Some children in state care struggle to get Tusla sign off for their education courses of choice

When the boy got here, he had already graduated from high school in his country of birth, he said.

He sent photos of certificates on WhatsApp. They show he’s finished secondary education.

About a month ago, the young person, who is 17 and can’t be named because he is under Tusla’s care, was accepted to attend a Level 5 course of his choice, he said. “I genuinely want to continue my education.”

The course is in Dublin, nowhere near where the boy lives.

As a kid on his own here and in full-time care, Tusla, the child and family agency, has a big role in deciding his future education. Its staff have to sign off on his enrollment and offer him another residential placement in Dublin.

His social worker told him they can’t do that because they “don’t have free placements” for him in Dublin or nearby areas, he said.

This boy, separated from his parents and seeking sanctuary in Ireland, is not alone in facing a roadblock to continued education.

Another 17-year-old kid, whose request for consent to move to other counties to continue his education Tusla also denied, has been trying to file complaints asking for an “independent review” of the decision, documents show.

The boy had left school in September, feeling overwhelmed by its environment, which reminded him of things that he likes to forget about his country of birth, he said.

He said he’d wanted to enrol in an IT traineeship instead. But that's not available in the county where he lives, he said.

His request has been turned down over, among other things, the lack of available residential placements for separated children seeking asylum in counties where he can attend an education course of his choice.

Both kids, who live in different counties, said they’ve been left with nothing to do day after day, and the idleness is bringing them down.

“I live alone in a semi-independent apartment in a small village. I am not in school and have no daily contact with other young people. An in-person course would give me structure, people around me and a routine,” wrote the kid to Tusla recently.

Tusla has grappled with a shortage of residential care placements and social workers for children under its care in recent years.

For all its services, it is set to receive more than €1.4 billion from next year's budget, according to a news release from the Department of Children and Equality.

But within that, “its funding for unaccompanied minors seeking international protection has been reduced by €37m due to a drop in demand”, it says. (In 2026, Tusla got €153m for its Separated Children Seeking International Protection (SCSIP) services.)

A spokesperson for the child and family agency said on Friday that it was still working on a response to queries sent on 20 October asking, among other things, to elaborate on the reasons why it can’t give consent for educational courses to some separated kids seeking protection in Ireland.

Running short

A spokesperson for the Department of Further and Higher Education said it can’t speak to the unique care arrangements of certain children, or Tusla’s decisions on consent for attending specific courses.

But it encourages potential learners and school-leavers to turn to the Adult Education Guidance Service (AEGS) of their local Education and Training Boards for advice.

“Owing to their local, on the ground knowledge, the AEGS is best placed to provide information and advice tailored to their individual circumstances and help them explore the education and training options available to them,” they said.

Recently, the 17-year-old kid who’s fighting Tusla’s decision wrote to the Oireachtas’s Children and Equality Committee, laying out his troubles.

Claire Kerrane, a Sinn Féin TD and a member of that committee, said in an email last week that she has heard of the problem.

She has flagged it with Norma Foley TD, the Fianna Fáil Minister for Children and Equality, and is waiting to hear back, she said.

“For most young people wishing to pursue further or third level education, those institutions are not in their own County,” she said.

That’s pretty common, Kerrane said. But all children deserve to access education opportunities, she said, and that should extend to kids who are in state care.

“At least I'm trying”

Charting bureaucracy to challenge Tusla’s decision, and reading the fine print of this or that law can be overwhelming, even for adults.

But the kid who’s taking on the agency said he’s staying the course, looking at a legal challenge.

“I'm just fighting with Tusla now," he said by phone recently. "I don't have a lot of opportunities, but at least I'm trying."

His complaint to Tusla says that he has been sent a knot of advice, much of it conflicting.

At one point someone told him that there are some IT courses in his county of residence, he wrote, but when he asked to see a list, nobody sent it.

Another worker had said he could apply to a full-time course in “any area where a placement is available”.

But a recent letter from a Tusla social-work team leader said that was an honest mistake. Something like that is not in step with his care plan, it said, and higher-ups hadn't agreed to sharing a list of available placements and a move.

Sorry if that was confusing, the letter said.

The letter turns down his request for a review of his care plan because nothing major has shifted in his circumstances.

The Tusla letter addresses one of his options to move to Waterford to attend a course, where a chat with an aftercare manager in that area had seemed promising for the boy.

But the Tusla worker wrote that that manager doesn't have any knowledge or involvement in the case to make a call.

It also voices worries about his future housing prospects as an adult if he moves counties now to enrol in a Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) course.

“You would need to have a local connection with the county i.e have lived there in the past, or have a support network there, or have lived there for a period of 5 years,” it said, to be eligible for social housing supports there.

Going to university can help him meet that condition, but attending a PLC course won’t, it said.

Although, the social housing law doesn't differentiate between PLC and third-level courses for establishing local connection as long as the course is full-time.

“A household member is in full-time education in any university, college, school or other educational establishment in the area concerned,” says the law.

The new Housing and Residential Tenancies Act, which introduced a habitual residence test, doesn't seem to change that about local connection assessments.

He is eligible for full-time level 5 courses, the boy said. And he already has refugee status.

But the letter from Tusla says, “You therefore do not meet this criteria. We also do not have a [Separated Children Seeking International Protection] residential unit in Waterford”.

The kid said he's anxious because he turns 18 early next year. He hoped to move now and settle where he's studying, instead of having to uproot again later.

His complaint asks for a “legal basis” from Tusla for refusing to sign off on his enrolment.

Need something to look forward to

The other boy, who was hoping to attend a course in Dublin, said not having anything to do all day takes a psychological toll.

“My laptop screen is broken. I can’t find a job, I’m unable to attend college in Dublin, and there is nothing for me to do at the house,” he said.

And what’s worse, he said, he’s struggled to get the kind of mental-health support that fits his current state of mind.

“I’m not being prescribed any new medication. I’m simply left waiting,” he said.

He doesn’t have the motivation for even the basics right now, he said. Things like eating or getting out of bed.

“I’m finding it increasingly difficult to keep going with my daily life,” the teenager said.

If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health, you can contact Samaritans Ireland on freephone 116 123 (24/7). Under-18s can contact Childline on freephone 1800 66 66 66 or text 50101.