Children were “regularly” using illegal drugs in a Tusla care home with the knowledge of staff, a Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) report has found.
In another Tusla-run home, “risks to children” including going missing, using illegal drugs, and incidents where they needed emergency medical care “had significantly escalated” since an inspection seven months earlier.
The unannounced inspections at the homes in northeast Dublin and in the southwest of the country took place in January and February.
On arrival at the home in the southwest on February 3rd, inspectors found “immediate risks to” the three children living there. “An urgent compliance plan was issued” on the first day of a two-day inspection.
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There was a “distinct smell” in the meeting room to which they were first brought. “Staff also noticed this and opened a window to allow fresh air to circulate,” says the report published on Thursday.
It became quickly clear “there was regular illicit substance use occurring in the centre and on the grounds of the centre by some of the children residing there”.
“Children had openly discussed this issue with staff, both from their experience of engaging in illicit substance use ... and also from the perspective of being exposed to it.”
Although staff and management knew this was happening and documented it, the issue was not being addressed in line with national policies and legislation, said the report.
Staff voiced concerns about children using “illicit substances” in the centre and had sought management’s guidance on addressing it but said they had had no clear direction on what to do.
“Governance required strengthening to support centre staff to effectively safeguard children in their care,” said the report.
“Management had failed to ensure a safe living environment for children ... This exposed children to risk which should have been managed more effectively.”
Of the five standards on which the centre was examined, it was non-compliant in all.
A compliance plan was submitted by Tusla outlining measures to bring the centre into compliance.
In the Dublin northeast centre there were almost 300 “significant” incidents involving the two children there in the previous seven months, Hiqa found following an inspection on January 28th.
In July 2025, the service had changed from being one for unaccompanied child asylum seekers to one for children aged 5 to 17 who could not live in a family setting.
Inspectors “observed warm and caring interactions between staff and young people” and the child who agreed to talk to them “spoke positively about living in the centre”.
However, they also found “risks to children had significantly escalated in the centre [since it changed purpose] and responses to these risks did not ensure children’s safety”.
The centre kept a register of what are known as significant event notifications (SENs).
“At the time of the inspection and since the service changed its purpose ... there had been 278 SENs. These included; missing care in care reports, reports of young people requiring emergency medical attention, room searches and reported incidents of substance misuse by young people.”
The inspectors found SENs were reported, recorded and reviewed by the centre manager in a timely manner.
“However, the centre were managing a high level of risks and despite accurate reporting of risks, the impact of these risks on young people’s wellbeing and safety was not effectively responded to,” said the report.
Of the seven standards on which the centre was inspected it was non-compliant with four, substantially compliant with one and compliant with two.
Tusla provided a compliance plan on addressing non-compliances.
