Mr. Pat Bergin:

For every unit, there are 15 residential care staff and we have an excess of staff to run the current number of units. We are starting the process of recruiting more care staff on the basis of our staff turnover, as people age or move on. For every residential unit we will open, we will have the relevant number of staff. We currently have a licence which means the numbers are capped at 48 boys and six girls. We have not yet reached that cap and when we do I can refuse. However, I want to be prepared for the possibility of an expansion. We hope to start another recruitment campaign before Christmas or in early January.

We are also in a promotional process for staff whereby we will create a team leader post to allow staff to have a level of engagement in decision making. We hope this will change the dynamics for staff in terms of how they contribute, do business and support managers. It will give them the possibility of acquiring more experience. We hope to roll this out in early January.