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

We are working on a protocol regarding mental health with the Department of Health and Tusla. We successfully negotiated a protocol of working together with the HSE and Tusla on disability services and this is what the group that gathered to do that is doing and focusing on now.

To respond to Deputy Ó Laoghaire, it is clearly not just a matter of money - I acknowledge that. I am just pointing out, though, that I did get the money and the money is there. We do need imaginative solutions, as Deputy Ó Laoghaire said. For example, I referred already to the fact approximately 215 social workers graduate each year. That is the context in which we are working. I appreciate that it is challenging, and Tusla of course is competing with the rest of the pool, but I intend personally to consult with the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Bruton, to explore options for increasing the supply of graduates. My officials are discussing with the Higher Education Authority and Health and Social Care Professionals Council, CORU, how to increase the supply of social workers in a sustainable manner once Tusla's workforce plan and priority gaps are identified. Some of these solutions are not immediate but we are trying to put in place, looking forward to the medium term and even the long term, that educational element in particular so that we can begin to increase the number of social workers to the levels required and sustain that number.

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