Residential care for young people in Ireland is among the most heavily regulated areas of social care. That suits us. The framework that holds us accountable to families and referrers is the same framework that makes the work safer to do.
Children's residential
Our children's homes are registered with and inspected by Tusla under the Child Care Act 1991 and the National Standards for Children's Residential Centres. Tusla's Alternative Care Inspectorate inspects every home on a recurring cycle. Inspection reports are published openly on tusla.ie, including findings, areas for improvement, and the home's response.
The same applies to the separated children seeking international protection cohort. The standards are the standards; the registration and inspection sit with Tusla.
Disability services
Our disability services are registered with and inspected by HIQA under the Health Act 2007 (Care and Support of Residents in Designated Centres for Persons (Children and Adults) with Disabilities) Regulations 2013, and the National Standards for Residential Services for Children and Adults with Disabilities.
HIQA inspects designated centres on a recurring cycle and publishes its inspection reports openly on hiqa.ie.
Aftercare
Aftercare is delivered under the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2015 and the associated National Policy on Aftercare. Aftercare is not regulated in the way our residential services are: there is no registration and inspection regime for it. So we hold the standard ourselves. We run our own internal audits of our aftercare service to make sure it stays safe and effective, and we treat the findings the same way we'd treat a regulator's.
What this means in practice
Three things for families and referrers reading this who haven't worked with the regulator before:
- Reports are public. You can read the most recent inspection of any of our homes without asking us. We'll happily walk you through them, but you don't need our permission.
- Findings come with timelines. Where a regulator notes something to improve, there's a documented action plan and a date. We can show you ours on request.
- Standards aren't paperwork. The HIQA and Tusla standards drive how we recruit, supervise, plan, record, and review. They show up in the day-to-day, not just in the file room.
If regulation is the question
If you're a referrer or family wanting to see a specific inspection report, email us at admin@mccare.ie and we'll point you to it.
