Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 February 2015
209. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of children who are waiting in the constituency of County Louth to be allocated a social worker; the number of these that are high priority and emergency; the length of time they have been on a waiting list; the number of social workers employed; the number of vacancies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5260/15]
View answerAs of November 2014 a total of 778 children in Louth-Meath were waiting to be allocated a social worker and 464 of these cases were deemed to be high priority. I am assured by Tusla that emergency cases continue to be dealt with immediately, for instance, that a child who has been abandoned or is in immediate physical danger or at immediate risk of sexual abuse, and that high priority cases are kept under review.
The most recent information from Tusla indicates that in late 2014 there were 85.25 social work Whole Time Equivalents in Louth-Meath, with 15 vacancies being filled.
The Agency is taking a number of initiatives to address staff shortfalls:
- Continuing recruitment, with 164 social workers recruited since the Agency was established, and a further 219 posts currently at various stages of recruitment;
- The introduction of a pilot Maternity Leave Scheme whereby temporary staff can be offered a 12 month contract to cover maternity leave;
- In recognition of the challenging nature of this work, new entrants and graduates have a reduced workload for their first year, with opportunities for regular supervision with experienced practitioners;
- The roll out of a caseload management system to ensure caseloads are manageable and prioritised appropriately.
I have set out in tabular format data relating to unallocated cases for Louth-Meath. I am advised by the Agency that separate data for County Louth is not available.
Table 1: Breakdown of Unallocated cases by Priority Louth-Meath, November 2014
|
Open Cases by Priority |
Unallocated |
|
High |
464 |
|
Medium |
220 |
|
Low |
94 |
|
TOTAL |
778 |
Table 2: Breakdown of Unallocated cases by length of time of Priority Louth-Meath, November 2014
|
Open Cases Unallocated at the end of the Month |
High Priority |
Medium Priority |
Low Priority |
Total |
|
<1 week |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
1-2 weeks |
16 |
8 |
3 |
27 |
|
2-3 weeks |
20 |
0 |
0 |
20 |
|
3-4 weeks |
32 |
6 |
2 |
40 |
|
1-2 months |
51 |
20 |
2 |
73 |
|
2-3 months |
51 |
0 |
0 |
51 |
|
>3 months |
294 |
186 |
87 |
567 |
|
TOTAL |
464 |
220 |
94 |
778 |
