Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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653. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 670 of 9 May 2017, the number of the 841 historical or retrospective cases awaiting allocation of a social worker that have been identified as a high priority; the number of these cases which have been referred to An Garda Síochána; and the number of these cases which have been assisted in accessing HSE counselling services. [24112/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I have requested information from Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. I will forward the reply to the Deputy once I have been furnished with this information.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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654. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 670 of 9 May 2017, if she will clarify the necessary reforms required to address the waiting times for allocation of social workers in these cases; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24113/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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The further reduction and elimination of open cases awaiting the allocation of a social worker is a high priority for me as Children's Minister, for Tusla and for my Department. This will be achieved through the recruitment and retention of social workers and the ongoing reform of Tusla’s structures and delivery through its standard business processes. I secured additional funding for the purpose of addressing this issue in 2017, with Tusla receiving significant additional funding over 2016 and 2017. Some €6 million has been set aside to enable the 3 year recruitment drive that Tulsa is currently engaged in.

The area of child protection and welfare social work is one of the most challenging areas of work for any professional and involves working closely with some of the most vulnerable and marginalised individuals and groups in society. Up to the end of February 2017, Tusla had recruited 56 new social workers since the start of the year, which equates to a net increase of 28 whole time equivalent (WTE) social workers in, when attrition and flexible working arrangements are taken into account. To date, Tusla is on track to achieve its recruitment target of 62 additional social workers, which will require a gross recruitment of 180 social workers in 2017.

It must also be noted that each year there are only 200-250 social work graduates in Ireland and Tusla is competing with areas such as disability, mental health, probation, hospital, and primary care for this limited pool. It is likely that the recruitment of social workers will continue to be challenging and for this reason Tusla launched an on-going recruitment campaign for social workers on its website and it will also be expanding its 2017 graduate recruitment drive to England, Scotland and Wales. I am satisfied that Tusla is doing everything within its power to compete for and recruit social workers, including prioritising the recruitment of complementary staff in social care and clerical grades during 2017 to allow social workers to focus on their core professional duties.

I am mindful of the need to link recruitment with decisions on Tusla's operational side to effect improvements. As part of my regular engagement with the Board, I have requested that the Agency provide me with an assessment of recruitment for the remainder of 2017, linked to specific targets to reduce the number of cases awaiting allocation of a dedicated social worker.

With regard to retention, in the twelve months to February 2017, Tusla had a national social work turnover rate of 8.4%. with some areas exceeding this. The national figure, however, compares favourably with other jurisdictions, such as England, where the 2016 turnover rate was approximately 15%.

Tusla’s 2017 Business Plan identifies activities to improve retention and build on initiatives commenced in 2016 such as the introduction and the implementation of Tusla’s Continuous Professional Development Strategy and National Transfer Policy, which will facilitate social workers wishing to relocate to another part of the country. It is anticipated that this will assist with retention and increase the attractiveness of Tusla as an employer.

The introduction of Senior Social Worker Practitioner posts designated to Social Work teams around the country will further assist with retention by providing enhanced professional support to social work staff. Tusla Recruit will also be undertaking a recruitment drive during 2017 to assist with the implementation of this initiative.