Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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715. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 316 of 16 July 2014, if he will urgently seek sanction from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to fill vacant posts for educational welfare officers in Dublin 3, 5 and 17. [33025/14]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware the functions and operational responsibilities of the former National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) are now part of the Child and Family Agency, which was established on 1st January 2014. Since this date the staff of the former NEWB, including its Education Welfare Officers (EWOs), have transferred to the new Agency. Within the Agency, the statutory Education Welfare Service has specific responsibility for the Agency’s general function to ensure that each child attends a recognised school or otherwise receives a certain minimum education. The appointment of EWOs is a function of the Child and Family Agency.

The Agency has advised me that staffing levels in the statutory Education Welfare Service country-wide are currently under review, taking account of ongoing restrictions on public service recruitment and current budgetary considerations.

The Agency advises that in order to address particularly urgent capacity issues in the greater Dublin area, including the areas to which the Deputy refers, a staged process is now underway to reorganise available EWO resources in the area. The objectives are to achieve more balanced geographical coverage, to provide an acceptable service to schools and families and to deal with growing inequity in EWO workloads arising from the demographic developments over many years and changes in the nature of school attendance and other educational welfare challenges. The Agency will advise my Department on progress with the reorganisation.

Staff vacancies in the front line services for children and young people at risk of early school leaving continue to be prioritised by the Agency, in consultation with my Department, in so far as possible working within Government policy on public service numbers and the moratorium on recruitment.