Publication of National Review Panel Recommendations

The National Review Panel delivered its review of the Kyran Durnin case to the Department of Children, Disability and Equality on 29th October 2025. A copy was subsequently sent to the Attorney General for their advice on bringing to Government and wider publication.

The Attorney General’s Office has determined that it would not be possible to publish the report at this time, given the potential to prejudice any potential prosecutions. However, the Attorney General advised that the recommendations of the report may be published.

In addition, the Head of the National Review Panel, Dr Helen Buckley noted that:

These recommendations fall to a number of Departments and Agencies to implement, and cover the areas of:

• Tracking pupil movement between primary schools (including cross border)
• Review of GDPR and Network Checking
• Guidance to social workers
• Development of procedures for wait list management,
• Development of a framework for quality assurance monitoring and review, and outcome measurement for family support provider agencies
• Review of the Tusla/An Garda Síochana protocol.

Responding to the National Review Panel Report, Minister Foley said:

Additional information:

National Review Panel Recommendations

Policy for tracking pupil movement between primary schools, including cross border –

Action Department of the Taoiseach, Department of Education and Tusla.

• The exchange of data in respect of primary sector children affected by transfers between the jurisdictions of the island of Ireland needs to be reviewed for both educational and child safeguarding reasons. There is a need for improved information systems and protocols, mandated at inter-governmental level, to track the movement of children between schools, and to facilitate the exchange of data. This process should then be extended to other relevant jurisdictions.
• School principals should be provided with greater clarity about the appropriate action to take if a child does not return to school where no request has been received to remove their name from the register.
• The role of the Tusla Education Support Service (TESS) in overseeing the child safeguarding aspects of school transfer activity in Ireland should be refined and developed into a coordinated national and cross-national system. This will require a lowering of the age at which children are referred to TESS and should include direct access for TESS to all relevant databases.

Review of GDPR and Network Checking –

Action Tusla, HSE, Data Protection Commissioner, Department of Children, Disability and Equality.

Duty and Assessment teams require to have direct access to network data prior to initial determination of risk/danger status of new referrals. In this regard, formal clarification of the impact of GDPR on the ability of Tusla to conduct assessments of children is recommended. This may entail:

• Discussion at inter-departmental level with the Data Protection Commissioner of the extent and limits to which Tusla social workers can conduct network checks without parental consent.
• Inclusion of a specific clause in the forthcoming amendments to the Child Care Act 1991 to allow sharing of information about a child between services even when harm has not been established.
• Clarity about the ability of Tusla social workers to identify all services attended by a family that is being assessed, including health and clinical services.
• Clarification of the above in operational guidance issued by Tusla to staff.

Social Work Department Safeguarding Guidance – Action Tusla

This report has identified three additional areas – encompassing both best practice and procedural guidance – which require to be addressed by Tusla in guidance for social workers involved in child safeguarding practice:

• Access to full and accurate case histories of previous Social Work Department contacts by Duty and Assessment teams at the point of screening. Cumulative referral patterns must be factored into safety scaling.
• Due preparation for direct work with children or young people in the Signs of Safety model (Three Houses). This includes network checking and relationship building.
• Procedures, including strategy meetings with and formal notifications to partner agencies, when cases identified for assessment cannot be located, and/or are under consideration for case closure.

Procedure for Wait-list Management –

Action Tusla

• Detailed reporting is required on how Social Work Departments mitigate risks posed by unallocated child welfare waiting lists.
• Tusla must ensure that Social Work Departments are pro-active at all times in managing wait-list cases screened for assessment which have not been assessed after a time-limited period, or which cannot be located.
• In both instances the risk categorisation should be increased to high, with multi-agency procedures and protocols for both contact and assessment.

Framework for quality assurance monitoring and review and outcome measurement for family support provider agencies – Action Tusla

• Tusla needs to develop an agreed standard framework and policy for quality assurance, communication and review, and for evidencing positive outcomes with partner family support agencies who provide elective family support services to cases referred by Duty and Assessment services.

Review of Joint Tusla – An Garda Síochána protocol – Action Tusla, An Garda Síochána

• The Joint Tusla – An Garda Síochána Working protocol (2021) needs to be reviewed to include procedures for a dedicated high level serious case forum to be set up in exceptional cases where both criminal investigation responsibilities and child protection responsibilities need to be fully shared and managed both tactically and strategically.