Joe Cooney (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister, but everything I have heard on the ground tells me that the system is broken. A review of the issues I have highlighted is needed to make a start on improving things. Good people across the county are holding on by their fingertips and will leave unless a real attempt is made to address their concerns.

These children need consistency in social worker staff in order to make progress. That is not happening because staff are walking away on a continual basis due to the pressure of a complex workload, limited resources and a crumbling system. They are firefighting and it is impossible to sustain. The children need secure long-term accommodation. Foster families do wonderful work providing it. They provide complex care to some of the most vulnerable children in the country. They are not being supported properly and they are walking away. The lack of continuity of care is having a profound impact on the welfare of the children involved. It is the responsibility of the State to deliver and it is failing.

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