There is a “risk of harm” to the most vulnerable children and families, including “poorer outcomes” next year if Tusla is included in cost savings to help pay for overruns in the Department of Education, the agency’s chief executive has warned.
Kate Duggan told the Department of Children in June Tusla was being “penalised for overruns in other sectors” following confirmation by senior officials in May that the agency’s budget will be levied next year to cover overruns in education.
Correspondence released under freedom-of-information legislation shows Duggan has pushed back on directions from the Department of Children to identify savings.
Significant levels of overspending in the Department of Education have led to a levy being placed on other departments – totalling €446 million – to be achieved in Budget 2027.
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The Department of Children is subject to a 0.6 per cent levy, or €42 million. Tusla was allocated €1.4 billion this year, an increase of 14 per cent on its 2025 budget.
In a letter dated May 28th, 2026, the department’s assistant secretary general overseeing child policy and Tusla governance, Lara Hynes, told Duggan: “Under the recent Government decision, Tusla will be included in the public service bodies whose 2027 budget will be levied to reflect overruns in the Department of Education.
“This will further tighten Tusla’s fiscal position next year and increases the importance of addressing current pressures in full during 2026,” she said.
In response, in a June 5th letter, Duggan tells Hynes: “We must note our concern that Tusla will be included in the public service bodies whose 2027 budget will be levied to reflect overruns in the Department of Education, when we are the agency with the statutory remit for the safety and welfare of children, responding to the most vulnerable children in the state ... with ... the potential risk of harm to children and families, or poorer outcomes as a result of service constriction at a time of unprecedented demand.”
She said it was “disappointing” given Tusla had “a proven track record in demonstrating control in our pay and numbers budget” and had delivered “significant savings over the last three years” that the agency was “being penalised for overruns in other sectors”.
She said she understood that other services “may be exempt from same”.
Tusla implemented “a transformational digital and service reform programme, in-house and within overall budget,” she added.
A spokesman for Tusla said: “As of the end of July, Tusla’s year-to-date expenditure was €812.4 million.
“Cost containment measures are currently in place, and Tusla expects to remain within its 2026 allocation, based on current levels of demand.”
A spokesman for the Department of Children said: “The department has been engaging constructively with [the Department of Public Expenditure] in relation to savings, efficiencies and reforms required to deliver the levy in a manner that avoids the need for any cuts to Tusla’s services and supports.
“This engagement is part of the ongoing negotiations with the Department of Public Expenditure and related deliberations as part of the 2027 budget estimates process.”
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said earlier this month addressing the impacts of child poverty and reducing it was the Government’s “north star”.
He and Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary have set a target of reducing child poverty to below 3 per cent by 2030.
Economic and Social Research Institute research published last week found the number of children in poverty increased by a fifth in 2024, and by a higher proportion where housing costs were counted. The institute put child poverty at 8 per cent.
