Written answers

Thursday, 5 February 2015

Department of Children and Youth Affairs

Child and Family Agency Services

Photo of Fergus O'DowdFergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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209. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of children who are waiting in the constituency of County Louth to be allocated a social worker; the number of these that are high priority and emergency; the length of time they have been on a waiting list; the number of social workers employed; the number of vacancies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5260/15]

Photo of James ReillyJames Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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As of November 2014 a total of 778 children in Louth-Meath were waiting to be allocated a social worker and 464 of these cases were deemed to be high priority. I am assured by Tusla that emergency cases continue to be dealt with immediately, for instance, that a child who has been abandoned or is in immediate physical danger or at immediate risk of sexual abuse, and that high priority cases are kept under review.

The most recent information from Tusla indicates that in late 2014 there were 85.25 social work Whole Time Equivalents in Louth-Meath, with 15 vacancies being filled.

The Agency is taking a number of initiatives to address staff shortfalls:

- Continuing recruitment, with 164 social workers recruited since the Agency was established, and a further 219 posts currently at various stages of recruitment;

- The introduction of a pilot Maternity Leave Scheme whereby temporary staff can be offered a 12 month contract to cover maternity leave;

- In recognition of the challenging nature of this work, new entrants and graduates have a reduced workload for their first year, with opportunities for regular supervision with experienced practitioners;

- The roll out of a caseload management system to ensure caseloads are manageable and prioritised appropriately.

I have set out in tabular format below data relating to unallocated cases for Louth-Meath. I am advised by the Agency that separate data for County Louth is not available.

Table 1: Breakdown of Unallocated cases by Priority Louth-Meath, November 2014

Open Cases by PriorityUnallocated
High464
Medium220
Low94
TOTAL778


Table 2: Breakdown of Unallocated cases by length of time of Priority Louth-Meath, November 2014
Open Cases Unallocated at the end of the MonthHigh PriorityMedium PriorityLow PriorityTotal
<1 week0000
1-2 weeks168327
2-3 weeks200020
3-4 weeks326240
1-2 months5120273
2-3 months510051
>3 months29418687567
TOTAL46422094778

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