Tusla to hire security to restrain children during violent episodes, despite concerns

Irish Times

9 hours ago

Tusla
, the child and family agency, is to hire security guards to restrain children during violent episodes, despite repeatedly raising concerns about the practice in the past.
The agency expects to spend about €1 millon on hiring security personnel for 'close protection' duties. These personnel will work with Tusla staff to respond to physical violence and help transport children in State care.
The security officers will be permitted to physically restrain children during violent episodes, but only as a last resort and under the supervision of Tusla staff.
They will not be permitted to engage in 'behaviour management' of young people 'unless there is an immediate physical threat to the safety of staff members or themselves', according to official documents.
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It is understood they will mainly be assigned to Tusla's special care units, which are used to detain children who pose a risk of violence to themselves or others. They may also be assigned to other residential care units and off-site locations.
The agency operates three special care units - Ballydowd and Crannóg Nua in Dublin and Coovagh House in Limerick – but just 14 of 26 beds in the facilities are operational due to staffing shortfalls.
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The challenging and sometimes violent nature of work in these units has been blamed for significant staff turnover. Since 2021, 174 staff have left these units while 168 have been hired.
Staff absenteeism is also a major issue in the units, reaching as high as 25 per cent in recent years, according to a recently published external review.
The review stated close protection personnel were brought into the special case units to manage 'violence, harassment and aggression'. However, 'following concerns this practice was ended', the report states.
In March of last year, the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) conducted an unannounced inspection of Coovagh House after a tip-off about 'concerning incidents of physical restraint' and the use of close protection personnel.
Security staff had been hired by the unit the previous year to protect staff following several violent incidents involving a child, one of which resulted in serious injury.
Hiqa found that the management of serious incidents using close protection personnel was not in line with policy.
The use of close protection officers continued until February 2024, despite the unit not having all the required documentation on file, Hiqa said.
Close protection officers were also employed in a Tusla residential unit in 2023 following a violent incident. Their use was discussed at a Tusla board meeting in November 2023, during which the chief executive Kate Duggan raised concerns.
'The CEO advised that the use of close protection security may not be seen as in line with the agency's purpose and function by Hiqa,' the minutes of the meeting state.
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The hiring of close protection officers is part of a wider €8 million contract to provide security at Tusla sites, including patrolling the grounds and monitoring CCTV.
In a statement, Tusla said that violence, harassment and aggression present an 'ongoing challenge'. 'However, it is important to point out that these incidents arise in the context of children and young people who have experienced significant trauma in their lives,' it said.
'Since 2023, in circumstances of particularly difficult periods of violence and aggression towards staff, close protection personnel have been employed as an additional safety measure to protect social care staff and support them in the course of their work.'
Such staff are given the necessary training for their work and are only used for short periods of time until the situation stabilises, Tusla said.