asked the Minister for Health if he will request the health boards to allocate a number of social workers and public health nurses to specific itinerant care work in each area.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Itinerant Care Work.
62.
There is a standing request to health boards from my Department to encourage itinerant families to avail themselves of health services and to arrange for regular visiting of these families by public health nurses. However, I shall review that request at this time and indicate to health boards my strong desire that every effort be made to ensure an adequate service in this regard.
The provision of social workers for specifically itinerant care work is primarily a matter for the Department of Local Government. I am advised by my colleague, the Minister for Local Government, that 14 wholetime and two part-time social workers are employed by local authorities on itinerant care work, while five whole-time social workers are employed by voluntary agencies on the same work. The salaries of the latter are subsidised by the Department of Local Government.
Could the Minister say how many of these are located in Dublin?
I think the majority of them are located in Dublin, not necessarily in the city, but in the Dublin area. There are others in places like Carlow, Ennis, Tralee and Kilkenny. I may have misled the Deputy when I said that the majority of them are around Dublin. Five of them are in the Dublin area, and the rest are in the country.