Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for being late. I refer to the recruitment of social workers. The Minister spoke passionately about the recruitment and retention of staff. I would appreciate if she could update the committee on the numbers who have been recruited and how we can retain current staff.

I ask the Minister to bear with me because I will probably get this wrong. Under the context and impact indicators for Tusla it is stated that the number of open cases with Tusla assessed as needing a social work service, which includes children in care, is nearly 26,000. That figure is very high. Could the Minister outline what sorts of services are required by those children? Does she believe there are enough funds to deal with this issue?