HIQA finds children's care home was compliant in one area out of nine
A HIQA report has found incidents of smoking cannabis and high levels of absenteeism from a children's care centre in Mid-Leinster.
The unannounced follow-up inspection by the Health Information and Quality Authority was carried out in December.
Of nine areas inspected at the children's care home, only one was compliant and there were three major breaches of standards in the care of young people, safeguarding and child protection and management and staffing.
Inspectors found high levels of risk-taking behaviour with 302 incidents of young people absent from the centre without authority and a rising issue of smoking cannabis on a frequent basis.
Due to the findings, inspectors requested an urgent meeting with the regional manager.
The report says following this meeting, an immediate action plan was put in place to address the concerns.
Donal McCormack, National Service Director of Residential Childcare Services in Tusla, said: “Children’s residential centres are designed to be as homely as possible for the children and young people who live there and staff endeavour to provide inclusive, friendly environments for the children and young people.
"HIQA inspection reports are an important measurement tools for us, and they allow us to develop our services so that children and young people receive the best possible level of care and support.
"HIQA identified a number of areas which require improvement and we are actively implementing action plans, which have been agreed with HIQA to address these areas, with many actions already complete.”
