Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister stated there are currently 1,467 whole-time equivalent social workers and by the end of this year, she hopes to bring that up to 1,520. However, the Minister states she will fall short by roughly 100 on the basis of the targets set in 2015. The Minister stated it was a graduate problem, as we do not have enough qualifying.