The Government has approved the drafting of a bill which will give the Minister for Education new powers to oversee Tusla’s operation of its functions relating to educational welfare.

The bill will propose amendments to the Child and Family Agency Act 2013, after the transfer of education-welfare functions from the Minister for Children, Equality, Integration, Disability and Youth to the Minister for Education.

These functions were transferred to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs in 2011, but moved back to the Minister for Education by statutory instrument with effect from 1 January.

Greater integration

Minister for Children, Roderic O’Gorman, said that moving these areas under the remit of the Minister for Education would provide “a wide range of expertise and supports” for children and families who are referred to these services.

Minister for Education, Norma Foley (pictured), said the transfer provided a renewed opportunity for services in this area, and for greater integration between the educational functions of Tusla and the wider suite of education agencies and supports.

These included the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS), she said.

The act covers the Tusla Education Support Service (TESS), as well as the agency's Alternative Education Assessment and Registration Service (AEARS).