Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
1323. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he has plans to increase the number of social workers employed by Tusla; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39649/22]
View answerThe need to increase the number of social workers employed by Tusla is an ongoing concern for my Department. Efforts to address this concern are undertaken in the broader context of an acute shortage of social worker graduates.
While my Department does not have a national remit with regard to education, policies, regulations
or workforce planning governing social workers’ employment in Ireland it has actively engaged with Tusla and other stakeholders with regard to addressing issues relating to the supply, recruitment and retention of social workers.
Foremost among these efforts was the establishment of the Social Work Education Group (SWEG), which was established in 2019 for the purposes of increasing the supply of social work graduates and featured representatives from a range of key stakeholders including Higher Education Institutes (HEI), the HSE, Tusla and the Probation Service. SWEG activities included:
- the inclusion of social workers on the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment’s Critical Skills Employment Permit list;
- the provision of seed funding intended to support the HEIs to put in place structures that streamline the placement process for social worker graduates; and,
- the circulation of a questionnaire to HEI academic coordinators responsible for social work courses regarding the barriers to increasing the number of social worker graduates.
Based on the findings of the questionnaire, my Department, Tusla and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science are reviewing a draft list of proposed joint actions to be finalised shortly.
In addition, Tusla have recently launched its new People Strategy 2022-24, which includes a range of actions focused on staff recruitment and retention.
With regards to social workers, the Strategy commits to:
- developing new career pathways for social workers and other staff grades in short supply or where turnover is high, including rotational placements;
- strengthening collaboration with Higher Education Institutions in taking a strategic approach to graduate supply, education, and practice placements;
- engaging with the education system at secondary level to promote careers in Tusla through Transition Year Programmes/ Young Social Innovators and Junior Achievement Ireland;
- commence overseas initiatives to attract and secure Social Workers from qualification-comparable territories overseas and working with CORU and Department of Business & Enterprise to streamline this initiative under the critical skills visa procedure.
