Tusla: We need another 250 social workers for backlog of children-at-risk cases
Tusla needs 250 more social workers to deal with the backlog of cases of children at risk, its CEO said today.
The child and family agency said that more investment is needed, so it can move from being a surviving organisation to a sustainable one.
The agency's CEO Gordon Jeyes was speaking about their 18-month review before the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children today.
He said that there are currently 2,000 priority cases which would require 250 extra social workers - or €17m.
"To take care of the backlog and to resource teams adequately, we need a further, around 250 additional social workers if we do it in a a traditional way," he said.
"Or if we work on a different range of skillsets to take it forward, but we would need the financial equivalent of that.
"In terms of to meet current demand on that frontline issue, and that's just one of the many pressures we have, we'd be talking in the area of €17m."
