Tusla publishes its Annual Report for 2022: Report details the Agency’s service activity during a year of significant reform progress.
The 2022 Annual Report is the second one in the three-year planning and delivery framework of Corporate Plan 2021-2023. The report describes the progress made by the Agency in achieving the goals and objectives outlined in the Corporate Plan.
The year marked a significant and important milestone in the Agency’s Structural Reform Programme, with the formal establishment of the new Executive Management Team and the introduction of a new regional structure, led by newly appointed Regional Chief Officers, which saw the creation of two new Tusla regions, bringing the total number of Tusla regions to six.
Some key accomplishments in 2022 include migrating the Tusla IT infrastructure to its own secure network called TuslaIRL and developing the Tusla Case Management (TCM) system. TCM provides a comprehensive view of each child and supports the integration of several services, and in doing so improves the speed and quality of our service delivery.
In 2022, with the outbreak of war in Europe, this led to an increase in people seeking protection in Ireland, including unaccompanied young people. This, coupled with other complex issues facing children and families in Ireland today, has led to increased demand for services and support. Like other social service agencies in Europe, Tusla faced challenges in recruiting and retaining suitably qualified and experienced staff. To address this, Tusla launched a People Strategy in July 2022 with clear actions in its lifetime to attract and retain experienced individuals through an agile work environment.
Speaking about the Tusla Annual Report 2022, Chairperson Pat Rabbitte said, “the agency continues to be challenged in ways that could not have been envisaged when Tusla was established in 2014. The increased demand for services, in terms of increased referrals, increase in complexity of need and the marked increase in the arrival of families and young people to Ireland especially unaccompanied minors, in an environment of wider workforce supply issues, has resulted in further significant demand led pressure on the agency.
“Thanks to the hard work and commitment of the workforce, community partners and foster carers and the ongoing support of the Department and Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth - Roderic O'Gorman, we have expanded our services to respond, however challenges remain.”
Key Figures from 2022
- In 2022, the Agency managed 82,855 referrals to Child Protection and Welfare Services.
- There were 5,755 children in care at the end of 2022, 89% of whom were in foster care.
- 26,792 children received a family support service in 2022.
- 2,949 young adults were in receipt of aftercare services at the end of 2022.
- In the 2021/2022 academic year, TESS (Tusla Education Support Service) worked with 6,199 children.
The Tusla Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2022 are available to view on our website at https://www.tusla.ie/annualreport22/