Results 5,281-5,300 of 34,585 for speaker:Seán Fleming

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 40 - Children and Youth Affairs (13 Jun 2019)

Seán Fleming: What are the manning levels? Is it one to one?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 40 - Children and Youth Affairs (13 Jun 2019)

Seán Fleming: It is higher than that.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 40 - Children and Youth Affairs (13 Jun 2019)

Seán Fleming: We were all a little surprised and happy to help when we received the email from Tusla on Monday or Tuesday stating it was looking to recruit staff. I hear it is advertising and has asked Deputies to tweet that message to let people know.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 40 - Children and Youth Affairs (13 Jun 2019)

Seán Fleming: I have seen that a number of Deputies have done so. Will Mr. Smyth tell us about the difficulties usla has? We will move on to talk about the backlog of cases which is related to staffing numbers. Tusla must be experiencing difficulties in recruiting staff if it is asking Deputies to help.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 40 - Children and Youth Affairs (13 Jun 2019)

Seán Fleming: I suspect it is an emotionally draining job in some cases.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 40 - Children and Youth Affairs (13 Jun 2019)

Seán Fleming: Is Mr. Smyth saying that after they have done the two years, they have the PRSI and can claim jobseekers benefit?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 40 - Children and Youth Affairs (13 Jun 2019)

Seán Fleming: They can withdraw what they contributed.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 40 - Children and Youth Affairs (13 Jun 2019)

Seán Fleming: Superannuation is at 6%, is that right?

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 40 - Children and Youth Affairs (13 Jun 2019)

Seán Fleming: They are on €40,000. That is the figure in the email sent to the committee. They are paying in roughly €2,500 a year and after two or three years they could have up to €7,000.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 40 - Children and Youth Affairs (13 Jun 2019)

Seán Fleming: They can cash it in.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 40 - Children and Youth Affairs (13 Jun 2019)

Seán Fleming: So they can get €5,000 back out to head off.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 40 - Children and Youth Affairs (13 Jun 2019)

Seán Fleming: So as a by-product of this new system, people can do their two years, cash in their-----

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 40 - Children and Youth Affairs (13 Jun 2019)

Seán Fleming: We learn something new every day.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 40 - Children and Youth Affairs (13 Jun 2019)

Seán Fleming: That information on the staff is very useful to have put on the record. Going back to the children, I think longitudinal studies are being done. I presume there is a lot of learning from the children who go through Tusla. I refer to the 500 or 600, the less than 10%, who are not just in regular fostering because their parents are not there. Where do they end up when they are in their 20s?...

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 40 - Children and Youth Affairs (13 Jun 2019)

Seán Fleming: That is in addition to the 6,000.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 40 - Children and Youth Affairs (13 Jun 2019)

Seán Fleming: Some 90% of the 6,000 are in fostering generally.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 40 - Children and Youth Affairs (13 Jun 2019)

Seán Fleming: About 500 or 600 are in different arrangements.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 40 - Children and Youth Affairs (13 Jun 2019)

Seán Fleming: How does Tusla maintain these children's school attendance? It is a big issue. We hear of taxis having to move children around and of the National Educational Welfare Board. Keeping some regularity in these children's lives is a big issue.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 40 - Children and Youth Affairs (13 Jun 2019)

Seán Fleming: With regard to the 600 who are in other care rather than the regular fostering system, are addiction issues encountered? What interventions does Tusla make? I am sure there are myriad problems in this area.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 40 - Children and Youth Affairs (13 Jun 2019)

Seán Fleming: Many State agencies could have an input in dealing with such issues. Which is the lead agency? Is it Tusla? Some of the children in these situations will have addiction issues or will come from very difficult backgrounds. Who is their main minder?