Tánaiste Micheál Martin has expressed concerns about private providers operating emergency child care facilities on behalf of the State, hinting at the need for a review. While addressing the Dáil last Thursday, he voiced his support for increased State involvement in such care. He acknowledged that the circumstances surrounding one private provider were particularly troubling.
However, Mr. Martin cautioned that enhancing the State’s capacity in this area, both in terms of physical infrastructure and multifaceted skillsets, would be a lengthy process. His remarks came in response to concerns voiced by People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny about recent disturbing accounts related to emergency care for young people.
The Irish Times previously reported that Tusla, the body dealing with child and family issues, ceased allocating children under its care to emergency accommodation managed by Ideal Care Services, following significant concerns about the firm’s practices. Notably, the company was implicated for endangering children due to a lack of thorough background checks on its employees, including accusations of falsified pre-employment screenings and tampering with police vetting records.
Ideal Care, operated by Dublin-based Jossy Akwuobi, received almost €9 million from Tusla in the two years preceding the severance of their relationship. An internal report from July 2023 critiqued the company’s pre-employment screening methods as “woefully insufficient” for protecting vulnerable children.
In 2023, Tusla paid an overall sum of €58 million to ten private companies for running emergency child care facilities. One company received nearly €13m for housing children in unregulated placements, often in temporary accommodation like B&Bs or rented properties, maintained by private care staff. These setups, known as special emergency arrangements, housed over 180 susceptible children.
Mr. Kenny challenged the effectiveness of the current system and questioned the necessity of outsourcing such services, implying that the HSE or Department of Health could potentially manage them. Commenting on this, Mr. Martin confirmed an ongoing investigation concerning Ideal Care Services and agreed that the existing model merits scrutiny.
“There’s no reason to underestimate the substantial duration needed for creating both the material resources and the multidisciplinary capabilities necessary to work with at-risk children,” was his statement. “However, I’m inclined to support more substantial intervention from the State rather than exclusively relying on private outsourcing. This doesn’t imply that all privately-run facilities are substandard or inadequate, yet the emergence of a grave situation warrants a serious evaluation of the current system.”
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