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

I indicated in response to the Deputy's question my view on the recommendation of Dr. Shannon which I have agreed to include in my implementation plan. I have asked Tusla to take the first steps. This has been agreed with Dr. Shannon on the most appropriate way to move forward.

The Deputy is aware that we have an out-of-hours service. The Garda has access to a telephone line and live social workers when section 12 is invoked for children in counties Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow and Cork.

It has been agreed with Dr. Shannon that the most appropriate way to begin the process of responding to his recommendation is to ask Tusla to set out the level of demand by county and age. Most of the demand seems to be in these areas. We need to know whether enough staff are in place and, if not, whether Tusla could add additional social care staff. That is one of the questions. In areas outside counties Dublin, Wicklow, Kildare and Cork seven social workers are available to be called. They receive calls from the national telephone service. It is true that they only go out in situations involving parental death, car crashes, mass tragedy and other special circumstances. In that sense, the service is restricted, but the threshold is being examined in the light of what I have requested Tusla to do. The key is seeing where the demand is and what types of situation and children are involved in order for us to respond appropriately.

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