Ms Aine McGuirk:

The unfortunate thing is that there are just not sufficient numbers. Since the last time I sat in this chair, Tusla has put a lot of measures in place that have helped. In every area, it has assigned a principal social worker who is responsible for students. When a student arrives in Tusla, they get a laptop, a phone and a space to sit. That is huge, compared to what is happening in the HSE. If the HSE was doing half of what Tusla is doing, I would be a very happy person. The HSE is treating all of its professionals and social workers at the bottom of the pile with much more disdain, in terms of supporting their placements, etc. Tusla has come a long way. It has done that because it needs the people to come through its door and start working for the organisation. That is Tusla's aim in doing it, to get the students in. There is one office in the middle of town. I joke that there is a tripwire from Trinity College into Lord Edward Street, and Tusla trips the students up as they come out when they graduate. Every year, a big gang of them go to work in Lord Edward Street. It is a nice office to work in and is in the middle of town. It is a tough place to work, but there is a great atmosphere. The problem is that they do not stay there for too long, because as soon as they move into the next phase of their lives, which might be settling down and having a family, that kind of work just does not fit with getting home at six o'clock in the evening. More is needed because the pressures, when Tusla gets them in the door, are too great to retain them. It is not work that is for everyone. I am not sure what Tusla can do. It is getting as many graduates out of the colleges as it can.