Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 June 2026
84. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if the caseload weighting system for Tusla is currently fully operational; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47428/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraTusla’s policy on caseload management is that there are defined manageable caseloads for all social workers, with caseloads reviewed on an ongoing basis to ensure best outcomes for children and families.
Tusla’s Social work Caseload Management system is a structured national framework designed to ensure that social work services are delivered, safely, equitably and transparently. It provides managers and Tusla Social workers with a standardised, objective way to measure, allocate, prioritise, and review cases across Ireland. It applies a priority triage to classify cases into distinct risk (e.g. high, medium, low priority) so that critical needs are met immediately. There is frequent supervision between social workers and team leaders to review case status, adjust workload distributions and to ensure staff well-being.
The National Policy and Toolkit for Social Work Caseload Management (2018), provides a structured approach to caseload management for Tusla social work services. Caseload management is integral to the process of professional supervision. By reviewing the caseloads of individual workers, supervisor and the supervisee reflect on the manageability of the practitioner’s caseload, capacity for allocating or closing cases, and actions that might be taken to improve the balance of that caseload. The overall purpose is to provide balanced caseloads for social workers.
It seeks to provide a common approach nationally to allow the manageability of caseloads to be assessed on an ongoing and routine basis as part of the process for the safe and effective management of cases, reflective practice, and support to staff. The tools are intended to be simple, practical, and supportive of professional judgement. The toolkit supports the policy by providing mechanisms by which the organisation as a whole and managers at all levels might understand and respond to issues relating to the manageability of caseloads. It also states the roles and responsibilities of staff throughout Tusla in relation to caseload management. It is for use by Tusla social work services and is required to be applied by teams holding the following case types :
• Short-Term
• Child Protection
• Child Welfare
• Family Support Plan
• Children In Care
• Fostering.
Tusla uses the Tusla Case Management (TCM) system as its central, integrated digital platform. The system is supported by the National Policy and Toolkit for Social Work Caseload Management to provide practitioners with the governance, structures, and tools to ensure child protection, welfare, and family support cases are handled efficiently.
Tusla has advised that the Social Work Caseload Management System has been paused in some areas. This is due to the number of Social Work vacancies being experienced by Tusla. Intensive recruitment efforts are ongoing by Tusla, and the Department is working closely with Tusla on this.
Tusla has advised that although the system is paused in some areas, cases which are prioritised and are immediately assigned to social work teams and Tusla teams are constantly reviewing their caseloads. Tusla areas prioritise social work resources to children where their knowledge and skill is most required and then maximising the knowledge and skill of other professions where they can competently respond to children’s need. Children in urgent need of safety are prioritised for allocation. All of this work continues to be overseen by social work managers.
Tusla has further advised that the ICT digital Tusla Case Management is working effectively to assist Tusla teams with identifying priority cases and to where cases need to be re prioritised and re assigned on an urgent basis.
