Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

That is funny, because let me just read this email about phone calls, which I received:

Good morning, Verona. In your discussions with Tusla, could you please bring the following to its attention with regard to its Ardcavan office? When you phone the given number, there is a three-and-a-half-minute waiting time and then you are diverted to St. John's. That has been happening for years. They will tell you there is some problem with the phones. I need to talk to someone urgently this morning in Ardcavan. I have not yet done so, after nearly an hour of trying to do so. That is after trying eight different mobile numbers for social workers. Really, it is not working.

That was yesterday. It just happened that my colleague brought up the fact that it was 13 months. If you have a 24-hour service, that number is what you put on a business card. I do not see how this is some great experience for a foster carer if they have to wait for an hour. They are working people; they are not just foster parents.

An awful lot of backslapping has gone on here this morning. Given the number of issues I have with Tusla, I do not know where its opening statement came from. I am tired of hearing that it is not about money. It is not about money, is it?