Cookie Policy
Last Updated: June 2026
This Cookie Notice explains how The Child and Family Agency (Tusla) use cookies and similar tracking technologies on our website. This notice is designed to comply with the ePrivacy Directive and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This notice forms part of our overall Privacy Statement
What are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files downloaded to your computer or mobile device when you visit a website. They allow the website to recognise your device, store your preferences, your language preference, your login information, and track your online behaviour to improve your browsing.
How we use Cookies?
We use Cookies to protect the website and users and for website functionality; to facilitate and improve your experience of our site. We use both session cookies (which generally expire once you close your web browser) and persistent cookies (which stay on your device until they expire, or you delete them). These cookies are either set by us (first-party cookies) or by external service providers (third-party cookies) who deliver features on our site. When you click on buttons or links to third-party sites or services, you will be redirected to an external site, which has its own cookies and privacy policies over which we have no control.
Managing Your Consent and Preferences
You have the right to choose which non-essential cookies you want to accept. Before cookies are placed on your computer or device, you will be shown a pop-up message, through the Cookie Consent Banner, requesting your consent to set those cookies. You can change or completely withdraw your consent at any time by clicking the ‘cookie settings’ icon. By giving your consent to the placing of cookies you are enabling us to provide the best possible experience and service to you. Your consent will last for 6 months from the date that you last gave it to us. After 6 months, we will ask you to give us a new consent, the next time you use our website on the same device.
You may, if you wish, deny consent to the cookies; however certain features of our site may not function fully or as intended.
You can configure your internet browser to block or alert you about cookies, but please be aware that our site may not work properly if you do so. For further details, please consult the help menu in your internet browser or the documentation that came with your device.
It is recommended that you keep your internet browser and operating system up-to-date and that you consult the help and guidance provided by the developer of your internet browser and manufacturer of your computer or device if you are unsure about adjusting your privacy settings.
Cookie List
Targeting Cookies
These cookies are used to enable embedded YouTube video to be played on our website. They can also collect anonymous data about your web browser to display targeted advertising to you across the Web.
| Host | Cookie Name | Description | Expiry Duration (Years) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Third Party | |||
| youtube.com | VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE | This cookie is set by YouTube to keep track of user preferences for YouTube videos embedded in sites; it can also determine whether the website visitor is using the new or old version of the YouTube interface. | 0 |
| youtube.com | CONSENT | This cookie carries out information about how the end user uses the website and any advertising that the end user may have seen before visiting the website. | 2 |
| youtube.com | YSC | This cookie is set by YouTube to track views of embedded videos. | 0 |
| youtube.com | VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA | This cookie is used to store the user’s cookie consent state for the current domain. | 0 |
| youtube.com | DEVICE_INFO | This cookie is used to track user’s interaction with embedded content. | 0 |
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.
| Host | Cookie Name | Description | Expiry Duration (Years) |
|---|---|---|---|
| www.tusla.ie | _hjSession_xxxxxx | This cookie name is associated with Hotjar which is used to hold the current session data, ensuring that subsequent requests within the session window are attributed to the same Hotjar session. A cookie that holds the current session data. This ensures that subsequent requests within the session window will be attributed to the same Hotjar session. | 0 |
| www.tusla.ie | _ga | This cookie name is associated with Google Universal Analytics - which is a significant update to Google’s more commonly used analytics service. This cookie is used to distinguish unique users by assigning a randomly generated number as a client identifier. It is included in each page request in a site and used to calculate visitor, session and campaign data for the site’s analytics reports. By default it is set to expire after 2 years, although this is customisable by website owners. For more information about Google’s processing of your personal data, please consult Google’s Privacy & Terms site. | 0 |
| www.tusla.ie | _hjSessionUser_xxxxxx | This cookie name is associated with Hotjar which is used to persist the Hotjar User ID, unique to that site on the browser. This ensures that behavior in subsequent visits to the same site will be attributed to the same user ID. Hotjar cookie that is set when a user first lands on a page with the Hotjar script. It is used to persist the Hotjar User ID, unique to that site on the browser. | 0 |
| www.tusla.ie | exp_last_activity | This cookie name is associated with the website content management system Expression Engine. Most likely to do with tracking or recording visitor activity. | 1 |
| tusla.ie | _hjSessionUser_xxxxxx | This cookie name is associated with Hotjar which is used to persist the Hotjar User ID, unique to that site on the browser. This ensures that behavior in subsequent visits to the same site will be attributed to the same user ID. | 1 |
| www.tusla.ie | _ga_xxxxxxxxxx | Used by Google Analytics to identify and track an individual session with your device. | 0 |
| www.tusla.ie | _gid | This cookie name is associated with Google Universal Analytics. This appears to be a new cookie and as of Spring 2017 no information is available from Google. It appears to store and update a unique value for each page visited. For more information about Google’s processing of your personal data, please consult Google’s Privacy & Terms site. | 0 |
| tusla.ie | _ga_xxxxxxxxxx | Used by Google Analytics to identify and track an individual session with your device. | 1 |
| tusla.ie | _ga | This cookie name is associated with Google Universal Analytics - which is a significant update to Google’s more commonly used analytics service. It is used to distinguish unique users by assigning a randomly generated number as a client identifier. For more information, please consult Google’s Privacy & Terms site. | 1 |
| tusla.ie | _gid | This cookie name is associated with Google Universal Analytics. It appears to store and update a unique value for each page visited. For more information, please consult Google’s Privacy & Terms site. | 0 |
| tusla.ie | _hjTLDTest | When the Hotjar script executes we try to determine the most generic cookie path we should use, instead of the page hostname. This is done so that cookies can be shared across subdomains (where applicable). To determine this, we try to store the _hjTLDTest cookie for different URL substring alternatives until it fails. After this check, the cookie is removed. | 0 |
| www.tusla.ie | _gat | This cookie name is associated with Google Universal Analytics. According to documentation it is used to throttle the request rate - limiting the collection of data on high traffic sites. It expires after 10 minutes. | 0 |
| www.tusla.ie | exp_last_visit | This cookie name is associated with the website content management system Expression Engine. Most likely to do with tracking or recording visitor activity. | 1 |
| tusla.ie | _hjSession_xxxxxx | This cookie name is associated with Hotjar which is used to hold the current session data, ensuring that subsequent requests within the session window are attributed to the same Hotjar session. | 0 |
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.
