The Eastern Regional Health Authority has embarked on a major expansion of child protection and family support services in Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow. Meanwhile, social workers in the region say they are "incensed" at what they see as an attack on them by Father Peter McVerry.
The expansion of services in the ERHA region follows the recent controversy about a 16-year-old victim of rape and torture who had been homeless for months.
An assistant chief executive with responsibility for childcare and family support services is to be appointed in each of the three area health boards in the ERHA region. In addition, a recruitment campaign has been launched for a wide range of social work professionals. It is understood that some of the measures on the way for children in difficulty include:
Extra residential units in which children can be placed so that they do not have to stay on the streets.
Temporary, sheltered accommodation for children leaving care who could otherwise end up on the streets.
Stand-by units for the ERHA's "out of hours" social work service so that children applying for accommodation at night will always have a place to stay.
Outreach workers to seek out children who are homeless instead of waiting for them to apply for accommodation.
"Supported lodgings" in which young people would live as lodgers with people trained to watch out for their interests.
The proposed new services are likely also to include preventative measures including resource centres to help families in difficulties through counselling, educational and other services, extra neighbourhood youth projects to work with young teenagers and a substantial expansion of the service provided by family support workers.
Father Peter McVerry's comments which angered social workers were made in a letter to the Minister and reported in The Irish Times. He suggested many social workers were not trained or comfortable in dealing with difficult adolescents. He also said many homeless children did not trust social workers.
"Father McVerry is attacking the people who are doing more than anyone else to help our most vulnerable young people," IMPACT official Mr Sean McHugh said in a statement defending its social worker members.
"The root problem is that the system has failed - not the professionals who have to deliver the services within that system," Mr McHugh said. He challenged Father McVerry's statement that young people did not trust social workers. "Homeless young people are often distrustful of all figures of authority, including parents, gardai and the church. To single out social workers is profoundly unfair - and not even true in many cases," he said.