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

We supported and welcomed the introduction of mandatory reporting when it was brought in. We believe it is a step in the right direction. It may or may not have been a throwaway comment, but the sky is falling in for the 898 children who have not been allocated a social care worker. Last year the One in Four charity raised its concerns about Tusla. It explained that Tusla was not adequately resourced to monitor two out of three of the cases the charity had raised with a credible report of child sex abuse that had been made. The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, ISPCC, has raised its doubts over Tusla's ability to protect children given the repeated failure of many Tusla care facilities to pass HIQA inspections. Yet again I am sure the Minister is in negotiation with the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, for her Department's budget. She will be looking for an allocation for extra resources and I am sure it will go back to the workforce plan Tusla will be putting forward. I am sure the Department is looking critically at the numbers around mandatory reporting. Does the Minister believe she will be pitching for more money in the upcoming budget, solely on the back of the CEO's remarks?

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