Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Another issue is communications. There has been some controversy - if I can use that term - about the SCU. It was reported by Hugh O'Connell in The Sunday Business Postthat on July 9 the Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, responded to a memo stating that the child care subsidy scheme being announced by the Government later in the summer should be a key campaign run by the SCU. He is quoted as saying, "Again, should be a thing the Govt is doing for you, not the Dept of Children &Youth ... I think there should be a campaign run on this throughout August."

I note the Minister has made some comments in the public domain about possible interaction with the Taoiseach on this. I want to glean from the Minister who is in control of the Department's communications. Is it now a function of the SCU? Will it become a function of the SCU if it is not currently such a function or is the Minister in control of her budget line which, as I understand it, totals approximately €113,000 if the FOI figure is to be believed? I cannot see the specific figure in the Estimates. Perhaps the Minister might assist us with that. I would make the case that the Minister and her Department should be in control of the communications strategy. If the interaction between the sector and all of its constituent parts is close to the Minister in terms of relationships I do not see the need for that to be elevated to the Department of the Taoiseach which is at another remove. There is a political issue in terms of control and it is more of a political question for the Minister.

I refer to the allocation for Tusla. To be fair to the Minister, she has secured some €754 million for Tusla, an increase of €40 million. In my mind I find it difficult to reconcile the increase in the budget for Tusla and the number of HIQA reports coming into the public domain across a wide range of issues. I am trying to glean whether the HIQA reports are being acted upon on a regional basis and when we can expect success in respect of the recommendations in each of the HIQA reports.

I tabled a parliamentary question seeking information on the number of social workers in the system. The response I got was that there was an average of ten years duration in career length. It is a tough job and I can understand that there is a high rate of attrition in the sector for all sorts of reasons. Is there something in the Minister's vision which will speak to the budget lines before us and address the decline in numbers over a longer-term period? Is the Minister liaising with other Departments to see how we can encourage more people to become social workers and social care workers? They are key personnel and act as an interface between the challenges the sector faces and outputs.