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THERE ARE CURRENTLY 175 vacant social worker positions nationwide.
Figures released by the Child and Family Agency (Tusla), the biggest employer of social workers in Ireland, show there are almost 1,400 filled positions.
As of 30 October, there were more than 360 social workers based in the Dublin Mid Leinster region, compared with 328 in Dublin North East, 127 in Dublin North City, 80 in Dublin South Central, 86 in Dublin South East/Wicklow and 86 in Dublin South West/Kildare West.
Some 159 social workers are based in Cork, with 85 in Louth/Meath, 81 in Galway/Roscommon, 55 in Donegal, and 15 in Kerry.
Children’s Minister James Reilly recently shared the figures in the Dáil, in response to a parliamentary question asked by Independent TD Denis Naughten.
Reilly said “a system of risk analysis is in place in each area to ensure that staffing numbers do not fall to an unsafe level”. He added that gaps identified through this process are addressed with “the additional resource of temporary staff as required”.
Below is a breakdown of the number of whole time equivalent (WTE) social workers across Ireland:
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Yet if something happens a child the social workers will be blamed and no one will ask how many peoples jobs were they covering. You cannot protect children without the man power.
And by God we need them cos slowly but surely we are turning into an “i’m entitled to it Nation ” I will pay for nothing , I will use the system , and will play the racist, homophobic, minority card when it suits me and me only…I’ll rob and steal as I did in 2014 because I was deprived a childhood cos my mother and father went to the pub…and then i’ll go back to the social worker who will see where I’ve gone wrong and will point me in the right direction ….to get more handouts from this unjust and unfair society we live in…baahumbug…have a great new year….
I’m guessing this an opinion backed up by the in-depth statistical research you have conducted with the boys down in the pub yeah?
Nice excuse to do nothing for the most vulnerable ! People need help for a variety of reasons most people want to contribute but thanks to certain bigotries they often don’t get the chance. Preconceived ideas serve no one in society
No Manus, just take a look around, you can use statistics any which way you want, they can be twisted and turned to suit all agendas, people have to take responsibility for their actions (or inactions) it’s always someone else’s fault its getting tiresome…take the amount of people in Cork who turned down social housing in certain areas because it was the wrong area or too small ,but still its the governments fault that there isn’t enough of housing (or should that be choice of housing) and I do not support this government but as I’ve said people just have to take responsibility……
Shane you have no idea what you’re on about. Social work covers a huge spectrum. For instance I need to speak to a social worker because I have a seriously ill child in hospital, I work full time. There are a number of social workers attached to children’s hospitals and very little of their work is to do with abused children.
I know someone who is a social worker, she works as a carer at a group home for adults with learning difficulties.
I do Fiona…I know quite well what i’m talking about , and I know how quite well how big the spectrum that social workers cover….but let me ask you was it easy for you to get access to your social worker(for such a deserving reason)..or were you waiting…my point is I’M AWARE of cases where social workers are visiting and looking after famalies because the parents are just too dam lazy to do it,making sure kids are fed and go to school etc. I think social workers do a fantastic and difficult job it’s the people that milk the system i’m having a go at…read the post Fiona..
Always the vulnerable that are neglected. Proper care during childhood reduces the chance of further problems developing later on (mental health, addiction, crime etc). Prevention is better and less costly in the long run then cure.
Children don’t vote Lisa so our leaders don’t really care.
While I wholeheartedly agree with the work Social Workers do there are a minority who are a law unto themselves. I’ve seen abused children being returned to abusive parents only for the cycle to repeat itself and then children taken from perfectly good parents over hearsay evidence. They will manipulate facts to suit themselves. The process is too drawn out, possibly because of lack of manpower but when you add in delays from the rest of the public service, i.e Gardai and our inept hospital services, it puts a massive strain on innocent families. But as I mentioned these social workers are only a minority and it is very much needed service but it’s an area that needs to be looked at as there is no consistency in their actions. Rant over!
Exactly.
Abused children are deemed too difficult to warehouse , so they get sent back to abuse.
It keeps the figures looking good as well.
So non abused children are seen are much better warehousing material because the trauma keeps them quiet for years.
Children are 6 times more likely to be abused in care- so what is the point of pouring tax payers money into it?
Who profits? UK Fostering being sent millions from Ireland…..now that is what I call business.
Social workers are trained mostly in policy and not much else. They are trained to believe they are gods and most have the god complex and the sadistic schadenfreude disease- over 70%.
So why are we not having these social workers mentally assessed before allowing them loose on service users?
Where I live social workers have always been called child snatchers and now I know why.
Anyone doing research on the childhoods of social workers is in for a eye opener.
What absolute twaddle. You obviously have an agenda.
Dublin was a much better place when it only had Jim Brannigan as it’s main social worker.
most of these so called vacant social worker positions are just a trick with numbers i’m afraid. By looking at the stats you would be fooled into thinking that so many many positions were made available and that there are so many left but the reality is so different. alot of current positions are filled by temporary agency staff, who may (or may not) get their contract renewed every 6 months to a year. So these 175 positions are NOT extra new positions, but existing one being made full time time, so hense no extra staff, no reduction of work load, no extra help given to those who need it. SHAME SHAME SHAME
indeed. after 6 months, hire cheaper and cheaper and cheaper till some poor unfortunate gets sellotape plastered to their mouths to keep shut. disgraceful sellouts.
How come none are advertised?:
http://www.tusla.ie/about/careers-in-tusla/
There are panels of social workers who have been interviewed and they are asked to express an interest in the jobs. They have been ranked according to interview score and when they are the highest ranked candidate to express an interest they are offered the job. It takes several months for the recruitment process (references, Garda clearance etc) to be dealt with.
Catherine new year stop bashing social workers , fyi they aren’t trained in social policy only, don’t think they are God and for the most part are genuine people who care about vulnerable kids
have your say