Pioneering initiatives win at Tusla Excellence and Innovation awards
Tusla’s commitment to building an inclusive, empowered, and forward-thinking workforce was celebrated at this year’s Excellence and Innovation Awards, held at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham. In its 3rd year, the annual ceremony once again shone a spotlight on the inspiring initiatives developed by staff across the Agency, in partnership with communities and other state agencies, to deliver better outcomes for children and families throughout Ireland.
Among the initiatives recognised was the Barnahus Project – West and South, which won the CEO Award. Barnahus, which translates as ‘Child House’ – offers a coordinated interagency response by professionals from Tusla, HSE and An Garda Síochána to child sex abuse victims (0-18 years), and all done under one roof.
Other winners were selected from throughout the organisation at both national and regional level and included pioneering ICT initiatives, innovation in service delivery, and projects relating to the promotion of inclusion and diversity.
Tusla CEO Kate Duggan said: “I want to congratulate colleagues across every region that have been recognised as part of our Innovation and Excellence Awards 2025. These awards are an opportunity to showcase the unwavering commitment of Tusla staff to innovation and excellence, which has a profound and lasting impact on the lives of children and young people in communities across Ireland.
“It also reflects our commitment to promoting a culture of learning across services and better supporting and enabling staff to respond to the needs of children, young people and families in their communities and to work in partnership with other agencies to enable better outcomes.”
Outgoing Tusla Chair Pat Rabbitte said the awards were an opportunity to acknowledge the work being done in so many very different parts of the Agency. He pointed out the demanding nature of the work and said that expectations have grown since Tusla was established and that, in his opinion it is the most supervised agency in the State.
Speaking to attendees, he said: “Additional responsibilities have been allocated to Tusla that weren’t envisaged, but staff have risen to that task in an admirable way…. The daily work that staff engage in is immensely worthwhile. These awards are an attempt to recognise how much your work is valued.”
The full list of winners:
- Improving Experiences for Children and Families: Gold award: Cavan Youth Participation Group, Silver award: Midlands Area Based Therapy Team, Bronze award: Bringing Kids Together
- Promoting Inclusion and Diversity: Gold award: Bringing past Traveller culture and traditions into mindful parenting – Mid West, Silver award: AsIAm – Same Chance, Bronze award: Inclusive Summer Camp for Traveller Children with Autism.
- Best Retention Initiative: Gold award: Dublin South West, Kildare, West Wicklow video, Silver Award: Get Moving (Dublin North East area), Bronze award: Donegal Recruitment and Retention Working Group.
- Improving the Employee Experience: Gold award: Cork Staff Welfare Committee, Silver award: Aitheantas Thúsla Dhún na nGall (West North West area), Bronze award: Induction Programme for Overseas Employees (Dublin Mid Leinster).
- Innovation in Service Delivery: Gold award: The Foster Care Peer Support Pilot and Communication Charter for Tusla Staff and Parents of Children and Young People in Care: An interagency participatory approach, Silver award: Development of Practice Guidance and Learning Supports for practitioners working with families (Domestic Violence and Coercive Control), Bronze award: CSR Quality Management System – Achieving ISO 9001 Certification in the Early Years Inspectorate.
- Engaging a Digital Solution to Provide a Better Service: Gold Award: IFMS Finance project, Silver Award: ICT Child Protection Notification System, Bronze Award: Interactive Workforce Planning through the utilisation of Power BI.
- The Special Recognition Award went to the Take Over The Office Day initiative in Carlow, Kilkenny, South Tipperary.