‘Unacceptable’ that 6,000 children not assigned social worker, PAC says

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has excoriated as “unacceptable” the fact that the Child and Family Agency, Tusla, has not allocated a social worker to over 6,000 children.

The latest periodic report from the Dáil’s public spending watchdog has made some hard-hitting criticisms in relation to wasteful spending of taxpayers’ money across a large number of government departments and agencies.

In relation to Tusla, it highlighted the fact that so many children in need of help were without a social worker. It said the Department of Children should work harder to ensure gaps in the system were eliminated

It also questioned if contracts with private agencies to provide residential and foster care to children were “appropriately managed”. These contacts provided services to 260 children at a cost of €100 million.

Report calls for replacement or overhaul of direct provision system

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There was also strong criticism of the decision by the Department of Finance to disclose details on the fees paid to individual barristers providing services in relation to the €14 billion Apple Escrow Fund. The Department cited a break of general data protection regulation. The Committee said there must be accountability and transparency for all payments.

It also recommended that the National Treasury Management Agency regularly examines all its operation to avoid the kind of mistake it made when losing a total of €721,000 through human error.

An official of the agency had mistakenly mixed up dollars and euros as the currency for a fund. By the time the mistake was discovered the exchange rate was not favourable, leading to the cost.

The PAC also expresses concern that the Apple Escrow Fund declined in value from €16 billion to €14.2 billion in the first nine months of its operation in 2018. This was due to a conservative investment strategy. The Committee recommended that the strategy is reviewed on a regular basis to ensure the fund’s long-term value is maintained.

The Committee, in its report, also queries the claim that the number of individuals seeking asylum in the State has increased substantially. While the number for 2018 (3,673) is the highest for a decade, the Committee points out that the numbers have fluctuated considerably each year.

The report also indicated a sharp rise in the cost of emergency accommodation in the past year. The total figure supplied by the Department of Justice for emergency in accommodation in 2018 was €960,000.

However, it spent €3.7 million on hotels in the first three months of 2019 alone. If the trend continued the cost would be €15 million for this year, which would comprise a fifteen-fold increase.

Part of the reason for this is that hundreds of people who have been granted status to reside in Ireland are still living in direct provision. The report notes that 778 people with legal status continued to live in such residences as of October 31st this year.

When the Committee queried why this was so, the Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan said, if vacated, those spaces could be used to provide accommodation for those being housed in hotels.

“Members south information regarding the process employed to move an individual from direct provision to mainstream housing after they had been granted the legal right to live in Ireland.

“The Department informed the Committee that it was finalising a process to support residents moving into mainstream housing after they have been granted leave to stay, through the establishment of a dedicated unit that will work with centre managers, local authorities and non-governmental organisations.

The PAC also highlighted understaffing in a number of organisations including the Data Protection Commission, the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission and the Probation Service.