Results 17,541-17,560 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Health Service Staff (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: The HSE compiles a monthly census of employment in the public health and social care sector. The latest data available is in respect of December 2011. This shows that the total number of social workers employed in the HSE and in directly funded agencies at that time was 2,442 whole time equivalents. The HSE made provision for the recruitment of an additional 62 social workers in 2011 and...

Health Service Staff (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I will repeat my remarks because the Deputy seems to have difficulty understanding them. I got the funding for the 60 social workers by the end of last year. Twenty-five of the 60 – ten is a different figure – have been recruited. All of the others have been offered or have accepted posts. I could not be clearer. The 60 social workers will be in place over the next few weeks, and...

Health Service Staff (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I repeat that there is a very clear plan in place. It has included the successful recruitment of the 60 social workers whom I have said would be recruited, resulting in a total of 270 social workers. The number was reflected in and required by the Ryan implementation plan. Some 260 of the 270 social workers have been recruited and are about to take up their positions. The Deputy seems to...

Health Service Staff (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 58, 60 and 62 together. The Health Service Executive, HSE, compiles a monthly census of employment in the public health and social care sector. The latest data available is in respect of December 2011. It shows the total number of social workers employed in the HSE and in directly funded agencies at that time was 2,442 whole time equivalents, WTEs. The...

Health Service Staff (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Ryan report recommended an additional 270 workers. The agreement was that 260 would have been recruited by the end of last year. I am very pleased to say that I have lived up to that commitment. We have 260 social workers recruited, with another ten due to be recruited this year. That is what the implementation group has been working on and is what the Ryan report stated we needed....

Health Service Staff (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: Yes.

Health Service Staff (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I reject Deputy Boyd Barrett's interpretation and I will give my reasons. For a start, there were 37 extra social workers working in child and family services during 2011. An additional 60 social workers have been recruited. As Minister I have ensured that the monetary provision for child and family services went up by €21 million or 4% this year compared to the previous budget. The...

Health Service Staff (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I have asked for the information with regard to the residential care settings and the information to date is that one person who is not on the care side is leaving that sector. That is the information to date. If this changes in the coming weeks, I will communicate directly with the Deputy on it. Based on the current figures, only one person is retiring. I believe this is largely...

Health Service Staff (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: Yes.

Health Service Staff (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: Deputy McConalogue seems almost disappointed that funding has been put in place for the 60 social workers who have been recruited and are ready to start. I do not understand the Deputy's point.

Health Service Staff (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: The 262 people have been recruited, with the vast majority of them in place. A number of them are due to begin work in the next couple of weeks. I will provide the child and family social work numbers for Deputy Boyd Barrett. It is important to maintain numbers in the current climate, as the Deputy will appreciate. In 2010 there were 1,183 workers and in 2011 there were 1,220 - an...

Health Service Staff (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: That is a management decision locally. It relates to how to best use the resources that are there. I agree that community social worker and social workers in primary care are very important as well. At a time of huge demands in the child protection area, it is clear that we have to make decisions. Local managers are making decisions about the best use of the social workers who are in...

Health Service Staff (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I think the point I was making was clear. I was saying that 45 people were not leaving from a particular part of the service. It was in that context that I used the word in question. The local managers in each area will deal proportionately with the numbers that have left from that area and will come up with the necessary plans to deal with the situation.

Health Service Staff (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: Where it is a priority for them to be replaced, that decision will be made by the local and regional management. Ultimately, it will be a matter for the director, Gordon Jeyes. It will depend on the resources that are available.

Garda Investigations (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I can confirm that I have received a copy of the report referred to in the Deputy's question. The report was prepared by the Garda Inspectorate. It was submitted to my colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality, who published it. I wish to make it clear that there is no "turf war" between the HSE and the Garda Síochána on the issue of sexual offences against children, nor is such a...

Garda Investigations (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I do not have information on the reason the previous Government did not publish the report. I understand the points Deputy Ó Caoláin makes as it is extremely important that cases are acted upon with the greatest possible urgency and priority. It is also important to recognise the changes that have taken place. In recent years, the Garda has attached a high priority to work in this area....

Garda Investigations (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: That action has been taken. It is reasonable that Deputy Ó Caoláin would request a response to the various recommendations that were in the report and I would be happy to get the response and give him the information on the action that has been taken on the main recommendations of the report.

Children in Care (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: Appointment of a guardian ad litem, GAL, is provided under section 26 of the Child Care Act 1991. Under this provision, the court may appoint a guardian ad litem to a child who is the subject of care proceedings, if it is satisfied that it is necessary in the interests of the child and in the interests of justice to do so. They are always appointed where a child is subject to special care...

Children in Care (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I share the Deputy's concern about this vulnerable group of young people. I wrote a report on unaccompanied asylum seekers and young people in this country. I was appalled at what I found and made a number of recommendations at the time, which was a number of years ago, including that these young people should be treated the same as Irish young people in care and that the same procedures,...

Children in Care (14 Feb 2012)

Frances Fitzgerald: I agree and it is important these young people get the very best care. They are very vulnerable and the situation I have outlined to Deputy McConalogue is a huge improvement. ComReg recently made a decision on the missing children hotline and it will be available later in the year. It is a small but important element. Regarding the number of missing children, sometimes children leave...