| Host | Cookie Name | Description | Expiry Duration (Years) |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Party | |||
| www.tusla.ie | OptanonConsent | This cookie is set by the cookie compliance solution from OneTrust. It stores information about the categories of cookies the site uses and whether visitors have given or withdrawn consent for the use of each category. This enables site owners to prevent cookies in each category from being set in the users browser, when consent is not given. The cookie has a normal lifespan of one year, so that returning visitors to the site will have their preferences remembered. It contains no information that can identify the site visitor. | 5 |
| www.tusla.ie | exp_csrf_token | This cookie is used by Cloudflare to identify trusted web traffic. | 0 |
| www.tusla.ie | OptanonAlertBoxClosed | This cookie is set by websites using certain versions of the cookie law compliance solution from OneTrust. It is set after visitors have seen a cookie information notice and in some cases only when they actively close the notice down. It enables the website not to show the message more than once to a user. The cookie has a normal lifespan of one year and contains no personal information. | 5 |
SharePoint Cookies
These cookies are used by SharePoint services and related Azure websites for session management and functionality.
| Cookie Subgroup | Cookie | Description | Cookies used | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| tusla.sharepoint.com | nSGt-94F053E35AC977A6543F0BEBF1A2DC7BF15AAFC40D13BE39 | First Party | Session | |
| tusla.sharepoint.com | RpsContextCookie | First Party | Session | |
| tusla.sharepoint.com | nSGt-A8C34B2212B35113780CBAFAFE3CB93F58B94C6B9F319C42 | First Party | Session | |
| tusla.sharepoint.com | nSGt-B5FAEBE306D794822FED4CCF9C5D835F5739044061EC7933 | First Party | Session | |
| tusla.sharepoint.com | nSGt-6AAA2098C5DC3A1414F2443EEF73D57D09056E8D925C09D6 | First Party | Session | |
| tusla.sharepoint.com | nSGt-C8DD2228D25B0F75A1757D7744CC919589E4AFA889B59D12 | First Party | Session | |
| tusla.sharepoint.com | nSGt-45D4F10B2A89E119365A8E4B413DAEF611B78CF7DC27878C | First Party | Session | |
| tusla.sharepoint.com | nSGt-32F3A73781CA00410C0C8BF7FF630944BAD6A86E5364FAFD | First Party | Session | |
| tusla.sharepoint.com | nSGt-19B656722B5D4319213C06DF4C4D24E40F472392D230A455 | First Party | Session | |
| tusla.sharepoint.com | nSGt-C3F91B0A92034E5CE1D7885D56A5529AF71B8F543C1D3F76 | First Party | Session | |
| tusla.sharepoint.com | nSGt-405962E708F81E4439669454D12FC06E3D649A04C2E0C6B0 | First Party | Session | |
| tusla.sharepoint.com | nSGt-F40522CE0243624BE0D9EDB8418914A1C20B6744827F3BB9 | First Party | Session | |
| tusla.sharepoint.com | nSGt-E7B792EF781BA0C38B1A0DF825A1120969ABCCB4F0E7F550 | First Party | Session | |
| tusla.sharepoint.com | nSGt-C7EB02B817C77296B37F8CE4FAB6B98540A5D21CF055F5F3 | First Party | Session | |
| tusla.sharepoint.com | nSGt-950C41C30A0DB5517C44B1F5A72E051B7A8A49442EFC36E1 | First Party | Session | |
| tusla.sharepoint.com | nSGt-6CBE744B2927580265FC2E77B655DB154C23E116A1B56C41 | First Party | Session | |
| tusla.sharepoint.com | nSGt-41E85801FE8BC2BA106BA20CF28C84CF657AA1AF6C565979 | First Party | Session | |
| tusla.sharepoint.com | nSGt-4BA4EDFB51B8B9048273D4581FCDD1703B8D244C9D6A1EF9 | First Party | Session | |
| tusla.sharepoint.com | nSGt-50E5B8A27B4E2A35FB588E64E56C325A6287A3502C741DF8 | First Party | Session | |
| tusla.sharepoint.com | nSGt-B22EE8EC66401E80A293965A00BD7FC2ED8D8FF0E5EEF650 | First Party | Session | |
| tusla.sharepoint.com | nSGt-77ACF2B72A897CE95241886C56178012B56D1C45DE1351D9 | First Party | Session | |
| tusla.sharepoint.com | nSGt-D7F9E37D6AFBECF149F2F13B693C200C727B0C8AADF9D1D2 | First Party | Session | |
| earlyyears-inspection-reports.azurewebsites.net | ARRAffinity | First Party | Session | |
| earlyyears-inspection-reports.azurewebsites.net | ARRAffinitySameSite | First Party | Session |