40% fall in referrals made to Tusla so far this year
There has been an almost 40% drop in the number of suspected child abuse cases reported to Tusla in the first four months of 2020 when compared to the same time last year.
According to figures published by the Child and Family Agency, more than 2,800 reports of abuse were made by mandated persons between January and April this year.
This is 39% lower than the number of cases reported during the same period in 2019, when the equivalent figure was 4,591.
The data also shows there were 624 mandated reports of abuse received by Tusla in April - 11% lower than in March.
The closure of schools due to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis is likely to be the reason behind the drop in referrals.
Reports from teachers registered with the Teaching Council made up 5.9% of the mandated reports for April, and 19.8% for the first four months of 2020.
The highest number of reports made in April came from members of An Garda Síochana, with 209 reports (39%). This was followed by social workers, who made 120 (22%). Together, these two professions made up 61% of all reports.
Reports for emotional abuse made up 50% of the disclosures received by Tusla in April, with 268 cases.
This was followed by 109 reports of physical abuse, 90 reports of sexual abuse, and 73 reports of neglect.
The report also shows a 9% monthly increase in the number of children listed as active on the Child Protection Notification System. At the end of April, 905 children were listed as active.
