Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming to the House to discuss the report. The inconsistencies raised in the HIQA report are stark, as the Minister said. It damages confidence significantly in a body that is our first defence in child protection in this State.

I am glad that at the outset of her contribution the Minister acknowledged the source of this report in terms of what Sergeant Maurice McCabe has suffered. In our worst nightmare we cannot imagine the horror suffered by him and his family because of what was done to them.

I would not imagine that Maurice McCabe is the only person who has suffered because mistakes were made in the system. Over recent years, consistent serious shortcomings in the governance and oversight of the organisation have been highlighted. The organisation is suffering from a staffing crisis. In a Committee of Public Accounts, PAC, report in January 2018, we found that despite Tusla hiring 250 new staff in 2017, there was only a net gain of 18 due to the high numbers leaving the agency. Tusla is also expecting a €11.4 million underspend in the area of staff wages.

It seems clear that there are significant issues with staff deployment and retention. It is very obvious that many social workers are overworked and carry huge case loads which are impossible to deal with. Those staff work directly with children, some of them very vulnerable and with whom they need to build up a long-term working relationship that is based on trust. We must remember that there is nobody many of these children have been able to trust. In some cases they have not been able to trust either of their parents. They need a relationship where that trust can be built and cultivated. Without it, the damage that will be done will be immense. That is the reason the retention of staff is vitally important and we need to see serious improvement in this area.

The Minister talked about reflective learning. I am very much for reflective learning but that is not possible when social workers do not have the time to do even the crisis management they have to do within that system. We need to listen to the social workers working in the area. We need to listen also to the social workers who have left. I cannot imagine what it is like to be a social worker who goes into work every day thinking they might miss something or that they will not do what they need to do and who experiences all that pain and suffering, without having time to reflect or even put in the protections they need to put in for themselves as social workers. They cannot do that when they are in a constant crisis management situation.

What actions are Tusla and the Department taking to restructure that to ensure that social workers are able to handle their case load effectively, that they are satisfied and retained in their work and that the grade of advanced social work practitioner is reinstated? We want people to go into social work. It is a dedicated job that requires passion and compassion but we will not be able to keep those people in the system, and attract others into it who would make very good social workers, if we continue to expose them, and the people they work with, to the risk to which they are currently being exposed.

The report shows a clear lapse in the defences we have for children in this State that needs to be remedied sooner rather than later. The children we are now failing will be adults by the time we address that, and that is my big fear. We cannot lose an entire generation. I acknowledge the good work done by Tusla and the many good people in Tusla who are dedicated to their jobs but they cannot do them unless they are given the resources, the support and adequate staffing to address the need they are trying to deal with every day.

I am glad the Minister said this report will not rest on a shelf. I hope it will not. I hope she will come into the Seanad again to tell us of the practical and pragmatic actions that have been taken that make a difference on the ground to children, to families and to the many dedicated workers who are trying to do their very best in a system that is currently not fit for purpose.