Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their contributions this morning and I acknowledge the hard work their organisations do. Having listened to the questions and answers, I will turn to detail. How many visits do members of the Irish Foster Care Association receive from social care workers annually? I am sure all these data has been built up by the organisation. How many visits do children in care receive annually? If there is a child there for 12 months, has he or she received 12 visits? There have to be standard guidelines and best practices.

Has the IFCA highlighted regularly the lack of resources and consistency? Page 10 of its report refers to the lack of correspondence from social care workers. Surely, the IFCA is part of the chain of engagement and follow-up. How much social care interaction does it actually get? We talk about the link worker, but that is for the foster carer. I am talking about the social care worker for the child in relation to the communication IFCA is getting. That communication seems to be vital because what came out of Dr. Geoffrey Shannon's report yesterday was the lack of communication and consistency within the various organisations. We are dealing with complex cases which may involve not only the family but An Garda Síochána and other bodies and we need to know the dots are connecting.

I attended EPIC's conference last year. On the voice of the child, they are very clear that we do not listen and that their voices are not being heard. The one thing that struck me at the conference related to aftercare. There is nothing there for the child who chooses not to go to school and who wants to take the year out. I have heard Ms Bond and Ms Charles advocate for that. What can the committee do for that gap year if we want to normalise it?

We give the children a gap year in normal circumstances to see what courses they might want to take up, but if they do not proceed to third level at 18, there is nothing for them. Reference was made to private foster care organisations. I do not understand the distinction in this regard. Is it that private foster carers offer a home as opposed to children being placed in an institution? I need to understand that because that will help me to understand the placement of 12 and 13 year olds. A 17 year old and a 13 year old are quite different and there is also a significant difference in cost. When they hit 18 and foster parents want to keep them because there is a bond, they can build an annex and so on. Does that mean foster children do not get the same opportunity in another set-up? Where lies the duty of care to the children not just at 18 but into the future on the part of the State? What is EPIC's vision in this regard? What proposals has it made to the Department on it?