Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Tusla representatives for appearing before the committee to talk to us and take questions. Tusla is dealing with many legacy issues. This is affecting the reputation of the organisation. It is incumbent on Tusla officials to address that. Tusla is sometimes unfairly talked about or hammered for cases that arose before the organisation came into being. Tusla has to deal with that. Tusla should deal with that, try to explain where the problems have come from and what it is doing about them. This is because it affects the morale of staff working in Tusla. It affects the ability of the agency to recruit and retain staff. It also affects public confidence in Tusla. It is important to put out the message that many of these issues are legacy issues. They are present in many other elements of our country and in various Departments. That is unfortunate but it is a fact of life. I am keen to see the agency do a little more to defend itself and articulate better what it is dealing with and why as well as how it intends to deal with those issues.

Reference was made to staffing. Clearly, Tusla does not have enough social workers. When we had the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs before the committee this time last year, she was honest in saying that even with all the courses in third-level institutions being full and churning out qualified graduates, we are still playing catch-up. We are far behind the level at which we need to be.

I accept Mr. McBride's comment to the effect that social workers are enthusiastic and committed. I do not doubt that for a moment. They have extremely heavy caseloads and are far beyond safe levels. I have one specific question. What is the average caseload for a social worker? What is the recommended caseload for a social worker? We may as well put out what exactly we are dealing with.

My next question relates to the alternatives to social workers and how we can use the budget if we cannot find the people we need now. I know for a fact that social workers go home at the end of each day and then type up their own notes, send emails, stuff their own envelopes and post their own letters. That is fine when they have the time to do it, but they do not most of the time. When are we going to see administrative staff come online? To me, it sounds like an immediate requirement. Administrative staff should be in place now. There should be a pool of administrative staff, with one secretary for every five social workers. Something along those lines would work to take the stress off social workers in having to do the basic day-to-day administration. That would free up time. When will that come online? A total of €40 million has been allocated to Tusla this year. I assume that we will have similar funding for next year, if not more. What is it being spent on? Where is the €40 million being spent this year? What is it going on?

Are there alternatives to social workers? Obviously, prevention is far better than dealing with a child who needs to be taken from her home. Early intervention is key. What is Tusla doing around creative community alternatives to try to prevent children coming in to care in the first instance? What is Tusla doing around addiction, counselling and parenting services? There are basic things that should be done. Do we need to go into a family home to help families to clean the house or to help the parent get the child to school in morning? That may involve hiring a taxi. That is basic stuff. What level of funding is going into such work this year? What level of funding will go into that work next year? What additional services will Tusla bring on stream that will come under the umbrella of creative additional community alternatives?

Other issues arise in respect of early intervention. What is the plan regarding family resource centres? Are we going to open more of them? Where will they be located? Does Tulsa have enough funding to do that? Does Tusla need more funding for that next year? How much is Tusla spending on that this year? What will Tusla spend on it next year?

Where are the pinch points in Tusla resources? What does Tusla need? Do we need to be putting pressure on the Minister and the Government for budget 2019? We are moving into budget negotiations now. I am also a member of the Committee on Budgetary Oversight. We are now getting in submissions from the various sectors on what they are looking for. What is Tusla specifically seeking in 2019?