Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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My last question concerns international best practice. The witnesses may not have the answer now. I perceive that the role of a social worker in society today is potentially very much more complex than it might have been ten, 15 or 20 years ago. Is there a natural rate of burnout? Is there a period of years beyond which one should not work so as to guarantee the well-being of the individual social worker? Again, this is just perception. One would imagine that if one were working at the coalface of child protection for ten, 15 or 20 years, managing those stress levels would become harder and harder. Is there a period after which one should leave? I ask this because if the answer is in the affirmative, that has a bearing on the strategy for graduate recruitment and so on. I just wonder if Tusla is dealing with that dynamic. It is a complex question, to which a complex answer is probably required.

If the witnesses cannot answer now, I understand, but it would be useful if they could revert to the committee to give us a sense of that dynamic.