'Serious concerns' for children in foster care in Kilkenny, Carlow and South Tipperary

A recent HIQA inspection report raised “serious and growing concerns” about fostering arrangements across Kilkenny, Carlow and South Tipperary.

The report highlights some major shortcomings in safeguarding practices and staffing levels within the service.

Inspectors found significant “deficits” in safeguarding, particularly around how allegations against foster carers were managed.

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“There were gaps in case records in respect of these concerns,” the report stated.

HIQA found that notifications of suspected abuse were not always sent to An Garda Síochána, even in cases that met the threshold for abuse.

“Timely actions were not taken to progress the assessment of an allegation of abuse,” inspectors noted.

In the 12 months before the inspection, 94 child protection and welfare concerns relating to children in foster care were reported.

“Of these, nine remained opened,” the report stated. “Similarly, 26 allegations were made against foster carers and three of these remained opened.

In addition, one allegation did not receive a timely assessment to establish if the allegation of child abuse was founded or unfounded.

The child had not been appropriately consulted with about the concern; and two notifications of suspected child abuse were not reported to An Garda Síochána, as required.

Inspectors also questioned children’s awareness of the complaints process.

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“Four of the seven children spoken with said they were not aware of the complaints process,” the report found, though “records reviewed by inspectors demonstrated that, in some cases, the complaint process was discussed with children during visits.”

The inspection also identified ongoing issues with staffing.

“There was an ongoing organisational risk with regards to staffing which challenged the service area’s capabilities to effectively address gaps in the service and to drive improvement in a sustainable manner,” HIQA said.

Staff told inspectors that roles and responsibilities were becoming blurred, with social care staff increasingly carrying out social workers’ duties.

One foster carer described the situation as “chaotic”, saying that “newer staff assigned to work with children did not always have the knowledge of their assessed needs.”

Despite reaching its “staffing ceiling,” the service area still faced “significant deficits” in allocating social workers to all children in foster care.

However, senior managers committed to recruiting additional social workers beyond this limit.

In response, Tusla confirmed that of the five standards assessed by HIQA, two were substantially compliant and three were non-compliant.

“As part of this process, Tusla submitted an action plan to address areas for improvement, which was accepted by HIQA,” the agency said.

Since the inspection in July 2025, Tusla stated it has strengthened governance and oversight measures, ensuring all referrals are now reviewed by a social work team leader at entry and referred to An Garda Síochána “as appropriate, dependant on the category of concern.”

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The agency said an internal audit had already identified garda referrals as an area for improvement, prompting the introduction of a new audit system overseen by principal social workers “to ensure prompt referrals, where necessary, to An Garda Síochána.”

To address staffing challenges, Tusla said it was moving toward a multi-disciplinary model of care delivery.

“Since the inspection report, all children in care now have an allocated worker,” the agency added. “We continue to prioritise allocation of all high priority or at-risk cases to social workers.”

Joanne Cullen, Interim Regional Chief Officer for Tusla Kilkenny, Carlow and South Tipperary, said the report reflected “the particularly challenging environment in which we deliver our foster care services, including a shortage of social workers, and the ongoing work, commitment and dedication by our team to deliver these important services.”

“We will continue to focus on the delivery of consistent and high-quality services and ongoing service improvements to enhance our foster care service across Kilkenny, Carlow and South Tipperary,” she said.

“Our Integrated Reform Programme, and the associated Local Integrated Service Delivery model will ensure that children and families get the right response, in the right place, by the right person, at the right time.”

Despite the challenges, the report also recognised many positive aspects of the foster care service.

“All of the children that spoke with inspectors said that they were happy in their foster care home and well cared for by their foster carers,” Tusla noted.

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“The children in care said they were consulted about matters that were important to them, and their views were represented at care planning meetings when they did not attend.”

HIQA also found that the vast majority of children had their care plans reviewed and updated in line with statutory regulations, despite staffing pressures. 

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