Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 January 2026
501. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she is aware of concerns raised by senior social workers to the CEO of Tusla; if she will provide responses to the issues raised by these professionals, or a copy of the reply sent by Tusla responding to each concern; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3178/26]
View answerThe Department is aware that concerns of Principal Social Workers have been raised with the Tusla CEO about aspects of Tusla’s Integrated Reform programme.
It is important to recognise the independent structure of an agency like Tusla and that matters of this nature can be and are addressed by Tusla.
Tusla' Integrated Reform Programme is a significant organisational change initiative aiming to improve the way in which Tusla delivers services to children and families and improve Tusla’s staff experience.
It is correct and proper that key staff such as the Principal Social Workers as well as others involved in and impacted by the reforms have the opportunity to offer their views and that Tusla engages with these key stakeholders. Engagements of this nature are an important part of change management. The Department understands that the matters referred to in the Deputies question are being given due consideration by Tusla.
The change being put in place will see Regions and Areas be more equitable in size and will ensure that the totality of resources are targeted to where they most needed. The workforce will be multidisciplinary ensuring there is a diverse knowledge and skills base to respond to the multi-faceted needs of children and families in Ireland today.
Like other European and Irish organisations Tusla is experiencing difficulty in recruiting and retaining social work practitioners and Tusla areas currently have social work vacancies that it cannot fill, creating a challenging situations for some teams.
Tusla wants to ensure that all professions operate within their areas of competence and capability and are supported to develop and enhance their knowledge and skills through continued professional development.
Budget 2026 saw Tusla receive increased funding of €165m to continue providing vital child welfare and family support services bringing its funding up by 14 per cent to €1.37 billion.
This money will ensure that Tusla can continue to manage over 100,000 referrals annually. This investment supports Tusla’s multi-pronged, sustained strategy to address the recruitment and retention of child protection staff. In total, Tusla is funded to have over 3,200 social workers and social care workers in 2026 to deal with this number of referrals. Tusla is faced with an ever increasing number of referrals with greater complexity, as well as issues relating to social worker recruitment and retention.
There are Programme for Government commitments to support Tusla and ensure their structures are robust, responsive and capable of safeguarding every child in need, and to ensure that Tusla is supported in recruiting and retaining vital frontline staff and foster carers. The Department has ensured that social worker staffing is included as a priority in Tusla's Performance Framework 2024-2026 and the Department is supporting Tusla with a number of initiatives to retain and recruit social workers, and other disciplines, to meet demand for services.
Budget 2026 includes funding for innovative “earn and learn” social work and social care work apprenticeship courses, programmes and sponsorship. University College Cork introduced two new pathways into social work in 2024, which is expected to increase annual graduate output by 20%.
In relating to the difficulties in recruiting additional social workers, there is a commitment in the programme for Government to double the number of college places for social workers. In June the Government approved an expansion in training places for a range of health and social care professionals. This will provide up to 361 additional student places by 2028, including college places for social workers.
These initiatives and the improvements that Tusla is bringing to bear on retention and support of staff as well as the balance that the reform will bring should help address some of the concerns being raised.
