The way in which children's residential homes are inspected and monitored has been severely criticised by the Ombudsman for Children.

There are currently around 100 private and voluntary children's residential centres in Ireland, which cater for some 340 children. They are monitored by Tusla - the Child and Family Agency - and formerly the HSE.

However, an investigation by the Ombudsman found major gaps in how these centres are registered, monitored and inspected. These gaps included:
-Delays in inspections due to a shortage of inspectors
-Little evidence of unannounced visits
-No evidence of visits at night or weekends
-No national protocol on how often monitoring visits should take place
-No agreed policy on access to inspection reports, which are not published in any format.

In fact, the Ombudsman, Dr Niall Muldoon, said that the monitoring of these centres appeared to be viewed as a ‘discretionary activity'. He has recommended that inspections should be transferred to the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) ‘without delay'.

HIQA is already responsible for the inspection and monitoring of State-run children's residential centres, with Tusla providing the same service within non-statutory children's centres.

"The process of inspecting, registering and monitoring these residential centres is an important safeguard for children who are living there. Failure to carry out these functions effectively can potentially have an adverse effect on those children. By seeking to have HIQA take over this process I am looking to create confidence in the independence and consistency of the process for overseeing the homes of some of our most vulnerable children," Dr Muldoon commented.

As part of the investigation, the Ombudsman assessed inspection reports from 49 centres and monitoring reports from 60 centres. These all related to the period between January 1, 2012 and August 31, 2013.

"It is hoped that this investigation will positively influence the ongoing reforms of Ireland's child and family support services. Given the importance of independent inspection and of ensuring that all children in the care of the State receive the same standard of care, it is important that the transfer of these functions to HIQA is progressed without delay," Dr Muldoon added.

The Ombudsman's report on the investigation can be viewed here

For more information on the Ombudsman for Children, click here