Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

With regard to recruitment, the Tusla graduate campaign has resulted in more than 300 graduate applications and interviews are currently under way. At the same time, social work recruitment from existing panels continues. The graduate campaign has been very well received and planning for a 2017 campaign has commenced and will include colleges in Ireland and the UK. Tusla intends to work with third level colleges with a view to increasing the number of social work places from the current 200 to 250 places in the Republic of Ireland. This is a medium-term strategy, as it would take a number of years for the impact to be felt.

Retention was also mentioned by the Deputy. Tusla is developing an employee assistance programme in order to support the management of caseloads. It is also ensuring that staff have appropriate ICT equipment and infrastructure to support the work they are doing.

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