Lorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming here today to discuss this very important report. It is a very serious report that makes for very sobering reading. We have had almost a week to digest it. I was at the meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs last week when Fred McBride appeared before it. To be honest, I would have very serious concerns about his leadership. It is clear that there was a management failure at the top. In her speech, I think the Minister referred to the fact that front-line workers are very dedicated to the service they are providing. The Government is funding the service to a reasonable extent but there seems to be a disconnect between the funding, front-line workers and delivery, which is very concerning.

The report is very comprehensive. I appreciate that a report as comprehensive as this one needs adequate time but I was a bit disappointed that it took a year to produce. However, we have it now. The failures around the systems and policies that were referenced in the report are very concerning. There seems to be a lack of urgency around everything in Tusla. I think we would have cut it some slack when it was in its infancy but four years after its establishment, there should be far more urgency with regard to getting the systems and policies up to speed and ensuring they are correct and working properly.

The lack of staff is one issue but even where there is no lack of staff and where it is adequately staffed, there are problems relating to processes that are in place. When failings occur, there seems to be a lack of supervision around the failings and a lack of learning from those failings. The management style does not seem to equate to the organisation being a learning experience, which is very concerning.

Another thing that is of concern is the relationship between the Child and Family Agency and An Garda Síochána and the fact that the two organisations do not seem to be exchanging information adequately. This occurs at a number of levels. One issue of serious concerning that I raised at the meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs last week was the fact that joint interviewing did not take place as standard. I was told that it is taking place, although not to a great extent. It needs to take place as standard. Social workers need to be trained as a matter of urgency in that regard.

We must bear in mind that we are talking about vulnerable children. They should be at the centre of everything we do in this regard. It is very upsetting to hear that files have been closed inappropriately. The number of files that are still out there awaiting allocation is staggering. I would have a lack of faith in the actual numbers we have been given when it says in the report that files have been closed inappropriately. This is something I would like the Minister to address in her response. Throughout her speech, the Minister recognised that there were deficits. She mentioned that she was going to implement the recommendations made in the report in full. She also said she had appointed Dr. Ryan as an independent chairperson and that this would move things on. However, throughout the entire speech, I do not see any timeline, which is concerning. We need to be given a clear timeline. If the recommendations and policies are not put in place within a short timeframe, I want to know where the buck will stop. Will it stop with the Minister or Mr. McBride? We need some answers. The Minister has invested in this process. I accept her sincerity in that regard and know that she will do her best. However, it needs to be given more urgency and we need clear timelines and to know what the consequences will be if they are not adhered to. I would appreciate the Minister's response in that regard.

My final point relates to the part of the Minister's speech where she says there is a low number of social workers in the system per head of population. Will she make proposals on how to attract people from other disciplines into the system? I know that there is a low number of people training to be social workers, but, despite this, there are those with life and academic experience in other areas who, if the right incentives were in place, could be retrained and brought into the system, bringing a lot of experience with them, including institutional experience. I would appreciate it if the Minister made reference to that matter in her response.