Tusla has been accused of a major failure to follow court orders meant to protect vulnerable children in its care, with a judge describing its actions as "shocking and appalling."
An inquiry detailed in the Irish Independent, and led by Judge Conor Fottrell found that Tusla had failed to comply with court directions affecting around 250 children. Just before delivering his findings, he was told of an additional 666 cases where the agency had also not followed orders.
The judge said these failures were not isolated incidents but pointed to “multiple failures” at all levels of Tusla, raising serious concerns about its governance, oversight, and communication. He criticised the agency for not taking responsibility, even though senior officials, including CEO Kate Duggan, had been aware of the issue since 2022. “Absolutely no action was taken,” he said.
The court orders in question required Tusla to return cases to the district court if a child in its care had not been assigned a social worker within four weeks—a standard requirement in care orders for the last 15 years. Despite this, the agency repeatedly failed to act.
In response, Tusla apologised and blamed the failures on a national shortage of social workers and a rising number of cases. However, with hundreds of vulnerable children affected, concerns are growing over the agency’s ability to fulfil its legal and ethical responsibilities.
