Child and Family Agency
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-23
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Norma Foley (FF), Kerry

The disputed age has been flagged by Tusla. It is a concern of the agency.
In relation to these three individuals, it will be worked through with the Department of justice. It is important that if there is any question over appropriate age, these young people are not placed with other young people who are underage.
In terms of the reliance on special emergency accommodation, I want to be clear that we are doing all that we can to move away from that, to minimise it and, eventually, to eradicate a reliance on special emergency accommodation. Last year, there were 170 special emergency accommodations. This year, there are 70. We are working to bring that down even further.
There will be for the first time a new policy on children in State care. That has been subject to public consultation. We hope that framework document will be available before the Dáil recess or in the coming months.
In the meantime, staffing is an issue. There is a new training college for special care.
Three step-down facilities are being put in place, two before the end of the year and one in January. Thirty-eight new residential places were opened last year, with a further 47 due to be opened this year. By the start of May, our reliance on special emergency accommodation will have reduced by 50%. We need to and will do more to reduce that reliance.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-23/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-23