Social workers urged to take care in abuse cases

SENDING an army of young women out to deal with horrific situations even gardaí find difficult could have devastating consequences, it has been warned.

Dr Helen Buckley, chairwoman of the HSE’s review panel for serious incidents and child deaths, said we could not escape the fact that social workers are generally young women and that recent high-profile abuse cases have shown what can happen when you have such a system.

“We are sending out an army of young women to deal with situations that even the gardaí would have trouble dealing with. So what can you expect?”