Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)

The Minister is now saying there is no plan for establishing the number of social workers to be in place at the end of 2012. Despite all the work over recent years, the recommendation of the Ryan report stating there should be 270 additional social workers employed, and the Minister's stating in the Dáil over the past year that she was working towards delivering these posts by the end of 2011, she is now saying there is no longer a target for the number of social workers who will be employed in the area of child protection. She is saying she will transfer responsibility in this regard to the HSE, thus absolving herself of responsibility. It makes a mockery of what we have been doing.

The Minister needs to take responsibility for this. We need a plan for the replacement of the social workers who are retiring. We need an acknowledgement that they are essential to a robust child protection and welfare system and that they will, as a consequence, be replaced. We need to know the Minister will come up with a plan to ensure this.

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