Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister has hit on the kernel of the issue, namely, the lack of communication among social workers. If a child in Galway moves to Dublin, social workers cannot access the relevant data. That is where things are falling down.

I welcome what the Minister said earlier. If we have the correct IT system in place in 2017 and money is ring-fenced from capital funding, that will go a long way towards helping families and, most importantly, children. It will enable social workers to do their jobs, communicate, prevent abuse and protect children in future.

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