Mr. Gordon Jeyes:

A telephone line will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but there will be a gap in the middle as we wait to determine the actual social work availability. We are able to cost it. It is a major step forward. For example, we will able to say whether any given child is on the database of all children who are in the national child protection system. While that is a small step, culturally it is very significant for us. That system will be available through Harcourt Street to all gardaí and all emergency medical services.

Senator van Turnhout asked about resources. I think the point to be made, other than the corporate point, is that as well as falling over the line in creating a new legal entity with no additional resources, we began from a low base post-Ryan. While international comparisons are fraught with difficulty, by any international comparison we have fewer social workers. We might have one social worker per 3,000 people. The position is probably a bit worse than that. I am familiar with other jurisdictions such as Scotland, which has one social worker per 1,000 people, and England, which has one social worker per 2,200 people. There still needs to be investment, as I have already illustrated. We can objectively quantify the level of current demand. Now that we have audited and measured the pressures, we are having constructive discussions with the Department.

The education and welfare service officers do an excellent job, by any international comparison. We have approximately 62 posts in this area. The whole-time number is probably a bit lower than that. The original estimate, which was based on an international comparison, was that we would have over 300 posts in this area.

I have already said I want some more managers. I know it is a very hard sell to come here and talk about adding to the corporate layer. It is a question of sustainability. We have 4,000 staff, of whom 80, or 2% of the workforce, are managers at Grade 8 and above. I think it is accepted within the HSE and by Tusla that human resources practices need reform. Our human resources director is fully engaged with that. We are exploring ways to take more of it in-house. Again, that has resource issues-----