Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is a question about case work management which must be answered, and that is how many high-risk cases can be carried by any one social worker in a team. A review of the social work caseload is under way which involves management and staff union input. I eagerly await the results to see precisely what is being stated about the caseloads Irish social workers carry, whether it is a question of extra resources or more social workers, and what are the best ways to handle the demands being made on them.

This morning I attended the children services committees' day-long networking event. The development of the children services committees in every county, including Donegal, is very important in co-ordinating and managing resources at county level so that child protection and family support is not just left to child and family support services but there is integration and other services are involved. If a case is not allocated within a social worker team it does not mean the family does not receive a social work service from other organisations such as family support and family resource centres.

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