Nearly 83,000 Referrals To Tusla Last Year - Up 13% From 2021

Wednesday, 19 July 2023 10:25

By Caoimhe Harney

5,755 children were in care at the end of 2022, 89% of whom were in foster care.

Last year saw almost 83,000 referrals to Tusla's Child Protection and Welfare Service alone.

According to Tusla – Child and Family Agency , which published its Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2022, detailing the service activities and progress made by the Agency in its ninth year of operation.

There were 5,755 children in care at the end of 2022, 89% of whom were in foster care.

Some 26,792 children received a family support service in 2022, while 2,949 young adults were in receipt of aftercare services at the end of 2022.

In the 2021/2022 academic year, TESS (Tusla Education Support Service) worked with 6,199 children.

In 2022, with the outbreak of war in Europe, this led to an increase in people seeking protection in Ireland, including unaccompanied young people.

This, coupled with other complex issues facing children and families in Ireland today, has led to increased demand for services and support.

Tusla faced challenges in recruiting and retaining suitably qualified and experienced staff.

To address this, Tusla launched a People Strategy in July 2022 with clear actions in its lifetime to attract and retain experienced individuals through an agile work environment.

Speaking about the Tusla Annual Report 2022, Chairperson Pat Rabbitte commented: "The agency continues to be challenged in ways that could not have been envisaged when Tusla was established in 2014.

"The increased demand for services, in terms of increased referrals, increase in complexity of need and the marked increase in the arrival of families and young people to Ireland especially unaccompanied minors, in an environment of wider workforce supply issues, has resulted in further significant demand led pressure on the agency,” he added.