Reform, People, and ICT at the centre of Tusla’s Business Plan for 2023

Tusla – Child and Family Agency today published its Business Plan for 2023, outlining key objectives in the development and implementation of its reform programme across practice, structure, and culture; the recruitment, retention, and development of staff through the implementation of its People Strategy and the strengthening of ICT and cyber security systems. 

The agency will focus on maintaining core services, and to further develop services such as DSGBV, Birth Information & Tracing, Educational Support Services, Separated Children Seeking International Protection, and supporting young people with more complex needs. 

Kate Duggan, CEO (interim), Tusla said: ‘As an agency responding to children, families, and individuals across Ireland through a continuum of service provision, it is critical that we deliver services that better meet the needs of those that use them. To do that, we must always strive to do things better. Our 2023 Business Plan outlines the ambitious objectives that we are fully committed to implementing, to enable better outcomes and more positive experiences for those that engage with our services, to better support and retain our staff, to develop new services and to strengthen data management and security’.

This ambitious plan is set against the backdrop of ever-increasing referrals to all of our services, staffing challenges, increased demand in services such as Separated Children Seeking International Protection (including those fleeing war in Ukraine), Birth Information & Tracing Services and the demand for more intensive services for young people with more complex needs. 

Goals set Out in Business Plan 2023 include:

• Ensuring children, young people, families, and communities receive a consistent, quality, and integrated response from our services.
• Delivering an independent regulatory service focused on the safety and wellbeing of children and young people through continuous improvement and partnership with stakeholders.
• Supporting and empowering staff and leaders to continuously learn and improve so that children, families, and communities benefit from our service.
• Ensure our local teams and services are facilitated and supported by National systems and resources that promote integration and accountability.

Business Plan 2023 is the final plan in the three-year business planning cycle of the Agency’s current Corporate Plan (2021 – 2023), guided by the priorities of Government, and  performance statements from relevant Ministers (Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration & Youth; Department of Education; Department of Justice) and approved by the Board of Tusla.

Tusla Business Plan 2023