The Journal Investigates

Tusla has referred five emergency child care providers to Gardaí over vetting concerns A quarter of staff working in Special Emergency Arrangements last year did not have the required documentation to work with vulnerable children.

Over half of staff files audited last year were missing some kind of documentation.

Documents obtained by our team show that some staff at a major SEA provider did not have the required overseas police clearance to work with vulnerable children.

jrnl.ie/6963224

Tusla has referred five emergency child care providers to Gardaí over vetting concerns A quarter of staff working in Special Emergency Arrangements last year did not have the required documentation to work with vulnerable children.

At one SEA provider, between 59 and 82 staff missing major documents were rostered to work over a seven-week period last year.

At another, there were staff on overlapping shifts and rostered back-to-back between locations in different counties.

jrnl.ie/6963224

Tusla has referred five emergency child care providers to Gardaí over vetting concerns A quarter of staff working in Special Emergency Arrangements last year did not have the required documentation to work with vulnerable children.

An internal audit of staff files found that a quarter were missing major documents required to work with vulnerable children.

These missing documents may include a CV, Garda vetting, qualifications, work permits, references, or overseas police clearance.

jrnl.ie/6963224

@thejournal.ie

A Tusla audit obtained by The Journal Investigates reveals that a quarter of staff working in Special Emergency Arrangements last year did not have the required documentation to work with vulnerable children.

jrnl.ie/6963224

Tusla has referred five emergency child care providers to Gardaí over vetting concerns A quarter of staff working in Special Emergency Arrangements last year did not have the required documentation to work with vulnerable children.

Tusla have referred five providers of Special Emergency Arrangements to the Garda National Vetting Bureau over significant vetting concerns, the agency has confirmed.

The agency also said that they have ceased engagement with eight providers.

jrnl.ie/6963224

A screenshot of an upcoming article on The Journal. The headline reads 'Tusla has referred five emergency child care providers to Gardaí over vetting concerns'

Tonight, a new investigation reveals that Tusla has referred five providers of Special Emergency Arrangements (SEA) to the Garda National Vetting Bureau over significant vetting concerns.

The Children's Ombudsman said our findings were "a shocking revelation".

Read after midnight on thejournal.ie

At one SEA, the landlord would not allow any posters or pictures to be hung on the wall and at another, a child had to travel approximately 50km to get to school.

The use of these placements has been criticised by the Ombudsman for Children and some children’s charities.

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One child was living in a “holiday/activity centre”, an inspection report obtained by our team revealed.

“The child indicated that they wanted to go outside to the beach by regularly pointing at the beach and making swimming gestures with their arms.”

jrnl.ie/6954757

Vulnerable children spending years in Tusla’s temporary Special Emergency Arrangements Tusla inspection reports of Special Emergency Arrangements show some children are moved from one place to another.

I examined nearly 800 pages of inspection reports of Tusla's Special Emergency Arrangements.

Some of the findings include blocked fire escapes, locked first aid boxes and children spending years in these unregulated, unsuitable placements, sometimes moving multiple times throughout

jrnl.ie/6954757

Blocked fire escapes, locked first aid boxes and unsuitable placements.

These are some of the findings from Tusla inspection reports of SEAs obtained by our team.

They also reveal that some children have spent years in these unregulated settings.

jrnl.ie/6954757

Vulnerable children spending years in Tusla’s temporary Special Emergency Arrangements Tusla inspection reports of Special Emergency Arrangements show some children are moved from one place to another.

New: Vulnerable children in Tusla care are spending years in unregulated emergency accommodation, even though these placements are supposed to be temporary, a new investigation has found.

jrnl.ie/6954757

A screenshot of an upcoming article on The Journal. The headline reads 'Vulnerable children spending years in Tusla’s temporary Special Emergency Arrangements'

Vulnerable children in Tusla care are spending years in unregulated emergency accommodation, even though these placements are supposed to be temporary.

The Ombudsman for Children described our investigation findings as "very concerning".

Read just after midnight on the journal.ie

Hundreds of people died by suspected suicide after recent contact with HSE services Almost 450 suicides were reported to the HSE between 2022 and 2024 by healthcare staff across a range of patient services, including Emergency Departments.

'I remember sitting holding him in the waiting room, I said, I have to keep him alive.'

