Child Welfare

A placement in special care can only be made pursuant to a High Court order for very vulnerable children.

THE NUMBER OF High Court orders for special care placements not complied with by child and family agency Tusla more than tripled between 2023 and 2024, a number maintained in 2025.

Special care is “short term, stabilising and safe care in a secured therapeutic environment”, according to Tusla.

Young people referred to special care services are between the ages of 11 and 17, and are classed by the agency as “very vulnerable, sometimes very challenging, with complex psychological and sociological profiles”.

These children have “high numbers of previous placements which have frequently broken down”, it said.

Given the restriction on the child’s liberty, a placement in special care can only be made pursuant to a High Court order. These orders are made on an individual basis and are only used when a judge deems a child should be in special care for their own safety.

In response to a parliamentary question by Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín, the agency confirmed that in 2023, it delayed in complying with four such court orders.

In 2024, there were 14. The following year also had 14 noncompliances, and so far this year there have been 10 such delays.

In remarks accompanying the figures on noncompliances, Tusla said it acknowledges and regrets the current situation “where we are unable to fulfil our statutory obligations to provide timely access to Special Care for young people subject to a High Court order”.

It said these delays are due to inadequate staffing levels in special care to operate at full capacity.

Tóibín said these figures show a system that “cannot meet its most basic legal obligations to the children most at risk.”

“The state is breaking the law,” he said, drawing a comparison between the government’s stance during the fuel protests that no one is entitled to break the law. “This is clearly not the case when it comes to state agencies.”

The Aontú leader said there is abundant evidence that as a result of noncompliance, some of these children “become seriously exposed to harm, exploitation and abuse”.

The staffing and capacity crisis is the result of funding, he continued, which makes it a problem for government.