‘Culture exists of it being acceptable to assault care workers’ says former president of Social Care Ireland

A culture has developed where it is acceptable to assault a social care worker in Ireland.

That is according to a former president of Social Care Ireland, who will make the comment at SCI’s annual conference, which begins today in Kildare.

The opening presentation, to be delivered by former SCI president Denise Lyons, covers violence in the workplace.

“Ms Lyons will note that a totally unacceptable culture has developed which reflects the view that it is acceptable to assault a social care worker,” said a spokesperson yesterday.

“Ms Lyons will advert to the ever-increasing situation social care workers find themselves in, being subject to violence in the workplace. This is not new.”

A survey examining violence in the workplace will be launched by SCI this summer.

The theme of the two-day conference is balancing care in an era of regulation and professionalisation.

The opening speech today will be delivered by Fred McBride, the new chief executive of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, who replaced Gordon Jeyes last month.

A series of workshops will be held today and tomorrow, covering areas such as child sexual exploitation, street drugs, and how to safely engage with social media.

Research and policy presentations will also be given, examining areas including the care needs of homeless mothers and gender roles in social care practice.

The conference comes as children’s charity Barnardos warned that thousands of children are at risk of neglect and abuse due to consistent underfunding of Tusla and various support services.

Barnardos chief executive Fergus Finlay said a lack of funding for frontline staff at Tusla will see more children damaged by neglect — many severely and irreparably.

Figures from Tusla reveal that at the end of January there had been 6,371 children in care in Ireland, with 426 (7%) not allocated a social worker. “We know neglect is the main reason for referral into Tusla,” said Mr Finlay, “yet Tusla’s underfunding has meant a dearth of frontline personnel to offer appropriate support and instead it focuses mainly on crisis cases.”