Latest news with #TUSLA
The Irish Sun
3 days ago
- Business
- The Irish Sun
Cash-strapped Tusla splurges €3m on private cabs in one year as taxi bill TRIPLES & some trips costing hundreds
So far in 2025, €1.4million has been spent on taxis TAXI FOR TUSLA! Cash-strapped Tusla splurges €3m on private cabs in one year as taxi bill TRIPLES & some trips costing hundreds THE cash-strapped child and family agency Tusla spent almost €3million on taxis last year. The cab bill is TRIPLE what the organisation paid in 2019, we can reveal. Advertisement Some trips cost hundreds, with drivers sent from Dublin to other counties — then asked to wait and come back again. Our revelations come after the State's child protection agency recently warned they will blow their budget by €68million this year as it struggles to deal with the demand for its services. Figures released to The Irish Sun on Sunday show Tusla's spending on taxis has grown rapidly in recent years. The info — provided under the Freedom of Information Act — shows they spent €2.98million on cabs last year. Advertisement This is almost a threefold rise on 2019, when €927,000 was paid out. Taxi bills fell during Covid, with €708,000 forked out in 2020 and €955,000 in 2021. But after the pandemic, the agency spend skyrocketed, with €1.9million spent on fares in 2022, followed by €2.5million in 2023 and €2.9million last year. So far in 2025, €1.4million has been spent on taxis. Advertisement Tusla told us it 'uses private transport such as taxis during the course of its day-to-day work', with the bills including both staff and client trips. Tusla are planning a trial in Dublin from next month where they'll directly employ drivers as a cost-saving measure. But they said: 'To date, the cost/benefit analysis shows that providing these services through bought in arrangements such as taxis is less costly than agency drivers and owned cars along with required maintenance.' 1 Figures released to The Irish Sun on Sunday show Tusla's spending on taxis has grown rapidly in recent years Credit: Getty
The Journal
04-08-2025
- Business
- The Journal
Tusla warns it will blow its budget by almost €68 million this year
TUSLA HAS WARNED it will blow its budget by nearly €68 million this year as it struggles to deal with huge demand for its services. The child and family agency warned in an update in May that it had already overspent by €8.9 million but this figure was likely to multiply by the end of the year. Tusla said its expected overspend for 2025 was €67.8 million, which included €7.6 million for kids in the international protection process and refugees from Ukraine. In a monthly briefing, the agency said demand for its service was growing, especially for residential care, fostering, legal bills, and separated children seeking asylum. It said they were trying to cut costs by expanding residential provision to replace special emergency arrangements that were a 'significant cost driver.' Tusla said some savings had been made in this area in 2024 through a 'strict pricing arrangement' and that this would continue this year. However, the agency warned that costs remained 'unpredictable' due to the inflated cost of placements. The briefing explained: 'As the majority of Tusla's expenditure is on demand-led arrangements, it is not possible to reduce expenditure materially to meet the budget allocated, without adversely impacting on services for vulnerable children and families.' It said there was likely to be an overspend of €38.8 million on placements for special care, fostering, and private residential arrangements. Advertisement Tusla also detailed the high cost of 'out-of-state placements' which involves a small number of children brought to the U.K. when services are not available in Ireland. The briefing said: 'If the agency cannot place children into special care in the existing facilities in 2025, this has the potential to impact on this year's overspend.' It said costs for staff travel were also likely to be up by as much as €2.2 million despite on expenses being introduced. Tusla also detailed a sharp rise in the number of placements for separated children who had applied for international protection in Ireland. The overspend here was predicted to be around €6.1 million to offer 343 residential placements for vulnerable asylum seekers without parents. Other areas of concern for Tusla were 'Guardian ad Litem' (GAL) arrangements where a person was appointed to represent the interests of a child in court. 'There is continued increased usage of GALs by the courts,' the document said, 'and this also has an increased legal cost.' The child and family agency also predicted an overspend for child refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine, according to records released under FOI. Asked about the budget difficulties, a spokesman said: 'Throughout 2025, the agency has experienced unprecedented demand for services, which was unpredictable in nature, and we have worked to prioritise cost saving initiatives around these contributing factors. 'Tusla has strong budget controls in place, however the projected overspend for 2025 is the result of demand-led pressures in the agency for the accommodation of children in the care of the state as well as costs for accommodating unaccompanied minors and associated legal and Guardian ad Litem (GAL) costs.' Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Extra.ie
27-05-2025
- Extra.ie
Sister of murdered Daniel McAnaspie issues plea
The sister of a 17-year-old who was murdered while in state care has called on TUSLA to 'wake up' as she claimed that nothing had changed in 15 years. Daniel McAnaspie went through 20 different care placements in the 15 months prior to his death. The Finglas native and his five siblings entered state care alongside their mother following the death of their father on Christmas Day 1996. Daniel McAnaspie. After entering care, the mother turned to alcohol and was removed from the care home, leading to the children to act out and be separated by the HSE, who were responsible for child protection at the time. Speaking to Oliver Callan on RTÉ Radio 1 on Monday, Daniel's sister Cathriona detailed how he never learned to read or write due to undiagnosed dyslexia. Cathriona told of how her brother was 'looking for somewhere safe' and though he had family, he always felt like he was a burden. Cathriona McAnaspie with Oliver Callan. Pic: RTÉ Daniel went missing in February 2010, with his family searching for him day and night. 'We were never going to give up,' Cathriona told Oliver. Three months after his disappearance, Daniel's body was found decomposed 30 kilometres away from Tolka Valley Park. He had been stabbed to death. Richard Dekker was sentenced to life for Daniel's murder while another man, Trevor Noone, was sentenced to 13 years for manslaughter. Daniel McAnaspie. 'I always knew he was in danger hanging around town,' Cathriona said. 'There was always danger for Daniel but it was still a shock for us that he was murdered.' An inquest into Daniel's death took place last month, with the Meath County coroner's court returning a verdict of unlawful killing. Speaking about the inquest, Cathriona detailed her 'shock' at hearing things she hadn't been aware of before, such as the doctor's report as well as her brother's suicide attempt. 'Daniel was murdered in 2010, we're now in 2025 and there's still kids waiting for beds,' she said, 'It was the HSE when that happened to Daniel; TUSLA took over and nothing has changed in all those years. 'I really, really hope TUSLA wake up and help these young kids because it won't be long before someone else ends up dead and I really don't want another family to have to go through this again because the heartache we've went through for 15 years, I just couldn't imagine another family go through it.' Cathriona concluded by revealing her family never received an apology from the state. '15 years but they probably thought we were going away, we're not going away,' she insisted, 'We're still fighting for Daniel's voice and we will continue.'
