Mayo TD calls for independent inquiry into Tusla following alleged sexual assault of 10-year-old girl
Following the alleged sexual assault of a 10-year-old girl, who was in the care of Tusla, a Mayo TD is calling for an independent inquiry into Tusla’s handling of the case.
The alleged incident happened in Saggart, Co Dublin in the early hours of Monday morning.
Deputy Paul Lawless is also calling for a full and transparent investigation into Ireland’s immigration and deportation systems.
It has since emerged that the child had been under the care of Tusla since February and had managed to abscond from staff during a planned trip in the city centre over the weekend.
After she went missing, staff alerted Gardaí immediately. She was later found to have returned to a relative’s home before absconding again.
The girl later told staff she’d been involved in a serious incident. Tusla staff were able to ascertain her location through details she provided, and Gardaí subsequently located her.
Following the incident, Deputy Lawless is demanding accountability and has criticised Tusla for what he described as ‘ongoing failures’ in child protection.
The Aontú representative stated that since 2021, more than 160 children known to Tusla have been referred to Gardaí for suspected sexual exploitation.
“This is not an isolated failure. It is the latest in a grim procession of scandals that expose Tusla’s chronic inability to safeguard our children,” he said in a statement released today.
“We’ve seen children disappear, suffer abuse, and even die while under the State’s watch. These are not unfortunate anomalies; they are symptoms of a system that is broken at its core.”
Deputy Lawless has questioned the effectiveness of Tusla in the wake of the incident, asking how the 10-year-old girl was able to abscond from staff care.
“When children in care can vanish into the night and end up in places where predators roam freely, we must ask: what exactly is Tusla protecting?” he said.
A man in his 20s arrested in connection with the investigation has been charged, and appeared before Cloverhill District Court on, Wednesday, October 22.
“This is not just a bureaucratic oversight. It is a failure of enforcement so profound that it borders on negligence,” he said.
“I am calling for an independent inquiry into Tusla’s handling of this case. But that alone is not enough. We must also demand a full and transparent investigation into Ireland’s immigration and deportation systems.”
Deputy Lawless emphasised that this is not about politics; it is about protection and restoring public trust in institutions that are responsible for safeguarding children and upholding the law.
“This young girl deserved protection. She deserved safety. She deserved better.
“The fact that she could vanish from State supervision and end up in such a vulnerable situation is not just a tragedy - it is a damning indictment of the very systems meant to protect her,” he added.
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.