are often unregulated, often have staff that are unvetted, and some of those staff don’t even have references,” said Deputy Tóibín.
The programme, he pointed out, showed that children are staying in apartments and hotel rooms, and are being relocated on a regular basis.
“In a short space of time, a child could be in 20 separate locations. Children are sleeping in car parks, they’re sleeping in broken down cars, they’re being groomed by crack cocaine dealers,” the TD said.
“Children are being sexually abused while in the care of Tusla. Children are being raped in the care of Tusla and [this is] known to Tusla at the moment. This was reported last night.
“ Now, we’ve uncovered a harrowing case of a 14-year-old girl who went missing from Tusla, just 24 hours after she was placed there. The child was missing for an entire year. She was found in a brothel. She was a victim of unimaginable exploitation when she was supposedly in your government’s protection,” Tóibín told Simon Harris.
The Aontu leader claimed that the Children’s Minister has “refused” – in a follow up question – to provide an answer regarding if anyone had ever been prosecuted for the trafficking and exploitation of the child in question.
“235 children known to child protection services have been killed in the last 12 years; 13 homicides, 38 deaths as a result of suicide. And under another Parliamentary Question from ourselves, eight children were killed just so far this year [who were] known to Tusla, or in the care of Tusla,” said the TD.
The Deputy today referred to comments made recently by Judge John Jordan, who manages the High Court’s special care list. The High Court judge previously described some Tusla failures as “outrageous” and “an affront to the rule of loaw.”
In February, Judge Jordan said it was “not surprising” that the situation of a vulnerable minor who is subject to a court order directing Tusla to place her in secure care was getting worse. The High Court heard that the minor, who should be in special care but is not, recently absconded from a private accommodation placement, amid ongoing concern about her involvement with an adult man.
Tusla has not complied with the order to detain the child in secure care because of a lack of available beds in the State’s three secure care units.
“Now, I believe that this is one of the most disgusting, shocking scandals that has happened to children in the history of this state,” said Mr Tóibín.
“ And when I raised this first in the Dail four or five years ago, it was so horrendous, I was sure, that the government would put an end to these special emergency arrangements. [But] it’s actually getting worse. Will you, today, give a commitment and give a date that you will end the special emergency arrangements in this country?” he asked Mr Harris.
In response, Tánaiste Simon Harris said he wanted to thank the young people who came forward and shared their experience of the care system.
“It takes a lot of courage and a lot of bravery to do so, and to do so in such a public manner,” he said.
Mr Harris said that a number of challenging and upsetting cases had been highlighted, and that they raised significant questions.
“I do want to say this, though. There’s very, many, many fine people working in Tusla. I don’t think you’re taking from that fact. And they’re working with extraordinarily difficult circumstances, and often with extraordinarily complex cases.
“And I just want to acknowledge them today, as well, because they are doing good work, and I do want to say that, I think that is important to say. As a specific issue you’ve raised in relation to the use of special emergency arrangements, this is effectively where the State becomes reliant on a private operator to provide accommodation in an emergency situation.
“It is good to see that the reliance on that is being reduced.”
Mr Harris, echoing the comments of Children’s Minister Norma Foley today, said the number of special emergency placements had been reduced from 170 to 70. He said that they were working to reduce the number further in the coming months.
“I don’t want anyone to think that there’s any part of this country or any service within this country, or any individual in this country, who is beyond the reproach of An Garda Siochana,” added Harris.
Mr Harris said there had been an increase in the number of children requiring State care, including an increase in the number of separated children seeking international protection.
Responding, Mr Tóibín said that the Minister for Children was “invisible in [the programme].”
“Tusla is not operating in a vacuum. It is the product of your Government. It is the responsibility of your Minister. The lack of funds, the lack of social workers, is a policy choice by your government. It is a scandal unfolding in real time for your Government. Tusla cannot be used as some kind of insulation blanket to separate your Government from the responsibility of this horror,” he said.
“Now, you said once that you wanted this country to be the best country in the world to be a child. For many of these children, their horror shows it is the worst, one of the worst countries in the world, to be a child at the moment.
“ Children are being killed, they’re being raped, they’re being groomed, at a cost of 14,000 euros a week to the State. When will there be accountability? When will the resources be matched to the needs?”
Wednesday’s documentary heard that there are roughly 5,900 children in the care of the State, the vast majority of whom are placed in foster care. A further cohort of children are in registered, regulated children’s homes which are required to meet HIQA standards.
However, due to an acute shortage of such placements, controversial care homes known as Special Emergency Arrangements or SEAs have emerged. Such arrangements mean that children are accommodated in care facilities provided by private operators, such as in rented apartments or houses, B&Bs and hotels.
Because these are privately-run, unregulated and unregistered facilities, they cannot be inspected by regulatory authorities.