An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (Resumed)
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-28
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

First, we need to continue to work with Tusla. It is all great calling for independent reviews, inquiries and everything. That just paralyses organisations. That is the other side of that coin. We have to deal with children now who need care today, tomorrow or the day after. A balance needs to be struck in terms of how we deal with this. There are very serious issues here and all is not well in certain aspects, particularly in terms of special care and particular individuals who need very specialist care. However, if we keep putting every organisation endlessly under a microscope, then where is the space to actually get things done, improve the organisation and build up confidence? There are thousands and thousands of cases. There were 106,000 child protection and welfare referrals. That is enormous. That is an increase of 10% on 2024, and is driven by domestic violence, homelessness, addiction, criminal activity, sexual exploitation and mental health challenges. I think of a lot of the people who work in Tusla too because they are at the coalface of very challenging situations. I fully respect the Deputy's perspective and why he is concerned.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-28/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:52+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-28