I am grateful for the opportunity to raise this matter. The Minister is aware of the seriousness of the problem whereby social workers in Dublin's north inner city simply cannot take on new cases due to their workload. In the region of 100 cases are unattended and in many instances children are seriously at risk. About 25 per cent of social worker positions remain vacant in the north inner city. This seems to be a culmination of years of neglect of that area. While in the past church bodies and voluntary groups did much of this work the bulk of it is now carried out by the State, but it is failing in its responsibility.
There is also a very serious drugs problem in this area which exacerbates the other social problems. I ask the Minister to consider the need for an integrated approach to these problems because it is not only the Department of Health that is involved as the Department of Education has responsibility for residential centres for young children and the Department of Justice also has responsibility. This is not simply a matter of filling social worker positions. I understand from The Irish Times of yesterday that the Eastern Health Board has given a commitment to redeploy people from other areas and I am anxious to know whether that will be done. Social workers spend much of their time looking for residential places for children, places that do not exist, and meanwhile the children involved are seriously at risk.
I rarely go to the lengths of raising a specific case by way of Dáil question — I usually approach these matters in other ways — but on 25 April in Question No. 88 and on 9 May in Question No. 42 I raised the case of a child who is seriously at risk not only to himself but to others, and that has been confirmed by professional people involved in child care and by members of the community. The child involved who is about 12 years of age is on drugs and is extremely aggressive and violent. This is one of the cases with which I have become familiar. If action is not taken in this instance I would not like to be responsible for what may happen.
I was dissatisfied with the reply I received to my first Dáil question which stated a place was being sought for the child, but that none was available. The reply to my second Dáil question on 9 May indicated that the position remains the same and that the health board is continuing to work with the family. We know what that means in the context of the crisis in social work in the area. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that the reply to the question is not correct as no effective or appropriate work was carried out in respect of that child who is running loose and at risk to himself and others.
I emphasise that case although there are similar cases and social workers are overwhelmed in that area dealing with case after case, they have reached the end of the road. I hope the position is not similar to that outlined by a columnist in The Irish Times yesterday who stated: “in the absence of a vigorous drive to improve matters the action being taken by social workers in Dublin could signal the beginning of the slow collapse of child protection services in some areas and that will inevitably be followed by awful human tragedies”. The writing is on the wall and the Minister needs to act now. I emphasise that the responsibility for the problem does not lie only with his Department. One of the greatest needs in the area is that of residential care for emergency cases. If social workers become aware, as they regularly do, of emergency cases which need to be referred quickly to centres, such centres are not available. I ask the Minister to seriously address this matter and act on the different aspects I outlined.
