Forged references were provided for staff at unregulated children's care homes, according to an internal report prepared for the Child and Family Agency, Tusla.
The disclosures are documented in emails between Tusla and the biggest provider of these care homes, Baig & Mirza Health Services Ltd trading as Kare Plus Dublin South. A separate company to Kare Plus Ireland, it trades under a franchise agreement and runs what are known as Special Emergency Arrangements or SEAs.
SEAs are not regulated and can operate out of rented apartments, hotels and B&Bs.
The story features in the RTÉ Investigates documentary, Inside the Care System, being broadcast tonight.
The forged references were supplied to Tusla’s Central Compliance unit and are outlined in emails between the unit and the then CEO of Kare Plus Dublin South, Farhan Mirza.
Tusla began its enquiries into the forgeries in April last year, according to copies of emails which have been obtained by RTÉ Investigates under Freedom of Information.
In one email, dated 4 April last year, Farhan Mirza told Tusla's Central Compliance Unit: "Thank you for looking into this matter. We want to emphasise that we take this forgery case very seriously…"
Later that day, Mr Mirza emailed Tusla again, stating that: "We have identified additional forged reference documents.
"These are not authorised from us at all… Any reference documents not issued by myself… should be deemed invalid and unauthorised, even if issued by our other staff members."
It is believed the forgeries involved a fake stamp used by an employee of Kare Plus Dublin South for workers in another SEA provider. RTÉ Investigates understands the employee was suspended by Kare Plus Dublin South.
In a statement, a Kare Plus Dublin South spokesperson said when it discovered the forgeries it immediately brought the matter to the attention of Tusla and An Garda Síochána.
"These forgeries were produced by former rogue employees acting entirely outside the scope of their employment and without the knowledge, consent, or authority of Kare Plus Dublin South or its directors.
"The falsified documents were subsequently submitted to Tusla by a completely separate and unrelated company," the spokesperson added.
In May 2025, Tusla received a detailed report on the forgeries, entitled 'Internal Report: Discovery and Investigation of Employee Fraud'.
The report concluded this case involved a "serious employee fraud which involves collusion, forgery, misusing and compromising company's staff sensitive and confidential information".
Tusla said in a response: "This matter was reported to An Garda Síochána by the provider in question, and the provider would be best placed to answer queries in relation to this."
RTÉ Investigates received a statement from Kare Plus Ireland, as franchisor, which emphasised it is a separate corporate entity to Baig & Mirza, adding that: "Where it (Kare Plus Ireland) identifies any issues or concerns across our entire service delivery platform, Kare Plus Ireland deems such issues to be of the upmost importance and undertakes prompt and robust action in line with our internal policies."
Baig & Mirza has been Ireland’s biggest provider of SEA children's care homes, receiving €47 million for these services over the past three years.
On average, these privately-run homes cost Tusla €14,400 per child, per week. This contrasts with the weekly allowance given to fostering arrangements of €420 per child, per week.
The vast majority of children in care in Ireland are placed in foster homes or in registered and regulated children's homes but there is an acute shortage of these placements.
When fostering placements break down or in cases of emergency admissions to care, some of these children are placed in SEA care homes.
Stories of children living in SEAs feature in tonight’s RTÉ Investigates programme. After watching some of the footage, former Judge Dermot Simms, who presided over the family law courts for many years, commented: "The children in SEAs are being failed by the State because they are not being properly cared for in a properly resourced and regulated environment."
Children in care: one year following a system in crisis
He tried to raise the alarm about "an unprecedented crisis" in the care system in a letter delivered to four ministers and three government agencies before he retired in 2023.
When asked about the current situation with the care system overseen by Tusla, he told tonight’s programme: "I think it has got worse."
However, he added: "The fault of this cannot be laid at the agency's door completely.
"We've created the agency [Tusla] where the government can say, well, that's the responsibility of that organisation, and so we leave them to it. And then when the Child and Family Agency has no further resource, it's outsourcing, it's outsourcing to unregulated placements.
"The State organisations or ministries should do something about it - it’s beyond time that this was addressed."
'RTÉ Investigates: Inside the Care System' broadcasts tonight at 9:35pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
