Tusla reports 10% rise in child safety, welfare referrals

Tusla experienced a 10% increase in child safety and welfare referrals last year.

It is the first time that the number of referrals to the Child and Family Agency have surpassed 100,000 according to its 2025 annual report; reaching 106,444.

55,483 referrals related to individual children, equating to approximately one in 23 children living in Ireland (Census 2022).

Demand remained high across Tusla services throughout the year, including child safety and welfare, educational support, family support, residential care and Special Care, and supports for Separated Children Seeking International Protection (SCSIP).

The most common reported concern was emotional abuse (45%), followed by physical abuse (26%), neglect (16%) and sexual abuse (14%).

5,879 children were in care at the end of 2025, including 150 unaccompanied minors. 86% of children in care were in foster care, down 1% compared to 2024.

223 Tusla foster carers were approved last year; the highest figure since 2020, and an increase of 12 on 2024.

50,571 children were referred to family support services in 2025.

782 referrals were received by the team that works with SCSIP (up from 619 in 2024). Of these, 742 children entered care or accommodation.

Almost 10,000 (9,293) education welfare referrals were screened during the 2024/2025 school year which was a 16% increase on school year 2023/2024.

2,514 inspections of early-years services (pre-schools) were completed in 2025.

A new TESS Children Missing in Education (CME) team was established in July 2025 in response to learnings following a report by the National Review Panel.

According to Tusla, the CME team has established links with a number of agencies including An Garda Síochána, Tusla Social Work, Border Control and Northern Ireland Education Welfare Service.

The team also has ongoing collaboration with IPAS and local authorities in relation to housing and homeless services.

In recent years, Tusla has highlighted difficulties it has faced regarding staffing.

Last year there were 1,249 staff appointments, of which 740 were new hires, including 108 Social Work graduates who were recruited through its Social Work graduate campaign.

Last September, a second intake of the Social Work Apprenticeship programme brought the number of apprentices to 70, which it says doubled the intake of Social Work apprentices in 2024.

Staff retention, which has also proved problematic for Tusla and this improved in 2025 reaching 94.5% across the Agency (up from 93.25% in 2024), while social work retention remained consistent at 91.5%.

Demand remained significantly high across all categories of alternative care throughout the year.

In response, Tusla says it provided 54 additional residential care beds, and 206 new registered residential beds were opened for unaccompanied minors, bringing total capacity to 504 beds by year-end.

Tusla CEO Kate Duggan described 2025 as a year of "unprecedented demand and tangible progress" for the organisation.

"In the face of growing need, our colleagues across the Agency continued to provide services with professionalism, compassion and resilience, while we advanced important reforms in service integration, digital transformation, governance, placement capacity and workforce planning.

"Although significant challenges remain, the progress achieved in 2025 strengthens our ability to respond more effectively, innovate with purpose and improve outcomes for the children, young people and families who rely on our services," she said.