Professor Robbie Gilligan:

That is the crucial question because Tusla and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs are important actors in this but they are only one component of the whole picture which includes the Health Service Executive, the disability area and the mental health area, as the Senator is aware. There are many non-government organisations that provide services. The Probation Service, drugs services and many other sectors hire social workers. At the moment we do not have one desk in government which is responsible for workforce planning for social work.