Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 November 2017
228. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if 495 social workers have left the Child and Family Agency, Tusla since 2014; the counties in which these social workers were formally assigned; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49583/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe information required by the Deputy is not readily available. My officials have requested the information from Tusla and this will be forwarded directly to the Deputy.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 42A:
I refer to your written parliamentary question (ref: 49583/17, 22/11/2017).
As advised in my response to you on 22 November, my officials requested the detailed information you were seeking from Tusla as this was not readily available when responding to your question.
Tusla has informed me that since its establishment on 1 January, 2014 to the end of September 2017 a total of 471 Social Workers have Left Tusla or gone on career break.
The following table sets out the breakdown by region:
Social Workers Leavers/Career Break 01/01/2014 to 30/09/2017
|
Region |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
Total |
|
Corporate |
- |
2 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
|
DML |
19 |
28 |
39 |
33 |
119 |
|
DNE |
39 |
38 |
48 |
33 |
158 |
|
South |
15 |
17 |
31 |
24 |
87 |
|
West |
21 |
33 |
23 |
26 |
103 |
|
Grand Total |
93 |
118 |
142 |
117 |
471 |
There is no doubt that the recruitment and retention of social workers is one of the biggest challenges for Tusla and in order to assist with retention and increase the attractiveness of Tusla as an employer, the Agency has introduced a number of measures, including:
- a Continuous Professional Development Strategy which commits to all social workers having a minimum of 21 hours for personal development plans and 10 hours for engaging in continuous professional development;
- a National Transfer Policy to facilitate social workers wishing to relocate to another part of the country. This will also ensure that their valuable expertise will be retained.
- an Employee Assistance Service which is available to all staff 24/7 in all areas:
- a Health, Wellbeing and Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) which has a range of services available to staff including a Critical Incident Stress Management Team to support teams and individuals in the event of any traumatic event: and
- the EAP also manages rehabilitation services and provides assistance to staff who are out of work due to injury or illness and supports them in their return to work.
A staff survey on retention has also been completed, the finding of which will inform part of the new Strategy on Retention for Tusla in 2018. The introduction of Senior Social Worker Practitioner posts, designated to Social Work teams around the country, will also be assessed to see if it has been an effective measure in recruitment retention.
I am satisfied that Tusla will continue to work hard to attract and retain talent in a supportive working environment.
