Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I find myself in a strange position. We are addressing an issue in respect of Mr. Rabbitte's chairing of Tusla. He is a former colleague so it feels very strange to be on this side of the table when he is on that side. I acknowledge Mr. Rabbitte's stellar public service. As he stated, he has spent much of his life in public service. On a personal level, I am of the view that he will bring a perspective that reflects that public service to his role as chairperson of Tusla. He will have a very strong understanding of the dynamics that drive the type of work we, as public representatives, so and the challenges we face in representing constituents whose families interface with organisations like the HSE and Tusla. He will have a very intimate knowledge of that and, because he has that perspective, it will very much drive the type of culture to which he refers.

I welcome Mr. Rabbitte's opening statement. I sense from it that there is a need for Tusla to be very open in terms of how it operates and also in recognising the challenges that it faces as an organisation. I wish Mr. Rabbitte well in the role. Today is perhaps just a starting point in deepening the relationship between Tusla as an organisation and this committee.

Mr. Rabbitte made reference to the challenges he faces, particularly in respect of the shortage of social workers, which has a massive bearing on the interaction between the family unit and the State in terms of the societal issues that exist. I want to delve a bit deeper into the issue of recruitment. We had a very positive interaction with Tusla in respect of the challenges it faces and the interactions it is having with academia in the context of trying to recruit social workers in a very competitive space where, arguably, the issues that exist mean that it is competing on a global level for talent. I wonder if there needs to be a stronger political input at Government level and on a cross-departmental basis between the Departments of Children and Youth Affairs and Education and Skills, for example, in the context of ownership of this as a policy issue. I would like to hear Mr. Rabbitte's perspective on that, although I am conscious that he cannot stray too much into the political space. We know there is a shortage of social workers and what the consequences of that shortage are. We know people are doing their best within the organisation to manage their caseloads. We also know that those caseloads are increasing exponentially, with a consequent rate of attrition among social workers. If we can crack that nut collectively as between the Oireachtas, the Minister and Tusla, we will be doing a good day's work in respect of the operation of Tusla.

My only intervention today is to see if we can get a greater perspective, even at this early stage, in respect of what the Oireachtas needs to do or focus on in respect of the recruitment issues and what Government could be doing in respect of facing those challenges.