Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of additional social workers posts that have been filled in the years 2010, 2011 and to date in 2012; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55801/12]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The HSE compiles a monthly census of employment in the public health and social care sector. Figures supplied by the HSE indicate that the number of whole-time- equivalent (WTE) social workers employed in the Children and Families Service area of the HSE was 1,300 at the end of July 2012. The number of social workers recorded under the census as employed in the Children and Families Service area in 2010 and 2011 was 1183 and 1220 respectively.

It is important to emphasise that work is ongoing within the HSE on the disaggregation of the Children and Families resource base from the HSE as part of the process of establishing the new Child and Family Support Agency next year. Consequently the number of social workers assigned to the Children and Families Service area will continue to be subject to change as the mapping/classification of posts into care groups is further refined between now and the establishment of the new agency. In the circumstances it is difficult to draw comparisons between current and past census returns which were not disaggregated to this degree for this service area.

The HSE has made considerable progress over recent years in recruiting additional social workers, with over 260 social workers recruited under the Ryan Implementation Plan at end 2011. The National Director of Children and Family Services, Gordon Jeyes, will continue to apply his discretion to the filling of social work vacancies, taking account of identified need and subject to services being delivered within available resources.