Tusla CEO, Kate Duggan told the Conference her vision for Tusla on assuming the role as CEO was that all mothers and children would have the same opportunities that she had, and that staff would work together as integrated teams, with children, young people and families at the centre of all decision making.
“The Agency has a budget of €1,038 billion and a staff of 5,299 in 2024, is well governed with a strong Board, Department and political oversight, with oversight from three Government Departments, the Department of Children Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth as its parent Department, and with Education, and Justice.
“Over the last number of years, the demand for services has been outstripping supply. In many ways, Tusla holds the state risk in trying to respond to children with more complex needs, particularly those in the care of the state.
“Also, Tusla is not just a service provider, but also a regulator of private residential services, early years’ services and alternative education services, which brings additional challenge and complexity.
“When I was appointed as CEO, the first female CEO in the Agency, I had to think about what I would bring as a leader and how as an Executive we would better support and empower our people, enabling them to better deliver services’.
“My focus was on continuing our journey of Reform, reforming our structures, practice and culture, which had commenced under the leadership of the previous CEO, Bernard Gloster. But, with a specific focus on resetting the Agency’s vision and culture, to design the detailed roadmap for the future of the Agency, whilst being mindful of a highly regulated and ever-changing environment, and with lots of external scrutiny.
Ms. Duggan said her focus over the last 18 months had been on promoting equity, equality, capacity and consistency. to ensure that the totality of their resources was targeted to where they are most needed, and to ensure evidence-based data in service planning and decision-making.
“A key enabler to this has been our approach to collective leadership, engagement and communication, integration, and governance.
“Over the last two years we have seen demand continuing to increase and new demand such as the 500% increase in Separated Children Seeking International Protection. Over the same period, we have seen improvements in service delivery, with the opening of 30 new residential units, a 50% decrease in Special Emergency Arrangements, implementation of new services such as Birth Information & Tracing (compliant with statutory timelines), compliance with Pay and Numbers Strategy and approved agency limits, an overall level of HIQA compliance of 85%, and an almost 2% increase in staff retention.
“Our Reform Programme is on track, we are focused on continuing to transform services for children and families, better supporting our people, digital transformation, continuing to drive integration and continuing to build trust and confidence in our services.”
