12 Feabh 2019, 11:32
The Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs will meet tomorrow (Wednesday) at 9.30 in Committee Room 1, Leinster House to discuss the Recruitment and Retention of Social Workers.
Representatives from Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) and TUSLA will come before the Committee.
In advance of the meeting, the Chairman of the Joint Committee, Deputy Alan Farrell, said: “The Committee is eager to receive an update on the matter of Social Worker recruitment and retention, and the Committee is keen to ascertain the level of progress made in this regard.”
“The recruitment and retention of social workers is one of the biggest challenges for Tusla within a very competitive labour market, and the current limited availability of social work graduates.
“Working in child protection is one of the most difficult areas, and I fully appreciate the dedication of all professionals in Tusla who undertake this extremely important task.
“The committee supports Tusla’s proactive approach to recruiting, supporting and retaining staff across all grades. It is important that the necessary resources are in place for Tusla in the context of their work to maintain and improve its retention rate when it comes to Social Workers, and this is an issue which the Committee will be eager to examine.
“The input and insight of HIQA on the topic of the Recruitment and Retention of Social Workers is welcomed by the Committee. HIQA, in its role as an independent authority that exists to improve health and social care services for the people of Ireland, may have a valuable contribution to make in this regard.”
Committee proceedings can be viewed live here: https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/oireachtas-tv/cr1-live/
Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the move, through the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.