Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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31. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the amount of funding that will be ring-fenced for the roll-out of mandatory reporting in 2018; her views on whether this will be sufficient; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44020/17]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the amount of funding that will be ring-fenced for the roll-out of mandatory reporting in 2018, her views on whether this will be sufficient and to make a statement on the matter.

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I recently announced my intention to commence the mandatory reporting provisions of the Children First Act 2015 with effect from 11 December this year.

It is not possible at this stage to be precise about the amount of funding to be allocated to a specific area such as Children First. Children First mandatory reporting, for example, could benefit from social workers who are dealing in part with other aspects of Tusla's work and also from elements of staff training and IT costs. Exact funding requirements will become clearer as Tusla develops its business plan for 2018. However, I have emphasised to Tusla that mandatory reporting is a critical requirement for 2018 and the agency has committed to taking all actions necessary to achieve effective implementation.

I will shortly be issuing Tusla with its 2018 performance statement in line with the provisions of the Child and Family Agency Act 2013.

Tusla will, in response to the performance statement, prepare a business plan for 2018 which will be submitted to me for consideration. The precise level of funding to be allocated for the roll-out of mandatory reporting will be considered by Tusla in preparing its business plan, having regard to the overall level of funding available in 2018.

I am pleased to make additional resources of €40.6 million available to Tusla in budget 2018. It will bring Tusla's financial allocation to just over €753 million in 2018. This level of funding will allow it to recruit additional staff, respond to identified risks and meet increased demands for services, including those arising from mandatory reporting. In particular, the financial allocation will allow Tusla to meet a number of key priorities in line with its obligations under the Children First legislation. It will include ensuring the appropriate internal systems are in place to deal with the intake of mandatory reports by Tusla and that a suite of resources will be available to support and assist all sectors in implementing the legislation.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for her response and welcome the €40.6 million in additional funding for Tusla which is to cover the cost of the roll-out of mandatory reporting and the roll-out of the nationwide out-of-hours social work service, as well as a further investment in family resource centres, including the opening of an additional 11 centres. My real concern centres on the fact that the CEO of Tusla, Mr. Fred McBride, said recently at a committee that evidence from other jurisdictions suggested mandatory reporting could increase the number of referrals to Tusla by 150%. He had sought an additional €38 million to support the roll-out of mandatory reporting. The Ombudsman for Children, Dr. Niall Muldoon, welcomed the Minister's announcement of mandatory reporting and while I wholeheartedly support her initiative, I believe there is not enough funding in place to support it. I would like to hear her views on Mr. McBride's remarks and his business plan.

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I am open to correction, but it is my understanding, based on communications with my Secretary General, that Mr. McBride indicated that there could be a significant increase in the number of referrals to Tusla as a result of the roll-out of mandatory reporting. I understood it to be a 50% increase, as distinct from 150%, but we can take another look at that matter. It is Mr. McBride's job to identify where there is the potential for an increase, but at the same time, he is aware - we have had such discussions subsequent to this kind of exchange - that nobody knows exactly what the increase in the number of reports will be or what percentage of them will be substantiated. While potentially the increase could be as high as 150%, I do not expect it to be so, particularly because the Act identifies that, in the context of mandatory reporting, those reporting must have concerns that there is "significant harm" to a child, as distinct from the lower threshold that currently applies in the context of voluntary reporting. Given the raising of the threshold to a concern about "significant harm" to a child, it is my expectation that we are covering many children in the context of the voluntary reporting. There may be some increase, but it is my belief the additional resources I have secured for Tusla are sufficient. I further add that it is not just about resources; it is also about the processes by which Tusla takes in referrals.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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If I were to accept the 50% figure which I am more than willing to do, my other concern relates to the recruitment of staff. It is my biggest concern. The Minister's predecessor, former Deputy James Reilly, announced the recruitment of an additional 247 staff in 2015, but if one looks at the figures for the past 18 months, one will see that we are struggling to recruit the necessary staff. While it is levelling out a little, the introduction of mandatory reporting will bring about additional pressure. Will we be able to recruit and retain the staff needed to bring forward this very positive change? Tusla has had a very difficult 18 months, with one negative report after another. Mandatory reporting will now be on its table too. While the Minister may have provided enough funding for staffing in Tusla, what does she think about the wider recruitment issue?

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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The Deputy has asked some excellent questions. In announcing the resources I shared a platform with Mr. McBride and we had a lot of discussions in that regard. He has identified that there are 305 people at various stages of recruitment; that Tusla is in the process of recruiting and ultimately employing the people concerned. In that context, there has been a lot of positive action in the context of Tusla's overall three-year plan to get the numbers it needs. It has been proactive and working extremely hard to recruit the necessary mix of team members and professionals. Of the aforementioned 305 people, 185 are social workers. A lot of work has been done to achieve that number of new recruits. In addition, the resources I am putting in place will ensure Tusla will be able to continue that recruitment to add an additional 300 workers.