Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 21 October 2021

Public Accounts Committee

2020 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Tusla, the Child and Family Agency - Financial Statements 2020

9:30 am

Mr. Bernard Gloster:

Yes. If the Deputy looks at the residential care context, which I dealt with with Deputy Sherlock, the balance has gone over 50% dependency. That is far too significant for us and is the piece that I want to correct. It is not an all-or-nothing situation, though, as the private sector has a role to play. The dependency rate in foster care is not anywhere near that level, so we do not have the same concern, but we have some concern. I will be trying to find ways of developing our own fostering capacity in the public sector in order to maintain the number of children in publicly provided care at more than 90%. Internationally, we are a leader in that regard. We will be watching the situation. It is the growth rate of private provision of residential care that is the concern, not its existence.

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