Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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My last question relates to the regional disparity in recruitment and retention that was referenced in the opening statement. There are some black spots, which Ms Bond mentioned when responding to Deputy Chambers. Of great concern to me is the area of Dublin's inner city. Have we seen a rise in the number of gaps in the system with children or foster families not being allocated a social worker as a result or is the figure plateauing? I appreciate that there is a deficiency in the service. This goes without saying. We know there are not enough social workers. Part of the role of this committee is to determine how we get more into the system, based on the output. Unfortunately, the output is insufficient and so we have to be creative. That is why the representatives' input is so important to us. Perhaps they could try to provide further information on that.