Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

Does the Minister accept that the main concern expressed about legislating for Children First - I confirm my and my party's support for what she intends in that regard - is that it will create an administrative burden and a further burden on front line staff and care providers in light of the fact that they cannot sustain the current degree of demand and expectation, given the level of staffing and other resources? The focus of my question is on resourcing and support staff in terms of the implementation of the legislation on Children First.

Does the Minister accept that the number and deployment of social workers are inadequate to deal with the level of reports of children in danger, which will be expanded with other legislation that we intend to see in place? Where the question arises, there will be a responsibility and a duty to highlight.

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