Independent Ireland TD Ken O’Flynn has called for urgent clarity from the Minister for Children after new figures confirmed that 42,552 child welfare and protection cases were closed by Tusla during the Covid lockdown period, with wellbeing checks on those children still not completed.
Almost 1,800 child abuse or welfare referrals from Donegal were made to Tusla in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Donegal News revealed in November.
Figures obtained by the Donegal News from the Child and Family Agency show the total number of referrals (child abuse/welfare) for Donegal in 2020 was 1,772. Just 629 cases were open to social work at the end of 2020.
Deputy O’Flynn said parents and frontline professionals will be alarmed by the scale of the closures and the lack of clear information from the Department.
He said the State needs to explain why thousands of cases were closed at a time when children faced isolation, school closures, domestic strain and reduced reporting routes.
“Child protection did not pause during Covid,” O’Flynn said. “Risks increased. Supports disappeared. Teachers, coaches and youth workers could not see vulnerable children. Yet more than forty-two thousand welfare and protection cases were closed. Years later the State is still trying to check what happened to those children.”
Deputy O’Flynn said the lack of transparency is unacceptable.
“Parents deserve straight answers. Social workers deserve proper support. The Department must set out how these wellbeing checks are being carried out, when they will finish, how many children could not be contacted and how many cases have had to be reopened. Families should not be left guessing.”
He stressed that his concern is directed at system leadership rather than frontline staff.
“Social workers carried enormous pressure during the pandemic,” he said. “They are not responsible for policy or for unexplained decisions at senior level. The public needs clear information from the Department and from Tusla management.”
Deputy O’Flynn confirmed that he has submitted a series of Parliamentary Questions seeking a detailed breakdown of the cases, the methodology used for the wellbeing checks and the timeline for completing them.
“This concerns the safety of children,” he said. “The Government must account for the scale of these closures and the steps being taken now. The public will expect nothing less.”
