Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister is aware, this morning HIQA representatives are before the Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs. They have given a concerning presentation. One thing they have talked about is the retention and recruitment of social workers. They have talked about best practices in other countries. One of the suggestions is that we could employ social work assistants to help social workers in and around the administrative work. The idea is that this would free up social workers so that they can spend more time directly on the job they are doing, which is helping families and children. Is the Minister examining this system? There are major concerns, especially around the report from HIQA on Dublin South-Central. Did the Minister speak to Tusla about this report? Can she tell the House what Tusla said to her about the report? It was a damning report.

See this speech in context