Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I, too, welcome the announcement yesterday by the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, on children with Down's syndrome. It is something that is long overdue. It is a matter on which the association has canvassed and lobbied over a number of years. It is money that will be well spent in catering for those children.

In the context of children, I am somewhat concerned about the HIQA report on access to social workers by children who are at risk in the Cork region. HIQA issued a report that was carried out last October which revealed that approximately 1,000 referrals are waiting for a social worker to be assigned. I am involved in a facility which has 45 children who have dropped out of the education system and we only receive a total of €47,500 from the Department of Education and Skills. We fall between two stools where, on the one hand, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs states it is not its responsibility but, on the other, the Department of Education and Skills states it is not its responsibility. We must deal with the situation. The response from Tusla this morning was to the effect that it is currently recruiting an extra 193 social workers.