Tusla has responded to claims by gardaí in north Dublin that investigations of allegations of physical abuse of children have been impeded by considerable delays by the Child and Family Agency.
The Gardaí reported the delays to HIQA, which outlined the concerns of its inspection in a report of Tusla's services in the area.
Commenting on the findings of the HIQA inspection report, Lorna Kavanagh, Tusla area manager, North Dublin said: "The report recognises that services were delivered effectively and that children at greatest risk were prioritised.
"There was an effective system in place to ensure children had a child protection conference in a timely and appropriate manner.
"Welfare referrals received timely responses. Children and families benefitted from early interventions and there was a range of services available to them.
"The report noted that members of An Garda Síochána outlined that there had been some issues regarding notifications of alleged physical abuse being received after considerable delay which impeded the Garda investigation.
"However, the report also stated that through liaison meetings between the Gardaí and management in the Child and Family Agency, this had been addressed at the time of inspection.
"As also stated in the report Garda feedback indicated that the response to child protection and welfare service was impressive in the last 12 months and that the increased number of meetings at management level had benefited both agencies with a strengthening of communication and information sharing which contributed to the management of cases.
"Inspectors saw evidence of this in case records."