Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of social workers currently employed by her Department; if she will confirm if the targets as set out in the Ryan implementation report have been met; if such targets were met by recruiting new social workers or by converting temporary contract to permanent contracts; if she will provide a detailed breakdown of the number of permanent social workers now as opposed to March 2011; the number of temporary contracts now as opposed to march 2011; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46728/12]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The HSE compiles a monthly census of employment in the public health and social care sector. The most recent figures supplied by the HSE indicate that the number of whole-time equivalent social workers employed in the children and families service area of the HSE was 1,300 at the end of July 2012. The number of social workers employed in the children and families service area at the end of February 2011 was 1,231. This represents an increase of 69 whole-time-equivalent social workers since February 2011. The total number of individual social workers employed in child and family services has increased by 86 in the same period. The HSE has made considerable progress over recent years in recruiting additional social workers, with 260 social workers recruited under the Ryan implementation plan at the end of 2011. A further ten social workers who were to be recruited after 2011 are currently at various stages of recruitment, with the first four already in position.

The national director of children and family services, Gordon Jeyes, will continue to apply his discretion to the filling of social work vacancies, taking account of identified need and subject to services being delivered within available resources. It is important to emphasise that work is ongoing within the HSE on the disaggregation of the children and families resource base from the HSE as part of the process of establishing the new child and family support agency next year. Consequently the number of social workers assigned to children and families services will continue to be subject to change as the mapping and classification of posts into care groups is further refined between now and year end. This project has involved considerable work and certain grey areas are still being examined.

Information regarding temporary and permanent contracts has been sought from the HSE. This information will be provided to the Deputy as soon as it becomes available. The figures I have provided include those employed on a permanent and temporary basis, with a significant overall increase achieved in the total numbers employed over the period.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome that at long last the target promised under the Ryan implementation plan has been met. I am somewhat disappointed that the Minister cannot provide information on the numbers employed on temporary contracts but perhaps she can confirm whether the additional staff employed under permanent contracts were transferred from temporary positions and if those positions were ever filled. That is a key issue because the figures released by her Department in May 2012 indicate that the percentage of allocated social workers to children in foster or residential care has decreased, which means that more children were without social workers in May compared to 18 months ago. I ask her to clarify that issue.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I am pleased to report that the number of allocated social workers has increased over the past three years. The figures have improved substantially. There was a slight drop in 2011 but that can be partially explained by the difficulties surrounding resources arising from earlier budget reductions. I do not have figures on temporary and permanent positions but all 260 of the social workers I committed to recruiting are now in place. The number has increased and 86 additional social workers have now been employed. We have seen a welcome increase in the proportion of children in care with an allocated social worker to 93%, compared to 83% in 2009. In some of the cases where a social worker has not been allocated the children are with relatives.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I have listened to the series of discussions on this matter between the Minister and the Fianna Fáil spokespersons on children, Deputy Troy and, previously, Deputy McConalogue. It is difficult at times to discern the exact number of social workers in situ. At the end of the day, my core concern is not the fencing over the numbers but whether we will have sufficient support services, including dedicated social workers, to deal with the advent of the child and family support agency after 1 January and that we live up to the promise of the constitutional change we are urging the electorate to endorse on 10 November.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Clearly the point is that we can provide the kind of services we require. That is the intention of the reform. Gordon Jeyes and his new management team, which has been reduced from 36 to 19, are working hard to manage their budget and provide the best possible service. Significant reform is under way and I believe it will support workers on the front line. However, we face huge pressures because of the financial situation and demands on services.