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

I thank the Deputy for his question and his wishes of goodwill. At the end of August 2014, there were 1,387.89 whole time equivalent social workers employed at the Child and Family Agency. Staffing vacancies arise for various reasons including retirements, resignations, career breaks, maternity leave and other unpaid leave. A system of risk analysis is in place in each area to ensure that staffing numbers do not fall to an unsafe level and gaps identified through this process are addressed with the additional resources of temporary staff as required. All identified vacancies are the subject of a recruitment process to ensure their filling at the earliest opportunity.

The latest figures available to my Department show 106 social workers have been recruited since the agency was established on 1 January 2014 with a further additional 148 posts currently on offer to candidates or at various stages of recruitment. The agency, as part of its workforce planning strategy, is progressing a number of targeted recruitment initiatives designed to alleviate service pressures. These include the development of a pilot maternity leave cover scheme for social workers, whereby maternity related vacancies can be filled by way of a 12 month temporary contract. Some 30 temporary posts have been put in place across the agency to date under this scheme.

The agency is also developing a one year induction programme which will be targeted at graduate social workers. It is my intention that the agency will progress and build on these recruitment initiatives over the remaining three months of 2014 and throughout 2015 in response to identified need.

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