Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and her officials for coming in. We are dealing with two programmes. The Minister raised a specific issue, namely, the position of children in hotels and the opportunity to provide them with free transport to school, after school care and social activities. It is the right thing to do and I commend her on it. I do not know what programme it is in or whether it is in any programme we are discussing. I do not know where to raise it, but it is important. Is it in place? It was to start at the beginning of October. Is it comprehensive for all children living in hotels? Could the Minister give us some information about how it works and how families can avail of it? It would be very important for people trying to manage their money and give their children an opportunity to live as full and normal a life as possible in a very difficult family situation.

Regarding unallocated cases, the Minister indicated there was an under-profile figure. Could she clarify whether there is adequate funding to deal with the target number for this year? The target is gradually to reduce the number of unallocated cases and the Minister told us the number of allocated cases in July was 5,050. That was fewer than earlier in the year. The 2016 target was for a reduction of 60% in the number of open cases, which would bring the number of unallocated cases to 2,700. Is the target being monitored on a very regular basis and can the Minister give us information as to how it is progressing? Can the Minister indicate whether there are concerns regarding the availability of social workers? We got some information about a relatively small percentage of children who are in private foster case and there has been a concern about the cost of private care. Could the Minister clarify whether she is monitoring it and the outcomes, and whether there are plans. I presume private care is used only where no other kind of care is available. Is the Minister monitoring it in terms of why care by private companies is more expensive than regular foster care?