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'No Garda vetting, inadequate investigations' - Tusla slammed over standard of Cork foster care services

An inspection by health authority Hiqa has found that the Cork area shows ‘major non-compliance’ with accepted standards of foster care.

shutterstock_524014720 File photo Shutterstock / Etaphop photo Shutterstock / Etaphop photo / Etaphop photo

Updated 14.56

THE HEALTH INFORMATION and Quality Authority (HIQA) has published an inspection report into the standard of foster care services in the Cork region which found several instances of concern.

The authority is conducting inspections across all 17 foster care service areas in Ireland operated by child and family agency Tusla.

Eight standards regarding such care were used to assess the Cork foster care service. Of those, the service was found to be compliant with just two.

Cork was ruled to be non-compliant with six of the standards, five of which were marked as being ‘majorly non-compliant’.

“Due to the number of significant issues that arose from this inspection, Hiqa was not assured that the management oversight and monitoring of the service was sufficient,” the authority said this morning in a statement.

Tusla this afternoon welcomed the inspection report, and stressed that a “comprehensive action plan” has been put in place to deal with its findings.

“Hiqa inspection reports are an important measurement tool and allow us to ensure that Tusla services operate at the highest possible standard,” said the agency’s service director Patricia Finlay.

Foster carers… are the backbone of our child protection system. Fostering by its nature is complex and requires social workers and managers to consider and negotiate views from a wide range of stakeholders.
There are areas highlighted in the report which require improvement and a comprehensive action plan has been developed to ensure these improvements are made in a timely way, many of these improvements are already underway.

Findings

The inspection found that a ‘significant’ number of foster carers in the area (43%) had not had a review in over three years. This was an issue that had been noted in a previous Hiqa inspection in 2013.

Among the areas of immediate concern noted during the inspection were:

  • Inadequate investigations being carried out following allegations against foster carers
  • The lack of a system to ensure no further children were placed with carers with whom there was ongoing concern
  • Adults living in foster care households without Garda vetting
  • Inadequate support or supervision of foster carers
  • The number of children in foster homes exceeding standards
  • Poor record keeping and governance

The inspection did note some areas of good practice, including comprehensive assessments of carers, and the plan to roll out a clear process for approval of foster carers in 2017.

The Cork service area has responded to the inspection by providing the action plan mentioned above to address the non-compliances identified.

Read: Foster carers ‘felt disrespected’ by social workers, report finds

Read: ‘We need consistency’: Long delays by Tusla in dealing with abuse allegations, report says

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21 Comments
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    Mute Stephen Devlin
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    May 13th 2016, 10:47 PM

    Probably has 6000 previous convictions .. QUICK .. Someone hand him a 2 year suspended sentence

    221
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    Mute Assel Dannourah
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    May 14th 2016, 7:33 AM

    manslaughter conviction looming

    23
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    Mute screanire
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    May 13th 2016, 11:56 PM

    It’s got to such a ridiculous situation at this stage that I’m actually (in a weird way), rooting for the Hutch faction. I’d prefer if the Gardai started with the vile Kinahan ‘gang’ first. Once they are locked up, lock up the Hutch associates then.

    133
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    Mute Mary Murphy
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    May 14th 2016, 12:45 AM

    Yea and Gerry the formal criminal Hutch too.

    17
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    Mute Seamus McSpud
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    May 14th 2016, 7:19 AM

    I say a mass celebrity death match out of the way in some warehouse in Dublin.

    18
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    Mute Seamus McSpud
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    May 14th 2016, 7:24 AM

    These 2 gangsters were on the front page of every newspaper a few weeks back and only now are arrested … I can only assume they have been in a rat hole somewhere because they haven’t been shot already.
    As I write I’m concluding he probably handed himself in as it’s hard to imagine the guards find him before the hutches

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    Mute Cal McLaughlin
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    May 13th 2016, 10:36 PM

    Great news.
    Important news.
    Hopefully this breakthrough will crack the case open and the people who organised the shootings will be brought to justice.

    66
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    Mute Neil79
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    May 14th 2016, 12:10 AM

    Well done to the boys in blue

    44
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    Mute Ian Phillip Creaner
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    May 13th 2016, 10:45 PM

    Da fugh was dat?

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    Mute Jamie McCormack
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    May 14th 2016, 12:39 AM

    Alan Kelly is the reason we should abandon politics.

    14
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    Mute Jamie McCormack
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    May 14th 2016, 12:44 AM

    Ah I’m only joking, but how do you stop megalomaniacs from coming to power, or are you supposed to just roll with it.

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    Mute paddy
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    May 13th 2016, 10:40 PM

    Wombs of the world untie!

    30
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    Mute Dj
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    May 13th 2016, 10:37 PM

    Two of them might as well been doing a wedding shoot.

    29
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    Mute Wesley Preston
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    May 14th 2016, 12:45 AM

    Loads of commotion on the N32 this evening. Thought it was another shooting

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    Mute Robbie Holland
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    May 14th 2016, 1:48 PM

    Seen that myself loads of Garda surrounded at the side of the road, looked very dodgy.

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    Mute David Conroy
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    May 14th 2016, 3:19 PM

    There were about 14 armed Gardai and they carried out the arrest with precision timing. If the bad guys had have produced a bicycle pump it would have saved the State a fortune ! Job well done !

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    Mute Meehawwl O'Buachailla
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    May 14th 2016, 12:16 AM

    I wonder was it the cross-dresser?

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    Mute Dave
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    May 14th 2016, 12:21 AM

    Yes. It’s the guy who started all this.

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    Mute paddy
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    May 13th 2016, 10:37 PM

    Yeah right

    15
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    Mute Dubabroad
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    May 13th 2016, 10:51 PM

    +234 area code.. Not dodgy at all, must be legit

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    Mute meerkat
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    May 13th 2016, 11:25 PM

    Probably got a shot on winning streak

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    Mute Dave
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    May 13th 2016, 11:45 PM

    Tough luck Patrick.

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    Mute Bill Board
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    May 14th 2016, 9:08 PM

    Young Patrick hutch arrested his brother is the deceased brother Gary “2 KNOWN POLICE INFORMERS” + there father so 3!!! The other arrested was aka MAGO gatley a man who could not leave the hutch faction because they knew he had police informed for previous years and they were going to expose them as a known police informer!!!! Time for the old hutch to get onto there HANDLERS to get the lads out of this

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    Mute james mc donagh
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    May 14th 2016, 11:32 AM

    Great news. Take everyone of those rats off the street,, either in cuffs or a bag…

    5
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