A shortage of accommodation for children taken into State care led Tusla, the child and family agency, to consider turning back to private companies it had previously blacklisted over serious failings, documents show.
Minutes of internal discussions detail heavy pushback to the idea Tusla would place children into the care of companies whose past actions had been “unacceptable”, with officials worried about the reputational damage from such a move.
On Friday, The Irish Times revealed a company running emergency accommodation for vulnerable children in care was found to have supplied fake Garda vetting clearances for its staff.
The company, Good People Homecare, provided Tusla with a significant number of forged criminal background checks, falsely clearing unvetted workers to look after children in State care.
RM Block
The company had been paid millions of euro to run emergency accommodation, usually rented houses or apartments, for young people who Tusla could not place elsewhere, due to a lack of foster carers and beds in group care homes.
Tusla stopped placing children into accommodation staffed by Good People in late 2023, after it discovered some vetting clearances supplied by the company were fake.
Internal Tusla records, obtained by The Irish Times, show the agency later considered going back to private companies it had severed ties with, because of a shortage of accommodation for children in State care.
Several high-ranking Tusla officials pushed back against the idea late last year. They feared possible “reputational” damage to the agency, particularly in cases where companies’ past behaviour had been “unacceptable”, minutes of the discussion state.
Others questioned the “integrity” of firms who had supplied falsified Garda vetting paperwork to Tusla, the October 8th, 2024, meeting heard.
[ Forged Garda vetting certs at private firm minding vulnerable childrenOpens in new window ]
The agency was also concerned about the fact some companies, or former employees, were before the courts on criminal charges.
A now-former employee of Good People was convicted of forgery and falsifying Garda vetting documentation in May in Trim Circuit Court.
Another company that previously ran emergency care homes for Tusla, Ideal Care Services, fabricated pre-employment screenings of staff and altered Garda vetting records.
Tusla stopped working with Ideal Care more than two years ago, after the deception came to light. The company and one of its directors were convicted in the Dublin District Court over the fabrication of vetting checks earlier this year.
A Tusla spokeswoman said companies would need to prove they had addressed previous issues before they could work for the agency again. “If these assurances are not provided, they are not engaged as a provider,” she said.
It is understood Tusla has not resumed working with Good People, or Ideal Care Services.
The minutes of internal discussions indicate the strain Tusla was under last year, to source accommodation for children in care, and staff to look after them. One regional Tusla manager described pressure on the system as “insurmountable”, during the October meeting.
Tusla continued to struggle with private companies allowing staff to work in emergency care homes without being Garda vetted, records released under the Freedom of Information Act show.
An internal November 19th meeting discussed frustrations with care workers appearing on rosters before criminal background checks cleared. “We cannot have unvetted staff working,” minutes of the meeting stated.
Good People is run by a businessman and evangelical pastor, Gerard Chimbganda, who is originally from Zimbabwe. Another one of his firms, Minana International, has been paid €1 million to accommodate Ukrainian refugees.
Following queries about the falsified Garda vetting, the Department of Justice has moved to cut that contract.
A department spokeswoman said a “contract termination notice” is being issued to the company this week. The firm’s contract to house Ukrainian women and children in a 15-bed property in Co Wicklow was up for renewal next month.
