Ms Brenda Feeney:

I am a qualified and registered social worker myself, and I only finished practising very recently. I spent 12 years working in Tusla and some time in the HSE before moving to IT Sligo.

It is very challenging work, whether one works within children or adult services. Social work is a very challenging role that requires substantial commitment and dedication from individuals. The work has an emotional and psychological impact on individuals. There is not enough support for that. We have supervision in practice but it is case supervision. From speaking to colleagues in my previous department, I know we need outside supervision. This would be support from outside the service that we can access every six to eight weeks. That would be a session with a psychotherapist or counsellor who understands the role of a social worker. That is very important.