Tusla ‘too defensive’ over its McCabe error – Rabbitte
TUSLA was “unnecessarily convulsed” by revelations it was at the centre of false allegations of child abuse against Sgt Maurice McCabe – but it may have been too defensive, the watchdog’s new chairman Pat Rabbitte said yesterday.
He was commenting for the first time on the fallout of the error by Tusla which led to unfounded allegations against Sgt McCabe.
“In my observation, it unnecessarily convulsed the organisation and they were overly defensive about it,” said Mr Rabbitte.
“What happened should not have happened under any set of circumstances.
“But we all make mistakes and when it happened people should have simply come out and told the truth.”
He told the Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs that he recently received cor- respondence from Mr Justice Peter Charleton, who chaired the Disclosures Tribunal, that the issue was with local Tusla management in CavanMonaghan and not the organisation itself.
Tusla had told the tribunal how a cut-and-paste error had led to the false allegation against Sgt McCabe.
Mr Rabbitte, a former Labour Party leader who is now retired from politics, said it was undeniable that challenges still exist in Tusla, which received 57,000 referrals about the protection and welfare of children last year.
It is short of around 1,500 social workers and this leaves it open to criticism when non-compliance with best practice is established, he said.
He said the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa), while critical of Tusla, also said there was no child at risk where there was not an immediate response.