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Marc O'Sullivan/HSE

Tusla confirms 'unapproved email' about registering for vaccines sent to staff who were not eligible

The agency said it has conducted checks in other regions and this appears to be an isolated incident.

A SMALL NUMBER of employees at the child and family agency Tusla may have been vaccinated out of sequence after receiving an ‘unapproved email’ from a manager last month telling them to register. 

The agency has said these members of staff are normally based in frontline healthcare facilities but are now primarily working remotely and should not have been categorised as frontline healthcare workers.

Tusla said it has conducted other checks in regions across the country and believes this is an isolated incident.

The potential out-of-sequence vaccination of some of the agency’s staff was first reported by The Ditch

Tusla has now confirmed to The Journal that it has investigated the reports and identified 10 members of staff who received this email from a manager. It is not clear whether all of these staff have received a vaccine. 

In February this year, the HSE issued guidelines referencing Tusla child protection and other Tusla frontline public-facing staff as essential frontline healthcare workers, included in the prioritisation under ‘categories 2a-2g’.

Tusla said a significant number of them remained based in HSE facilities across the country during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The February guidelines were communicated to all Tusla service directors, area managers and Section 56 funded agencies, with details on the process for prioritisation and registration of these staff on the HSE vaccination portal.

“It clearly articulated that any staff members attending for vaccination would be required by the HSE to present with photo ID and acceptable credentials,” Tusla said in a statement.

“Separately, local HSE Community Healthcare Organisations requested details from Tusla area managers of staff to be prioritised for vaccination in their regions. This information was provided to the local Community Healthcare Organisations in line with categorisation referenced in the National HSE Guidance.

“The HSE then offered vaccination appointments to Tusla staff. Tusla had no direct role in the scheduling of vaccinations for staff.”

Tusla said the issue was brought to its attention in a media query and it has today established that “one unapproved email was sent to approximately ten staff members advising them to register in category 2g, as that was understood to be the appropriate category.

On review, whilst these staff would in normal circumstances be located in frontline healthcare facilities and are therefore encompassed by category 2g as defined by the HSE ‘working in a healthcare facility with the potential to meet patients/service users, who are not captured in 2a – 2f’, these staff are primarily working remotely at this time and should not have been categorised as 2g.

“We have conducted other checks in regions across the country and at this time this appears to be an isolated incident.”

The agency said it does not have a system in place to track the vaccination status of staff and as it has no direct role in scheduling vaccinations, “cannot be fully assured that all Tusla or Section 56 employees were vaccinated in accordance with the guidance provided.”

It said it had made “every effort” to clearly communicate the prioritisation of vaccines at the time was in line with the HSE sequencing and for frontline staff only.

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    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute bacoxy
    Favourite bacoxy
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    Aug 15th 2015, 6:00 PM

    I wish them the best of luck, really funny and well observed shorts.

    663
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    Mute Micheal S. O' Ceilleachair
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    Aug 15th 2015, 7:11 PM

    Skinny jeans!

    219
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    Mute Ronan Stokes
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    Aug 15th 2015, 9:14 PM

    I wonder how John is gettin on with the Iraqi?

    144
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    Mute Conor Power
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    Aug 15th 2015, 6:03 PM

    Only complaint I have is that there are not a few more episodes!

    481
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    Mute Figo murphy
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    Aug 15th 2015, 6:23 PM

    More episodes please.

    Hilarious stuff

    292
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    Mute Supernova
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    Aug 15th 2015, 6:09 PM

    This and Sminky Shorts are very good.I dont know would the yanks get it though.

    253
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    Mute The Girl
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    Aug 15th 2015, 6:01 PM

    It’s times like that I’m proud to be Irish..

    200
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    Mute Aaron Kavanagh
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    Aug 15th 2015, 6:59 PM

    I love Martin’s Life!

    I wonder if people outside of Ireland would get the humour, though.

    125
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    Mute Jess Foley
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    Aug 15th 2015, 6:31 PM

    hilarious

    117
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    Mute Anthony John Cotter
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    Aug 15th 2015, 6:44 PM

    Love the four, we need to roar for more.

    107
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    Mute Fiona Wederfoort
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    Aug 15th 2015, 8:23 PM

    ‘A couple of what?’ ‘A couple of gay people!!’ HILARIOUS….we need more!!!!

    105
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    Mute Mac L0ve
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    Aug 15th 2015, 9:18 PM

    How could you not hear “game of throws”?

    94
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    Mute Boxer Alice
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    Aug 15th 2015, 8:28 PM

    Martin’s Life is just so funny! Whoever writes it deserves an award of some kind. I do feel only an Irish audience would get it though, but nothing wrong with that!

    74
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    Mute Larry David the 2nd
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    Aug 15th 2015, 10:05 PM

    “Tis’nt it well for them the bisexuals ”

    I bloody love this series!

    74
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    Mute Michael O'connor
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    Aug 15th 2015, 7:37 PM

    Very funny. good luck with it lads

    63
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    Mute molly coddled
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    Aug 15th 2015, 8:40 PM

    Brilliant, hope you do incredibly well.

    51
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    Mute Louise Morris
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    Aug 15th 2015, 7:10 PM

    Too funny, my tummy aches. The only other laugh I got like this is for David O’ Doherty (comedian) . Check him out on you tube if you need more laughs like this. I love being Irish and our accents are the best !

    45
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    Mute Paul Morrissey
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    Aug 15th 2015, 8:57 PM

    it’s a small world!!!!!!!

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    Mute eoin o mahony
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    Aug 18th 2015, 8:36 PM
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    Mute sonny red
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    Aug 16th 2015, 2:17 AM

    Jaysus,those dwarfs are comical.I wonder do they get paid.

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    Mute Cheeto Ballsack
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    Aug 15th 2015, 11:17 PM

    This is brilliant

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    Mute Elizabeth Rohan Lenihan
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    Aug 16th 2015, 2:26 AM

    Absolutely love Martin’ Life. Can’t wait for more. My 91 year old mother loves them too!!

    18
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    Mute sonny red
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    Aug 16th 2015, 2:10 AM

    He’s watching a game of throws,with that small fella and mcully culkin.hahaha

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    Mute Sean O'Malley
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    Aug 15th 2015, 7:04 PM

    youtube search: morning after night in coppers

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    Mute Stephen Mullan
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    Aug 15th 2015, 10:45 PM

    Thing is anyone can make those cartoons. They’re on a package you buy online for €9.99 a month. You just pick your characters, hair colour, clothes etc and put your voice to it. So to say he’s too lazy to do more of them just makes you think. How lazy is he?

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    Mute Laithbheartaigh
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    Aug 16th 2015, 12:48 PM

    ignorance is bliss to some people i guess, over the top superlatives!

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    Mute Laithbheartaigh
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    Aug 16th 2015, 12:29 PM

    This is done using GoAnimate software and is not hard to do, its the script thats the hard thing, which is very funny in this case.

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