Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 7 November 2018
35. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the progress that has been made in terms of recruitment and retention of staff at Tusla over the past year; if steps have been taken to ensure adequate resources are in place in order to provide counselling supports for victims; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45724/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraTusla has advised me that by the end of September 2018 a total of 678 appointments were made. 366 of the 678 were new hires to Tusla, with internal recruitment accounting for the remainder. I understand that 225 staff have retired or left Tusla during the same period.
I strongly support Tusla’s important work and by 2019 I will have secured an additional €110m for pay and service provision since becoming Minister in 2016. It must be acknowledged that Tusla is operating in a difficult recruitment environment. I am aware that Tusla Recruit, the Agency's in-house recruitment function, continues to be very proactive and I am advised that it has created or is in the process of creating panels for all grades.
I understand Tusla's overall staff turnover rate was approximately 5.1% in September and this is a marginal improvement compared to September 2017 when it was approximately 5.9%. Tusla has established a Retention Steering Group to develop a new retention strategy and to implement an integrated approach to retention throughout the Agency. In addition, I am aware that Tusla has a Health, Wellbeing and Employee Assistance Programme, a Continuous Professional Development Strategy and the National Transfer Policy to support its retention strategy. Ultimately, Tusla expects these actions to increase its attractiveness as an employer of choice.
With regard to counselling supports, I am aware that the range of supports available across areas include social work support, family therapy, play therapy and one to one child counselling, such as that provided by CARI. Children with a mental health problem may be referred to their local Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. Family support or family resource centres can also provide significant support for both children and families and will often work closely with the child’s social worker.
I have also committed to establishing centres for supporting children who have suffered sexual abuse. These centres should minimise trauma while accessing care or health services, and engaging with the criminal justice system. The centres will bring together the protection, health, therapeutic and policing services and ensure child-centred services that minimise, as far as possible, any additional trauma for the child and their family. I also expect to see improved efficiency and effectiveness for the child being cared for by child sexual abuse support services. This proposal has the agreement of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Charles Flanagan TD and Minister for Health, Simon Harris TD. An inter-departmental working group has been established to explore the arrangements associated with setting up these cross-agency centres to support children and families who have suffered from child sexual abuse and I expect a pilot project to be established in early 2019.
