Ms Michele Clarke:

With regard to the on-call service, Tusla has informed us that it has no difficulty with social workers volunteering for that. Tusla wants to negotiate carefully with the public sector unions but it does not anticipate any major problem because it is not coercive. It is not changing the conditions of social workers unless social workers opt into it. In the on-call situation, thus far it has had a waiting list of social workers who are happy to do it. It is anticipating that to be the situation, but obviously we will have to wait and see as matters proceed. That is the information that has been provided to us.