James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yes, we can tell the Deputy what was paid. However, if X million euro is spent this year for bills for services incurred three years ago, how will that inform the Deputy what were the actual legal costs incurred in this year alone? I hope he accepts this point.

On the 91% increase in reported cases, much has changed since 2005 with the Ryan report and other issues leading to a greater awareness of the issue of child abuse and neglect. There is a much greater willingness to report than before. There has also been an increase in the child population with the welcome increase in the birth rate. This presents difficulties in the workload for child care social workers. That is why we need to ensure social workers are freed up to do the work they are specifically trained to do and not get side-tracked by administrative duties that others could be doing. Traditionally because they have not had that support, they might be spending some time on that area. That is not a criticism of social workers. It is the situation in which they find themselves. It is our job to support them and allow them do the work they alone can do.

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