Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister for her response. It is not clear from the Minister's reply whether she is planning on introducing mandatory reporting with specific penalties alongside her proposals to put the Children First guidelines on a statutory footing. What plans is she drawing up to ensure the changes she is proposing will be resourced in a way that will allow the system to operate properly?

I note that a couple of weekends ago at the annual conference of the Irish Association of Social Workers there was some unease among social workers about the proposed standardised system being designed by the HSE to transform social workers' handling of child protection issues. The experience in other countries has been that the introduction of mandatory reporting has led to a large increase in the number of reports coming in, putting massive pressure on social workers. It is critical, in taking this approach, that the Minister has sufficient resources to ensure the system can operate as it is intended.

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