Celebrating 40 Years of Social Work Representation in 2011

Our History

Founded in 1971, the Irish Association of Social Workers provides a national leadership role in advancing and strengthening the social work professional in the Republic of Ireland.

The Irish Association of Social Workers is an active member of the International Federation of Social Workers, representing professional social work associations from over 55 countries worldwide, with more that 350,000 social workers in all parts of the world.

Whatever your social work background or specialism, the Irish Association of Social Workers exists to support you, to represent your professional interests  and to support your on-going professional development.

What does the IASW do?

 The Objectives of the Association are: 

• To improve the standards and quality of social work.
• To provide support to social workers in the practice of their profession.
• To represent the views of social workers on matters of social policy and practice at local, national and international level
• To develop a sense of pride amongst social workers about the value of their profession.
• To be advocates for the interests of social work clients at national level.
• To promote awareness of the contribution of social work to society.