Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Barry Andrews said the Hiqa reports into foster care services "clearly illustrate" the need for the HSE to comply with its statutory obligations to children at risk.
"It is unacceptable that compliance with basic regulations should vary so wildly," Mr Andrews said. "It is not good enough that the HSE would wait until Hiqa point out the many deficits identified in these reports before making improvements."
Mr Andrews said the HSE has given a commitment that by year end all children in foster care will have an allocated social worker. He also said the recruitment of 200 extra social workers this year should assist the executive in delivering on its statutory responsibilities to children in care.
Fine Gael said the reports showed that children in care remain in danger.
Hiqa's report is a clear indictment of the HSE, its failure to fulfil its statutory obligations and its failure to respond to ongoing concerns," said the party's health spokesman Charlie Flanagan. "The HSE is out of control and the minister in charge of it continues to shirk responsibility for it."
The Labour Party said it seemed that hardly a month goes by without the HSE becoming embroiled in some new controversy over its child protection services.
Responding to the publication of the inspection reports, Labour Party health spokeswoman Róisín Shortall said it seemed that hardly a month goes by without the HSE becoming embroiled in some new controversy over its child protection services.
"Questions are now being asked as to whether the HSE has the capacity to provide a child protection service, and it is up to the HSE to answer those questions," she said.
Sinn Féin described the reports as "devastating" and said the failures highlighted would be repeated unless there were sanctions against those responsible.
"The fact that these findings are made about two Dublin areas but that a third area was found to be mostly safe and well organised surely emphasises the need for management in the culpable areas to be held accountable," said the party's health and children spokesman Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin.
Elsewhere, the Irish Association of Social Workers (IASW) welcomed publication of the reports and called for an end to inequalities in service provision.
"Social workers continue to be concerned by the fact that vulnerable children are still to be being placed by the HSE in the care ofpeople who have not been fully assessed and fully approved, said Declan Coogan, a spokesman for the IASW.
