Ms Rosarii Mannion:

We absolutely value the work of our voluntary and section 56 staff in particular. In relation to having mandatory diktats in terms of health and well-being, I do not personally favour that. We take a different approach to the way we work. We have a people strategy. People's eyes can glaze over when one talks about a people strategy but it is fundamentally important. We are a people-delivered service. It has to be all about the people and getting that right. We have improved a lot in terms of providing psychological support and interventions.

For instance, within Tusla, there is a work pillar trying to develop a culture of health, which, although not easy, is crucial. We have put in psychological supports for our front-line staff. We have our critical incident stress management, CISM, approach. There is a full programme of work around that. I am more than happy to engage with any section 56 provider. We want to partner with those providers, take what we have and utilise it, rather than have providers paying for something like that.

The Senator is right that the work is emotionally draining and taxing. By way of information, I was looking at the top five reasons for staff referrals to our occupational health and employee assistance programmes, and they are stress, anxiety, bereavement, depression and relationship difficulties. Of course, we have to get in and support the staff. I am confident we are doing better. I am happy to partner with the Senator if she wishes to have access to any of those resources.