Noeelen Eustace attended Naas Hospital's Emergency Department 60 times in one year with her son Kelvin, who struggled with mental health difficulties.
www.thejournal.ie/suicides-aft...

Hundreds of people died by suspected suicide after recent contact with HSE services Almost 450 suicides were reported to the HSE between 2022 and 2024 by healthcare staff across a range of patient services, including Emergency Departments.

Within a two-year period, HSE staff recorded almost 450 suspected suicides of patients who had recent contact with healthcare services, an investigation by @trishdevlin.bsky.social has found.

www.thejournal.ie/suicides-aft...

Hundred of patients died by suspected suicide shortly after being in contact with healthcare services in Ireland, @investigates.thejournal.ie can reveal.

jrnl.ie/6929274

Hundreds of people died by suspected suicide after recent contact with HSE services Almost 450 suicides were reported to the HSE between 2022 and 2024 by healthcare staff across a range of patient services, including Emergency Departments.

The HSE logged almost 450 suspected suicides of patients on its internal reporting system within a two-year period, The Journal Investigates can reveal.

www.thejournal.ie/suicides-aft...

Councils taking enforcement action against private developers over social housing acquisition Local authorities are increasingly having to take enforcement action against developers who breach planning rules around Part V social housing delivery.

Local authorities have taken more than 60 planning enforcement actions against developers for failing to comply with their social housing obligations in the last five years.

In one case, a developer sold a house the council was attempting to acquire for social housing.

jrnl.ie/6932783t

Councils taking enforcement action against private developers over social housing acquisition Local authorities are increasingly having to take enforcement action against developers who breach planning rules around Part V social housing delivery.

One of the enforcement cases was taken because the council was negotiating for a social house when the developer sold it to someone else.

So the council had to take a different house, one that already had a buyer lined up.

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Private developers of housing estates are required to deliver a percentage as social housing.

But new figures released to our team show that councils are increasingly taking enforcement action against developers for breaching these rules.

jrnl.ie/6932783t

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NEW: Local authorities have taken more than 60 planning enforcement actions against developers for failing to comply with their social housing obligations in the last five years.

jrnl.ie/6932783

Mounting damage costs in residential care amid warnings that children are 'criminalised' Cost likely to be close to €2 million since the start of 2022, with some incidents referred to gardai.

There has likely been close to €2 million-worth of damage to property in residential care settings in recent years - including in unregulated Special Emergency Arrangements in hotels or apartments, The Journal Investigates can reveal

Mounting damage costs in residential care amid warnings that children are 'criminalised' Cost likely to be close to €2 million since the start of 2022, with some incidents referred to gardai.

There has likely been close to €2 million-worth of damage to property in residential care settings in recent years - and the Children's Ombudsman and others are warning against young people being brought before the courts over it

Dublin footpaths cost €18m in injury payouts - more than most councils spend on all claims The city’s footpaths have been described as a ‘disaster’ by public representatives, who say Dublin City Council must act to fix footpath dangers.

After Dublin City Council, Cork County racked up the highest in compo claims paid out to members of the public since 2023. This included two huge settlements last year - one for €9 million and the other for almost €3 million.
www.thejournal.ie/dublin-counc...

Dublin footpaths cost €18m in injury payouts - more than most councils spend on all claims The city’s footpaths have been described as a ‘disaster’ by public representatives, who say Dublin City Council must act to fix footpath dangers.

Last year alone, Dublin City Council settled over €7.6 million in compensation claims for injuries caused by its footpaths – up from €6 million in 2023.
www.thejournal.ie/dublin-counc...

One councillor called the city's footpaths a "disaster", telling The Journal one elderly woman punctured a lung after tripping on the street

Dog attacks remain one of the biggest causes of workplace injury at An Post, with over 400 recorded bites, attacks and aggressive dog incidents reported by postal workers in the last two years.

An Post reveals some householders are setting dogs on postal workers The deliberate attacks make up some of 400-plus dog incidents or injuries sustained by postal staff since 2023, The Journal can reveal.

An Post said it will launch a new 2026 campaign to tackle the high number of dog attacks on postal staff. Figures show the country's posties have been bitten or seriously injured by dogs more than 400 times since 2023.
www.thejournal.ie/dog-attacks-...