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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